Obama administration officials, up to and including cabinet officers, have fed...reporters at the New York Times, the Washington Post and other newspapers stories about how Barack Obama has personally overseen a campaign of violent reprisal against Islamic terrorists. Now, I am entirely in favor of violent reprisal against Islamic terrorists-more so, no doubt, than President Obama-but the problem is that the administration's leaks have endangered American intelligence sources, like the guy who infiltrated Yemen's al Qaeda and emerged with a prototype weapon. His cover was blown by President Obama or his minions and he is now in hiding. Or the Pakistani who played a role in killing Osama bin Laden, whose cover was blown by the Obama administration and has now been sentenced to decades in prison, where he is likely being tortured, at this moment, by Islamic radicals. 

Some of the leaks in question pertain to a cyber attack on Iran authorized by the Obama administration. Last week, the New York Times revealed U.S. involvement with the Stuxnet virus that was used against Iranian nuclear facilities and caused centrifuges to explode. The story detailed joint U.S. and Israeli efforts to develop the virus, as well as conversations Obama had with his advisors on whether to continue the program when the virus became public in 2010. It cited unnamed current and former U.S., Israeli and European officials.

Other leaks pertain to U.S. drone attacks on terrorists and, most notably, Obama's role in selecting which terrorists will be targeted. These leaks are ironic because, as Glenn Greenwald notes, the administration has taken the position in court that it can neither confirm nor deny the existence of drone operations.