Why the Pentagon wants you to know its Mosul war plan

The U.S. military is typically loathe to talk about future operations, but early this week a senior official laid out pretty detailed plans for an assault on Mosul for a roomful of reporters.
The somewhat unusual briefing outraged Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) who complained Friday in a letter to President Obama that the "disclosures not only risk the success of our mission, but could also cost the lives of U.S., Iraqi, and coalition forces."