During tonight’s foreign policy presidential Mitt Romney repeated his attack on President Obama for the U.S. Navy and Air Force being smaller than they were in 1917 and 1947 respectively. This is a “pointless” comparison, as CNN noted recently, explaining that it’s “wrong to assume that fewer ships translates to a weaker military” or fighters for that matter “[b]ecause of the technological supremacy of current Navy ships, the military can get more from each one than it did even 10 to 15 years ago.”

Obama pointed this out during the debate:

OBAMA: But I think Governor Romney maybe hasn’t spent enough time looking at how our military works. You mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military’s changed. We have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines.

And so the question is not a game of Battleship, where we’re counting slips. It’s what are our capabilities

Watch the clip:

In other words, 1,000 1940s-era fighter planes combined can’t do what one of today’s B-2 Stealth bomber can do, the same for Navy ships in 1917 versus today.

The Washington Post fact checker agreed with CNN. “This is a nonsense fact.” Factcheck.org noted it’s “a meaningless claim.”

The mother of a former Navy SEAL who was killed in the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya last month has asked Mitt Romney to stop recounting a story about meeting the former SEAL, Glen Doherty, at a holiday party a few years ago.

Romney first relayed the story yesterday during a stump speech in Iowa. “[I] learned about him. He talked about his life. He skied a lot. He had skied in a lot of the places I had and we had a lot of things in common,” Romney said, continuing:

You could imagine how I felt when I found out that he was one of the two former Navy SEALS killed in Benghazi on September the 11. And it touched me, obviously as I realized that this young man that I thought was so impressive had lost his life in the service of his fellow men and women.

Boston’s local NBC affiliate WHDH reported this morning that Doherty’s mother objected to Romney using the story in a campaign speech. “I don’t trust Romney. He shouldn’t make my son’s death part of his political agenda. It’s wrong to use these brave young men, who wanted freedom for all, to degrade Obama,” said Barbara Doherty. WHDH even suggested that it reached out to Romney’s campaign for comment, reporting that “there was no response from the Romney camp.”

Yet Romney used the same story in stump speech today in Ohio. Watch it:

But Romney’s not only telling the story against the wishes of Doherty’s family, he’s also mischaracterizing his encounter with the former SEAL. According to Glen Doherty’s longtime friend, Doherty said Romney had introduced himself four times in the span of less than 30 minutes, saying it was”pathetic” that Romney didn’t know the two had just met:

“He said it was very comical,” [Doherty friend Elf] Ellefsen said, “Mitt Romney approached him ultimately four times, using this private gathering as a political venture to further his image. He kept introducing himself as Mitt Romney, a political figure. The same introduction, the same opening line. Glen believed it to be very insincere and stale.” [...]

“He said it was pathetic and comical to have the same person come up to you within only a half hour, have this person reintroduce himself to you, having absolutely no idea whatsoever that he just did this 20 minutes ago, and did not even recognize Glen’s face.”

Ellefsen said it makes him “sick” that Romney is using the story out on the stump. “Glen would definitely not approve of it,” he said, adding, “He probably wouldn’t do much about it. He probably wouldn’t say a whole lot about it. I think Glen would feel, more than anything, almost embarrassed for Romney. I think he would feel pity for him.”

Defense Department spokesman George Little told reporters today at the Pentagon that the Navy SEAL who authored the book documenting the raid that killed Osama bin Laden contains classified information.

The book, titled “No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden,” has received criticism from government officials and current and former servicemembers because the author, writing under the pseudonym Mark Owen, did not submit the manuscript for pre-clearance.

At the beginning of the press conference, Little would only say that the Pentagon believes the book contains “sensitive and classified” information. “At this stage, let me put it this way. We do think that sensitive and classified information is probably contained in the book,” he said. But when reporters pressed Little to clarify DOD’s views of what’s inside Owen’s book, Little offered a more definitive answer:

LITTLE: Let’s cut through it. Sensitive and classified information is contained in the book. Now, look.

QUESTION: It is?

LITTLE: Is. Is. Is contained. … I’ll — let me put a definitive mark on it, OK, so that I can be as clear as possible. And this is — when you have special operations units that perform these missions, there are tactics, techniques, and procedures, not to mention human life, that are in play. And it is the height of irresponsibility not to have this kind of material checked for the possible disclosure of classified information. And we have very serious concerns after having reviewed the book.

The Defense Department also said that Owen is in violation of disclosure agreements he signed in 2007, a charge Owen’s lawyer disputed, saying the former Navy SEAL has “earned the right to tell his story“:

Robert D. Luskin of the law firm Patton Boggs wrote to Jeh Johnson, the Pentagon’s top lawyer, on Friday informing him that his firm is representing Owen and asserting that he is not in breach of his nondisclosure agreements.

Luskin, who represented White House aide Karl Rove in the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame’s identity in the Bush administration, said the author had “sought legal advice about his responsibilities before agreeing to publish his book and scrupulously reviewed the work to ensure that it did not disclose any material that would breach his agreements or put his former comrades at risk. He remains confident that he has faithfully fulfilled his duty.”

