Bush aide chides media for intel leaks

WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush's assistant on counter-terrorism has warned the media about leaking a classified National Intelligence Estimate.

In a telephone new conference Tuesday night, Bush's assistant for Homeland Security, Frances Townsend began by commenting on the weekend leak of parts of an April estimate that said Iraq had become a training ground for a growing number of Islamist militants.

"Let me be clear that, you know, with every unauthorized disclosure of classified information it does harm to our national and homeland security," Townsend said. "Every leak is a victory for our enemies who plot to kill us, because we tell them something about our knowledge, our intelligence capability and our perspective on their capability."

Tuesday, Bush ordered the release of the document after minor security redactions were made.

Some intelligence officials told The Washington Post they didn't understand the media response to the report's findings.

"This is very much mainstream stuff," said Paul Pillar, the CIA's national intelligence officer for the Near East and South Asia from 2000-05. "There are no surprises."