Before he was a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate from Massachusetts, Gabriel Gomez was active in an organization that released a controversial video attacking President Barack Obama for jeopardizing national security by releasing information related to the 2011 killing of Osama bin Laden.
Gomez, a former Navy SEAL, was a media spokesman for Special Operations OPSEC Education Team, a group of former members of the military and intelligence services who say their mission is to stop politicians – particularly Obama – from "politically capitalizing on U.S. national security operations and secrets."
The group released a 22-minute film in August, during Obama's reelection campaign, titled "Dishonorable Disclosures: How leaks and politics threaten our national security," which got more than 5 million views on YouTube.
Much of the film is dedicated to Obama’s handling of the killing of bin Laden, the mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. In the film, retired intelligence and military officers criticize Obama for taking credit for the killing and revealing too much information.
“Mr. President, you did not kill Osama bin Laden, America did,” says Navy SEAL Ben Smith. “The work that the American military has done killed Osama bin Laden.”
Jamie Williamson, a retired Special Forces colonel, says he “was appalled to hear secrets I spent 25 years protecting,” such as the cover name, actual name and location of a special mission unit, reported. He says tactics, techniques and procedures were compromised.
The film says politicians turned the raid into an “intelligence disaster.” Bill Cowan, a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps, says Obama should have waited a week before announcing the raid to exploit any intelligence found in bin Laden’s compound. Others criticized Obama for releasing information that allowed Pakistani officials to find the doctor that helped U.S. troops, for briefing Hollywood filmmakers and for using the raid in a campaign ad. The video concludes by telling Obama to “shut up.”
Gomez appeared on MSNBC after the video was released as an OPSEC spokesman. Gomez took a less harsh line against Obama than the film did, saying Obama deserves credit for deciding to kill bin Laden. "You have to give him absolutely 100 percent credit for making the call to send the unit in to get bin Laden," he said. But Gomez criticized Obama for taking too much credit and not giving enough to the troops.
“The only time that…(Abraham) Lincoln and (Dwight) Eisenhower and other wartime presidents ever used the word 'I' was when they said 'I thank you' to the troops,” Gomez said. “The point of the video is to highlight the difference between the current administration and how they viewed giving credit as opposed to other wartime presidents that have given credit in a different way.”
The Obama campaign accused OPSEC of trying to “Swift Boat” the president, a reference to attacks regarding 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry’s military service in Vietnam.
Loren Thompson, a defense analyst for the Lexington Institute, a conservative think tank, said he believes the charges that Obama jeopardized national security “are largely unfounded.” Thompson said the president has discretion to disclose things that would normally be kept secret, if he believes it benefits national security. “My impression is that Obama has been very careful about what is disclosed to whom,” Thompson said.
Thompson said these types of charges are part of “a continuous Republican campaign to discredit the president on both economic and defense policy.”
Asked whether Gomez is still involved with OPSEC and agrees with the film, Gomez spokesman Lenny Alcivar said, “Gabriel Gomez is not a politician. But Democrats, Republicans, and independents all agree with Gabriel Gomez and senators like Democrat Dianne Feinstein and Republican John McCain – America cannot afford national security leaks that jeopardize the lives of our men and women in combat. If the Democratic machine in Massachusetts disagrees with that, they should say so.”
Feinstein has criticized national security leaks coming from the federal government, though not the president himself. McCain has called for an investigation of government leaks of national security information, which he said were made to bolster the president's image.
Though OPSEC said its members included Republicans, Democrats and independents, Reuters reported that the group has extensive Republican Party ties. Reuters found that the group's treasurer, lawyer and TV producers all have connections to Republican Party-related groups.
In the Reuters story, one of the OPSEC members who the group’s spokesman pointed to as an example of OPSEC’s bipartisanship was Gomez, noting that he had donated to Obama’s 2008 campaign.
According to FEC filings, Gomez gave $230 to Obama in 2007, one of several donations he has made to Democrats. In 2012, Gomez gave $500 to Bruce Bowen Shuttleworth, a former Navy pilot and Democratic congressional candidate from Virginia, who unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. James Moran in a primary. In 2009, Gomez donated $1,000 to Alan Khazei, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate from Massachusetts, who lost in the primary for the 2010 special election.
On the Republican side, Gomez gave $2,500 to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign and $250 to former President George W. Bush’s 2004 campaign.
