TO WHITE HOUSE COUNTERTERRORISM CZAR JOHN BRENNAN

For his unverified and unnecessary descriptions of firefights and human shields immediately after the bin Laden takedown, which turned out to be more Hollywood screenplay (or perhaps information operation) than true account. Though the White House, Pentagon and intelligence agencies successfully kept an airtight lid on the operation leading up to the raid, Brennan’s ill-advised and false account of how bin Laden was confronted and killed both undermined the truth — which is how conspiracy theories begin — and fueled a frenzy for more detailed information that rapidly got out of hand. According to comments by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, there was an agreement in place to keep details of the operation private, but it lasted about 15 hours. “Too many people in too many places are talking too much,” he said. The SecDef was right, and the White House could come to regret not having a more disciplined and water-tight communications plan in place. Bin Laden the man is dead. Silence will be the best assassin of his myth.