Op-Ed: Pentagon leaks show need for these major reforms to protect US secrets

This article originally appeared in Fox News on April 20, 2023

We learned last week that recent leaks of highly classified information, with significant information not publicly known about the defense capabilities of Ukraine and Taiwan, reportedly originated from a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard stationed at Fort Bragg. This guardsman is accused of illegally posting classified information on an online gaming chat group, apparently to impress members of this group about his access to U.S. government secrets. 

As someone who held top secret and higher U.S. security clearances with several government agencies, I take these leaks very seriously. I have not seen images of the leaked classified documents, but a reporter has described them to me. 

I understand these documents included the Joint Chiefs of Staff "J2 Intelligence Daily," a daily top secret publication containing summaries of raw intelligence, analysis and graphics on international security issues. An estimated 5,000 people across the U.S. government read this publication. I read it regularly when I held positions with the CIA, DIA, State Department and the National Security Council

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