He Gave an Order

A cyber-attack program, aimed at Iran's nuclear development capabilities, initiated in the Bush administration and developed by a small group within military intelligence, owes its effectiveness to the astonishing leadership abilities of President Obama. That's according to a lengthy article in the NY Times. Obama Order Sped Up Cyberattacks Against Iran crows the headline.

When one of the "worms" the program had developed escaped into the general cyber-community and became known in 2010, Obama grabbed the reins.

“Should we shut this thing down?” Mr. Obama asked, according to members of the president’s national security team who were in the room.

Those lucky guys in that room, getting to witness greatness at work before their very eyes - the leg tingles. And don't discount the momentousness of the President's vision.

Mr. Obama, according to participants in the many Situation Room meetings on Olympic Games [the code name for the program], was acutely aware that with every attack he was pushing the United States into new territory, much as his predecessors had with the first use of atomic weapons in the 1940s, of intercontinental missiles in the 1950s and of drones in the past decade.

You see, Obama's helmsmanship is up there with Truman and Eisenhower - don't kid yourself. Well, I don't want to ruin it for you - read the whole thing - there's more, much much more. You don't want to miss this gripping tale of decisiveness, boldness, and penetrating vision. A story about espionage, code-breaking, immense technical hurdles, rogue agents, multi-agency and international cooperation and intrigue and unintended consequences - why would you think it would be about anything besides Obama?