The new fuss by congressional Republicans about whether the White House leaked for political advantage classified documents revealing recent U.S. involvement in cyberattacks and drone warfare may be an attempt to distract Americans from the policy issues themselves.

The New York Times and other news outlets have carried extensive reports on the use of cyberattacks against Iran's nuclear industry and the use of unmanned armed vehicles, or drones, to kill foreigners and Americans targeted by the United States in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen.

Each tactic has supporters and detractors. The advantage of using cyberattacks on Iran to disrupt its nuclear program is that such attacks are far preferable to a conventional military assault on Iran, by Israel, the United States or the two together. The latter would almost certainly lead to another general Middle East war.

The drawback of employing this tactic in Iran is that it broadens the global battlefield into an area where the United States, in spite of its technological achievements, remains enormously vulnerable. If a cyberattack can severely damage Iran's computer-controlled nuclear reactors, think what chaos would ensue from a counter-cyberattack on part of the U.S. power grid, for example.

The use of drones raises equally complex problems. Although they can kill enemies without putting U.S. forces at risk, they dehumanize warfare, particularly when it is the president in effect pulling the trigger from halfway around the globe. The United States is now spreading the availability of drone technology, which is not overly complex, to Italy. What happens when Italy sells it to another country?

Republicans have charged that the White House has leaked information about these two programs to inoculate President Barack Obama and Democrats against the traditional campaign charge that his party is flaccid on national defense. In response, the administration has named two prosecutors to look into charges that classified documents have been leaked.

It's possible that both sides' approach to the issue of possible leaks is only a red herring to stop Americans from thinking about and discussing the real policy issues here, the wisdom of America's using cyberattacks and drones in global warfare.

First Published: June 12, 2012, 4:00 a.m.
Updated: June 12, 2012, 4:19 a.m.