article_snippet.sent: . Col. Jason Amerine, a planner on the U.S. Army staff, is under investigation over a purported unauthorized disclosure to U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter's office, which has demonstrated a strong interest in the fate of American hostages held by al Qaeda and the Taliban.
article_snippet.sent: Amerine is invoking whistleblower protection and denies making an unauthorized disclosure.
article_snippet.sent: Hunter, a California Republican, released a statement Thursday, saying, "The only government organization seriously developing options to recover Weinstein and others in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region was within the Pentagon -- led by war hero Jason Amerine.
article_snippet.sent: As an Army captain, Amerine led a small detachment of U.S. Special Forces into Afghanistan in November 2001 in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the United States.