Citing security risks, Pentagon asks nation to 'move on' from bin Laden

WTOL11

WASHINGTON (RNN) - Top Pentagon officials expressed concern Wednesday over the sensitive details revealed to the media about the assault that killed former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

"It is time to stop talking, and we have talked far too much about this. We need to move on," said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen during a joint news briefing with Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates. "It's a story that if we don't stop talking, it will never end, and it needs to."
Gates acknowledged that an agreement between the Pentagon and the White House that no one would disclose sensitive operational details of the raid had been breeched, putting the military's ability to carry out future high-level operations at risk.

"We're close to jeopardizing this precious capability that we have, and we can't do that," Mullen said.
"This fight isn't over."

Mullen went as far as calling out retired members of the military who had spoken to the media.
Gates said he spoke with members of Navy SEAL Team 6, who carried out the operation. The soldiers felt their lives were put in danger by the release of so much information, he said.

"They did express concern not just for themselves but for their families," he said.

Gates and Mullen both expressed the belief that the upper echelons Pakistani government did not know the bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, was hiding in their country.