Sen. Lieberman Says 'Damage Has Been Done to U.S. National Security'; Gen. Hayden Repudiates Claim He Confirmed Cyber Attack Leak
Homeland Security Committee chairman, Senator Joe Lieberman, and former CIA director, General Michael Hayden sat down with Chris Wallace today on Fox News Sunday to give their insight on the national security leaks. Sen. Lieberman said, “In my opinion an enormous amount of damage has been done to our national security.”
He continued that these leaks may legitimize an Iranian counter cyber attack against the United States, they put the individual who infiltrated Al Qaeda in danger as well as his family, and it could discourage others from cooperating with the U.S. in the future after the Pakistani doctor was jailed.
Gen. Hayden said, “These [leaks] don’t have to be true, to be harmful.” He added, “It sort of legitimates an Iranian response whether the story is true or false.”
Chris Wallace noted that in the cyber warfare story that appeared on the front page of The New York Times, Gen. Hayden was quoted as saying, “This is the first attack of a major nature in which a cyber attack was used to effect physical destruction. Somebody crossed the Rubicon.” Wallace followed up, asking if he indirectly confirmed U.S. involvement in the cyber attack.
Gen. Hayden staunchly responded, “No. In fact I was quite clear, totally agnostic as to who did this. But it is accepted knowledge and public knowledge that this happened. Whoever did it, crossed a policy barrier, made a decision that in a time of peace, one could use a cyber weapon to effect physical destruction on what another nation could only describe as their own critical infrastructure.”
