Juan Cole: Did the Bush Administration Burn a Key al-Qaeda Double Agent?

[grytpype]

Juan Cole on the latest colossal clusterfark to be committed by the Bush Administration:

http://www.juancole.com/2004_08_01_juancole_archive.html#109185597245383648

Why in the world would Bush administration officials out a double agent working for Pakistan and the US against al-Qaeda? In a way, the motivation does not matter. If the Reuters story is true, this slip is a major screw-up that casts the gravest doubts on the competency of the administration to fight a war on terror. Either the motive was political calculation, or it was sheer stupidity. They don't deserve to be in power either way.

It's looking like they exposed Khan to deflect criticism over the new Terra Alert. Like the exposed Plame to deflect criticism over the Niger fiasco.

Here's what Kerry should do: demand that the responsible parties be fired immediately. Immediately. Bush cannot win a showdown like that. He either does what Kerry says and looks submissive or he lets the leakers keep their jobs, and looks incompetent and weak.

And who was the responsible party? My money is on Doug Feith. You can usually catch him hanging around the scene of a disaster.

[DBoon]

1. Firing them is too easy

they should be charged with a federal felony.

[madrchsod]

2. ask senator shelby

and fox news...oh i forgot -nothing to see, move on.....

[enough]

3. "a major screw-up"

I keep thinking of the howling that would be happening if this had happened under Clinton.

[NV1962]

4. Incompetence, treason - or both?

That's the same question I ask, too.

But credit goes to Reuters, for pursuing this angle with no less than two muscular, tough-worded reports.