Good evening. Starting late tonight because Elaine and I were on the phone trying to figure if we had any energy left in us to do entries tonight. It's Friday evening and I think I can rally for one more lap around the field. Let's go to Democracy Now!
Libby Testifies "Superiors" Ordered Leak of Classified Information
New evidence has emerged linking Vice President Dick Cheney to the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame. Investigative journalist Murray Waas has revealed testimony from Lewis "Scooter" Libby -- Cheney's indicted former chief of staff -- before a federal grand jury. Libby testified he had been "authorized" by Cheney and other White House "superiors" to disclose classified information to journalists to defend the Bush administration's use of prewar intelligence in making the case to invade Iraq. Larry Johnson, a former intelligence official and colleague of Plame's said: "This was not some rogue operation, but was directed at the highest levels, and specifically by Dick Cheney. Libby was definitely a man with a mission, but a man who was given a mission."
What if Libby really did blow the whistle on Cheney? Would it make it into the coverage or would it be like Russ Feingold and Patrick Leahy forcing a vote on whether or not Alberto Gonzales should be sworn in for testimony which is something that pretty much got ignored when reporters wrote up their stories on Monday's NSA hearing?
How far up could it go? And is there a reason that Patrick Fitzgerald hasn't indicted Karl Rove?
I was really excited when the investigation was announced and then the press seemed to back down even more than before. By the time Libby was indicted, they really weren't trying to determine what had happened.
Is that a regular failure of the press, that when we need them to shine a light, they tell us "I get scared in the dark!"
If the press had gone after the story of the outing of Valerie Plame back in 2003, how different would things be today?
I have no respect or trust for Matthew Cooper. In 2003, he could have gone public. In 2004, before the election, he could have gone public and written about it. He did go public. So there's none of that "I was protecting a source" because if that's the case, you keep your mouth shut.
Cooper didn't. He kept his conversations with Karl Rove private.
Do you think that knowing the man who was running Bully Boy's campaign had been active in the outing of a CIA agent could have changed the 2004 presidential election? I think it could have. I consider Matthew Cooper a "Bush Pioneer" because, whether he gave money or not, he gave freely of his time to conceal what had happened.
If he'd gone to jail for his principle, I might feel differently. But when he turns yellow at the thought of jail time and starts singing, he can't use that as an excuse. Think about how different the 2004 election might have been if Matthew Cooper hadn't covered up for Karl Rove and the administration. And wonder about how much has been covered up that we've never heard about.
Ex-CIA Mideast Officer Accuses Bush Admin. Of "Cherry-Picking" Iraq Intel
Meanwhile, the CIA's former national intelligence officer for the Middle East has accused the Bush administration of "cherry-picking" intelligence to justify the Iraq invasion. In a new article in Foreign Affairs, Paul Pillar writes: "It has become clear that official intelligence was not relied on in making even the most significant national security decisions. Intelligence was misused publicly to justify decisions already made…and the intelligence community's own work was politicized."
Wonder if ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and all the papers will pick up on this? I don't think they can. I think they'll bury it because they are as a complicit in this war as the Bully Boy. Hope I'm wrong.
Hope you read the indymedia roundup C.I. did last night. Jeremy Hinzman's appeal is going through the courts in Canada. Will he be granted sanctuary or sent back here? It amazes that Canada once accepted resistors (during the Vietnam war) but now has a hard time making the call. Cherry picking intelligence, Bully Boy lying us into war, I don't see granting Hinzman sanctuary as a difficult decision.
Be sure to check out Elaine's site Like Maria Said Paz. And be sure to have a great weekend. I've got a paper due on Monday and I'm not sure how great my weekend will be but you better believe I'm going to try to make it a great one. You try too. If you're feeling down or just wiped out, read Betty's "Thomas Friedman plays the woman scorned" because it will make you laugh and lift your spirits.
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