No Easy Day went on sale today and is expected to knock the Twilight-inspired “Fifty Shades of Grey” off the top spot on many best-seller lists.

NBC News reports that users on websites affiliated with al-Qaeda have posted the name and photo of an American Navy SEAL who led the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. The New York Times reported this week that the SEAL, writing under the pseudonym Mark Owen, wrote a book documenting the events of the raid — news that came as a surprise to the industry and even the U.S. government.

Fox News yesterday revealed Owen’s true identity and Business Insider published photos. Now it appears al-Qaeda affiliates and/or sympathizers are looking for revenge:

Users on several militant Islamic websites affiliated with al-Qaida have posted the name and photo of a former Navy SEAL identified as the author of an upcoming book on the commando raid that killed Osama bin Laden. The posts called for his “destruction” in revenge for the al-Qaida founder’s killing.

Among the website publishing the death threats was the “Al-Fidaa” web forum, which al-Qaida uses to distribute its media and public communications, said Evan Kohlmann, an NBC News consultant and a terrorism analyst at Flashpoint Partners, a global security firm.

Even in the aftermath of the raid last year, top U.S. officials have warned against revealing the names of those who participated in it our of concern for their safety. Pentagon officials and even the book’s publisher are continuing to urge reporters against reporting Owen’s true identity.

Fox News already published the name of the Navy SEAL who has written a book documenting his experience leading the special ops team that ending up killing Osama bin Laden. Other media outlets have even published pictures of the SEAL, who wrote the book under the pseudonym “Mark Owen.”

Penguin, the book’s publisher, had previously asked reporters not to divulge Owen’s real name, saying that he faced “risks to his personal security.” And CNN’s Barbara Starr said the network will not report Owen’s real name. “CNN is not doing so at this time at the request of the Pentagon,” she said yesterday, “which is citing its concern about the security of the other SEAL team members.”

Meanwhile, military officials, many of whom have criticized Owen for writing the book, are reminding soldiers of their commitment to keep quiet about their missions. The Daily Beast reports that current special operations commander Adm. William McCraven sent a letter to his forces warning them against going public with classified and sensitive information:

In the letter, McRaven said that while it was within the rights of former special-operations soldiers to “write books about their adventures, it is disappointing when these actions either attempt to represent the broader [special-operations forces] community, or expose sensitive information that could threaten the lives of their fellow warriors.”

McRaven also issued a veiled warning to the author: “Every member of the special-operations community with a security clearance signed a non-disclosure agreement that was binding during and after service in the military. If the U.S. Special Operations Command finds that an active-duty, retired or former service member violated that agreement and that exposure of information was detrimental to the safety of U.S. forces, then we will pursue every option available to hold members accountable, including criminal prosecution where appropriate.”

Many current and former SEALs are also troubled by Owen’s decision to write the book in the first place, even if under a pseudonym. Some told Fox News that they consider Owen a “traitor.”

The book’s publisher says Owen “was one of the first men through the door on the third floor of the terrorist leader’s hideout and was present at his death.” The CIA and other relevant government agencies said they were not notified that the book was being written or that it would be published.

Fox News today published the name of a U.S. Navy SEAL who led the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan last year that ended up in the al-Qaeda leader’s death. The SEAL under the pseudonym Mark Owen is the author of a book set to be released on Sept. 11 detailing the events of the raid. The book’s publisher says Owen “was one of the first men through the door on the third floor of the terrorist leader’s hideout and was present at his death.”

Fox News said that “multiple sources” told the news outlet Owen’s real name but Fox did not provide any details about its decision to publish it. The book seemingly provides some clues as to the SEAL’s real identity as, according to the New York Times, Owen “recalls his childhood in Alaska.”

Defense Department, CIA and White House officials said they have not reviewed the content of Owen’s book and that they first heard of its existence from media reports. And as the Fox report publishing Owen’s name notes, he “could be exposing himself to legal trouble, as the Pentagon has not vetted the account“:

Lt. Cmdr. Chris Servello, a Navy spokesman, said it’s possible [Owen] or any former service member could be punished for revealing national security secrets. “Any service member who discloses classified or sensitive information could be subject to prosecution — this doesn’t end when you leave the service,” Servello said. “There is nothing unique to the special warfare community in this regard.”

Current and former SEALs criticized Owen for speaking out. “How do we tell our guys to stay quiet when this guy won’t?” one SEAL told Fox while others reportedly called Owen a “traitor.”

Mother Jones’s Adam Weinstein notes that Justin Fishel, the Fox News reporter who revealed Owen’s name, also reported last year that the SEALs who participated in the bin Laden raid wanted to protect their identities out of concern for their safety. “There has been a consistent and effective effort to protect the identity of those that participated in the raid and I think that that has to continue,” Fishel reported then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates saying at the time.