A Daily Caller op-ed predicted almost a month ago what a military source recently told Fox News: The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has used information broadcast by the Obama administration to better secure its remaining hostages.
The day after a video surfaced of an ISIS executioner beheading American journalist James Foley, the Obama administration leaked information to the press about a failed classified special forces operation to rescue Foley and other hostages. (RELATED: Secret July Mission To Rescue Foley And Other Hostages Revealed)
ISIS has now taken measures to better secure the remaining hostages, a military source told Fox News Saturday, including dispersing them to multiple locations and doubling the number of guards on each hostage.
The White House said it revealed the classified operation to pre-empt several reporters who had already learned about the operation and were preparing to report it.
A ranking Department of Defense official predicted the leak would be costly and damaging in an op-ed for TheDC in August. “The politicized leak of this operation cut through the fog of war to let our enemies know exactly what happened that day in the desert,” he wrote. “And because of that, future attempts to free American hostages will be more difficult to plan, farther between, and more dangerous to carry out.”
ISIS has beheaded American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and British aid worker David Haines. Another British aid worker, Alan Henning, could be next.