Watergate Redux: There is a cancer on the presidency

[CatWoman]

Now, we have another cancer on the presidency. It began in July when it was learned that "two senior White House officials" -- many have pointed fingers at Karl Rove, some at Dick Cheney -- had leaked to journalists the identity of undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame (a felony, perhaps treason). As everyone knows, the leak was no simple case of incompetence. It served as nasty political revenge against Plame's husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, who would not take the fall for the claim that Saddam had received uranium from Niger. He had, in fact, investigated this claim by going to the sources and verifying that it was fraudulent, and apprising both Cheney and CIA director George Tenet of this.

Nonetheless, those "yellow cake" claims ended up in Bush's State of the Union address one year ago. They became the pretext for an invasion of a nation that posed no imminent threat to our nation, in violation of every international treaty or code of conduct to which we have ever subscribed.

The only journalist of the several contacted by the "senior White House officials" who did the White House's dirty work was Bob Novak. With partisan glee -- one is tempted to say with pornographic glee -- he printed Plame's name in his column knowing full well what he was doing. Plame is one of the CIA's foremost experts on keeping weapons of mass destruction out of the hands of terrorists. "Outing" her is a disastrous breach of national security. Though we may never know how much damage was done, it's estimated that as many as 70 deaths of her "assets" around the world may have resulted from Novak's revelation.

When the story of the leak broke in September (Novak's story ran in July), Bush feigned cooperation with a Department of Justice probe. Bush did what he does best: lied with a straight smirk. That is, he actually told a roomful of reporters, "I don't know if we're going to find out the senior administrative official. This is a large administration and there's a lot of senior officials." (Never mind that that's suspiciously close to an excuse my 3-year-old son would use.)

http://hartfordadvocate.com/gbase/News/content?oid=oid:49159

[mw]

1. Except with Bush, it's a presidency growing on a cancer

The Bush Crime Family is a cancer on all that is decent in America.

The faux presidency of George W. is growing off that.

[salin]

2. wow - I have never read this assertion before:

Though we may never know how much damage was done, it's estimated that as many as 70 deaths of her "assets" around the world may have resulted from Novak's revelation. Is this saying that 70 people that were related to her networks have died?

[Gin]

3. he is a cancer...a radical group of cells out of control....and we have

cockroaches in congress.

[indepat]

4. And a majority on the Supreme Court who would apparently ignore

each and every assault on our Constitution?

[alfredo]

5. I have the distinct impression this government has

turned on us. It isn't just corruption, but a virulent dislike of this country, its people, and its institutions.

[indepat]

6. Everything good this country has ever stood for?

[nightperson]

7. Re: 70 deaths of assets?

I have no idea if that number is correct. Does anyone know more about this? I guess the claim has been floating around on sites like this-www.cfuct.org/archives/000094.shtml for a while. Al Miller and (I think) New York's Newsday have reported on it, but I'm not sure and it's hard to find info on the net to confirm or deny anything. :shrug: :shrug: The treatment of the entire serious Plame story has been so weird for so long. You'd think this would merit 24/7 O.J.-style coverage. I hope a lot of media poodles will lose a lot of credibility for either blatantly being out to lunch or revealingly "out of the loop" on all this. I think Josh Marshall has been implying as much recently, right? Regardless of the outcome, I think many people of differing political persuasions will look back :crazy:, ask :wtf:, and :puke: . Nobody likes living in a Bizarro world.

[DrBB]

10. It's been out there. Dubious.

Can't recall the source--was it Ray McGovern?--but that was a "worst case" speculation and not endorsed by more mainstream leftist commentators. Josh Marshall for instance, who has been one of the most vigorous pursuers of l'affaire Plame.

This editorial is certainly correct in its basic thrust--I especially like the last line--but pretty loose with its details. "Possibly treason" is quite a reach, for instance. I see a lot of people slinging that around, and it may be morally true but it's not part of the legal statute. It is the term George I used in describing the act of outing a covert asset back when it was made a crime, but it isn't defined as treason in the law, just a felony.

[kayell]

8. Once again it may be the coverup that will take them down

If they are voted out in 2004, we seriously need to make sure that they are tried for treason. If they *shudder* make it back in, Cheney MUST be impeached first, although I'm not laying any bet's that after a repuke win in 2004 we would have much of a country left, much less a legislature with the guts to actually face up to the illegal doings of the BFEE.

[indepat]

9. Has not this malignancy spread to the Congress who will rubber-stamp

anything, the Supreme Court who will not strike down unconstitutional law, and the fourth estate who will not keep the people informed, but rather shill for policies clearly detrimental to we the people?

[indepat]

11. If what former Secretary O'Neill is reported to have said is true,

has this entire Administration been one big cancer, one big criminal enterprise: does not connecting all the dots give the answer?