Marine Gunnery Sgt. Admits Misuse of Classified Files

To share with other reserve officers and law enforcement personnel in California, for anti-terrorism work.

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Gary Maziarz said patriotism motivated him to join a spy ring, smuggle secret files from Camp Pendleton and give them to law enforcement officers for anti-terrorism work in Southern California.

He knew his group was violating national security laws. But he said bureaucratic walls erected by the military and civilian agencies were hampering intelligence sharing and coordination, making the nation more vulnerable to terrorists.

He has admitted to breaking the law, and for that will and should have to face the consequences of his actions.

SeeDubya asks a couple of good questions:

"...how utterly horrifying that these bureaucratic roadblocks were apparently so absolute and our ability to address the threat of domestic terrorists so circumscribed that these men--including high-ranking officers--felt they had to break the law and risk their careers in order to protect the country.

and

"One also wonders whether this sort of prosecution would convince leftist goofballs who think we're living in a police state, maaan that this sort of lawbreaking in pursuit of terrorists is Officially Discouraged and actually lands officers in the brig."

I'll add one of my own.

Will their punishment for breaking the law regarding the care and handling of classified material exceed that punishment meted to Sandy Berger?

UPDATE: Couple of comments, including one from ol smoking jacket Seedub himself, raise questions as to motivation and altruism. That would make it worse than it already is, and it's bad enough.

posted by Dave In Texas at 02:06 PM

| Access Comments