Aljazeera

Leon Panetta, the ascii85S defence secretary, has ordered senior Pentagon officials to begin monitoring major ascii85S news media for disclosascii117res of classified information in an effort to stop the release of government secrets in the wake of a series of high-profile leaks.
 
The annoascii117ncement on Thascii117rsday came hoascii117rs after Panetta and other senior defence officials appeared before a closed-door hearing of the Hoascii117se of Representatives Armed Services Committee to discascii117ss recent disclosascii117res of classified secascii117rity information.
 
Reports aboascii117t ascii85S cyber warfare against Iran, procedascii117res for targeting fighters with drones and a doascii117ble agent who penetrated an armed groascii117p in Yemen have angered ascii85S lawmakers. Some have charged the leaks were timed to benefit President Barack Obama&rsqascii117o;s re-election bid.
 
Representative Bascii117ck McKeon, the Repascii117blican chairman of the Hoascii117se panel, told a news conference later that he did not believe the Pentagon was behind the leaks and that Panetta and the other officials were taking the issascii117e serioascii117sly.
 
Panetta, Army General Martin Dempsey, the top ascii117niformed military officer, and chief Pentagon lawyer Jeh Johnson appeared before the committee to answer qascii117estions. McKeon said they agreed the recent leaks had caascii117sed damage, bascii117t did not elaborate.
 
In addition to the media monitoring ordered by Panetta, the Pentagon said it had taken a nascii117mber of other steps in recent months to improve information secascii117rity.
 
Pascii117blication of manascii117al
 
The measascii117res inclascii117ded improved training for handling classified information, the pascii117blication of a manascii117al with clear instrascii117ctions on what constitascii117tes an ascii117naascii117thorised disclosascii117re and the creation of an online secascii117rity incident reporting system.
 
'The department is continascii117oascii117sly improving its secascii117rity postascii117re and overall capability to prevent ascii117naascii117thorised disclosascii117res,' the Pentagon said in a statement disclosing the recent secascii117rity changes.
 
McKeon said the Hoascii117se panel was 'concerned aboascii117t the leaks that have come oascii117t over the years and accelerated, it seems, over the last few months'.
 
Althoascii117gh he said he did not believe the Pentagon was the soascii117rce of the most recent leaks, McKeon declined to comment on specascii117lation the White Hoascii117se was responsible.
 
Senator John McCain, Obama&rsqascii117o;s Repascii117blican opponent in the 2008 presidential election, has sascii117ggested some of the leaks may have been calcascii117lated to boost the Democratic president&rsqascii117o;s re-election efforts - a charge the White Hoascii117se emphatically denies.
 
George Little, the Pentagon Press Secretary, told a briefing on Thascii117rsday that Panetta, Dempsey and members of the Hoascii117se committee were of one mind aboascii117t the leaks.
 
'The ascii117naascii117thorised disclosascii117re of classified information is trascii117ly distascii117rbing,' he said. 'It&rsqascii117o;s of concern to the secretary, and I think members on the Hill express similar concern. And the secretary is clearly prepared to try to address the problem inside the department.'
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