WASHINGTON (AP) — Special operations chief Adm. Bill McRaven warned his troops, current and former, that he would take legal action against anyone found to have exposed sensitive information that could cause fellow forces harm.
"We will pursue every option available to hold members accountable, including criminal prosecution where appropriate," the four-star commander wrote, in an open, unclassified letter emailed to the active-duty special operations community Thursday, and obtained by The Associated Press.
The warning came a day after a retired Navy commando revealed he is publishing a first-hand account of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Pentagon officials say they have not been given a chance to review the book.
It also follows a media campaign by special operations veterans, decrying alleged leaks by President Barack Obama's administration of secret operations, and criticizing Obama's highlighting the raid as part of his reelection campaign.
McRaven also took former special operators to task for "using their 'celebrity' status to advance their personal or professional agendas."
He acknowledged that former service members are "well within their rights to advocate for certain causes or write books about their adventures," but he cautioned them against claiming to speak for all special operations troops and against endangering troops by what they write.
News broke Wednesday that one of the SEALs McRaven commanded on the bin Laden raid would be releasing his book, "No Easy Day," on Sept. 11, with the author listed under the pseudonym of Mark Owen.
The author was identified Thursday by Fox News as Matt Bissonnette, who retired from the Navy last summer.
One current and one former U.S. military official confirmed the name, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss military personnel matters.
Penguin Group (USA)'s Dutton imprint, the publisher, asked news organizations Thursday to withhold his identity.
"Sharing the true story of his personal experience in 'No Easy Day' is a courageous act in the face of obvious risks to his personal security," Dutton spokeswoman Christine Ball said in a statement. "That personal security is the sole reason the book is being published under a pseudonym."
Bissonnette also changed the names of the other SEALs in the account, the publisher says.
Efforts to locate Bissonnette for comment were unsuccessful.
McRaven's plea for discretion comes as a number of special operators publish memoirs or appear in the media.
Best seller "American Sniper," was published this year by recently retired SEAL Chris Kyle, detailing his 150-plus kills of insurgents from 1999 to 2009.
Many of the special operations advocacy groups that are critical of Obama also openly identify members. One of the groups is run by retired Navy SEAL Ryan Zinke, who touts his time years ago at SEAL Team 6, the top secret unit that carried out the bin Laden raid.
Even Special Operations Command made an exception to its normal reticence with the media when it signed off on this year's movie "Act of Valor," which followed active duty SEALs carrying out training exercises that were turned into what looked like real action scenes for the film.
McRaven wrote that there was a difference between "Act of Valor", which was approved by the command as a recruiting tool, and some of the other recent publications.
"There is, in my opinion, a distinct line between recounting a story for...education or entertainment and telling a story that exposes sensitive activities just to garner greater readership and personal profit," he wrote.
The author of "No Easy Day" is slated to appear on the CBS News program "60 Minutes" on Sept. 9th. The book is already listed as one of the top 10 books on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com.
The publisher says the author will be donating the majority of the proceeds from the book to charities.
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Associated Press writer Hillel Italie contributed to this report from New York.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
