So many times in the past, the exposure of Echelon by someone is a prime example. When it was exposed around the world those such as bin Ladin quit using cellphones and radio transmitters.
This eliminated a vital intelliegence tool, even with the new system being put up now, if they don't transmit something, you can't intercept it. The return of the courier system is the result of the knowlege that the messages can be intercepted.

A number of memebers of the press for some reason has a mistaken belief that there are no reason for military secrets. They blithely continue to report military and intelligence assets we have to the world at large. Then decry the failed operations and battlefield casualties.

Another point about this subject, the press made such a hue and cry about spec ops in the past Congress basicly gutted the program.

And a comment about those men and women who through various methods slip into hostile territory and do the dirty work of precise force applied in a precise way. They go forth with full knowlege that if they are caught they will die, unpleasantly. And the government of this country will deny any knowlege of them.

The names they have been called in various venues changes often. But in the business they tend to refer to themselves as SOG, Special Operations Groups. (The phrase came to being in Viet Nam, it began with the Marines as SOC)

This is no great secret, but it does not have the flash that some who purport to report about them like to print or say on camera, so they change the name.

Yes they have their bad apples, and most of those get weeded out quickly. It is a demanding and dangerous way of life. Cowboys don't last long at it.

If you want to fault any action they have commited in the past, blame the upper command chain, they are the ones who form the mission plans and implement policy.

The current state of affairs we now find ourselves in requires the ability of these people to do what they have been trained to do, apply a precise amount of force to a specific target. And have no civilian causualties.

Those who committed this latest act of terror know SOG groups exist, and they scare the holy living sh*t out of them.

But they also know that after the Central American stupidity of the late 70's to early 80's these groups have been for the most part rendered inefective by Congressional decree.

But if these people are allowed to return to full operational effectiveness then a lot of those who believe in inflicting pain and death on innocent people around the world for any cause would find the ground rules had changed, that they no longer held the trump card.

And would fear the night.