White House Photo From Israel Revealed Identities of US Special Operations Forces
A photograph of the president in Israel appears to have violated rules about revealing identities of certain service members
The White House communications team published a photograph of President Joe Biden meeting in Israel with American special operations forces but did not blur their faces, a departure from traditional Defense Department practices designed to safeguard the identities of members of the elite units.
The photograph appeared on the White House’s official Instagram account for hours Wednesday and garnered more than 6,000 likes and 792 comments, per screenshots provided to The Messenger before the White House deleted the photograph. President Biden traveled to Israel in the wake of the deadly attack by Hamas that killed more than 1,300 civilians, including 32 U.S. citizens.
Official Defense Department photographs and videos of American special operations forces typically blur the faces of their members, due to the particularly sensitive nature of their jobs. On the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service website, which provides videos and photographs of the U.S. military for world media outlets, the faces of special operations members are normally obstructed, whether they are in training or deployed to a combat zone.
Even during special operation demonstrations for the public in Tampa, Fla., congressional delegations or for high-ranking officials, personnel commonly conceal their faces with clothing like fleece gaiters or balaclava.
The Pentagon referred questions to the White House. The National Security Council did not return a request made by The Messenger for comment.
In the White House photo from Israel, six men wearing combat gear and camouflage watch as Biden shakes hands with one of the service members, in a setting flanked by U.S. and Israeli flags. The men were unshaven, sporting beards or long hair—frequent hallmarks of U.S. special operations forces, particularly in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“In Israel, President Biden met with first responders to thank them for their bravery and the work they’re doing in response to the Hamas terrorist attacks,” read the now deleted Instagram post.
While the photo did not identify the men as members of the U.S. special operations community, current and former Defense Department officials confirmed to The Messenger that they are. The Pentagon and the White House have both publicly acknowledged the presence of U.S. special operations in Israel and The Messenger has previously reported that U.S. special operations forces are working with Israeli authorities on planning potential hostage rescue missions in the Gaza Strip as well as providing intelligence assistance.
The unredacted photograph of Biden meeting U.S. special operation forces in Israel has already resurfaced the false conspiracy theory on social media that as vice president, Biden revealed the names of SEAL Team Six members who carried out the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. Biden did not name SEAL Team Six or any of its members.
Wednesday's photograph also carried echoes of a 2018 incident when former President Donald Trump and his White House communications team posted a video of the president meeting with U.S. service members in a surprise visit to al-Asad air base in Iraq.
President Trump posed for a photograph with U.S. Navy SEALs whose faces were not blurred before it was publicly distributed. The deployments and identities of Navy SEAL teams are also not typically publicized, for operational security concerns. Trump was criticized at the time for jeopardizing the safety of U.S. special operations forces serving in Iraq.
A Defense Department spokeswoman later told Newsweek the video did not violate security protocols because the U.S. special operation forces “voluntarily participated in this open press event.”
