Q: How and why was the identity of Shakil Afridi, the doctor who helped the CIA confirm that Osama bin Laden was at the compound in Abbottabad and who now has been convicted of conspiring against Pakistan, ever revealed?
-- Michelle Hutchinson, Marietta
A: A senior administration official told FoxNews.com that Pakistanis informed on Dr. Afridi. "If you go back to the first stories about the doctor's alleged affiliation with the U.S., it was clear Pakistani authorities leaked it to the press," according to the article. "The Pakistanis found Dr. Afridi on their own. There was no attempt to disclose this individual's name or association with the operation. That defies logic. Identities of human sources are sacrosanct in the intelligence community." The article also stated that an administration official said "there were efforts to protect Dr. Afridi both before and after his arrest," but there was no explanation "as to why they weren't able to successfully protect him or remove him from the country before he was arrested."
Q: Who wrote the bill to allow our Social Security tax revenue to be mingled with general funds? When did this pass?
-- Peter Remsen, Atlanta
A: The Social Security Administration states this is a myth. (It is addressed at http://www.ssa.gov/history/InternetMyths2.html.) "There has never been any change in the way the Social Security program is financed or the way that Social Security payroll taxes are used by the federal government," according to the SSA website. "The Social Security Trust Fund was created in 1939 as part of the Amendments enacted in that year. … The Social Security Trust Fund has never been 'put into the general fund of the government.'"
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? Our news researcher will try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city). Sorry, individual responses are not possible.
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