Do We Have These Bastards Cornered?

[WilliamPitt]

From a Reuters story that first popped a little while ago on CNN as 'Breaking News':

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-iraq-arrest.html

U.S. Holding Iraqi Said to Have Met 9 / 11 Hijacker
By REUTERS

Filed at 8:02 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military has taken into custody an Iraqi intelligence official who is reported to have met the ringleader of the Sept. 11 hijackers just months before the 2001 attacks, a U.S. official said on Tuesday. The military took Ahmad Khalil Ibrahim Samir al-Ani into custody last week, the official said. Some Czech officials have said al-Ani met Mohammed Atta, suspected leader of the hijackers in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, in Prague in April 2001.

The CIA and FBI were unable to confirm that the meeting took place.

...more...

AND YET we click our heels and count to three and think happy thoughts and sprinkle faerie dust and a wee bit of Crisco around our ears and then get on google and search 'Atta Iraq Meeting' and POOF!

Where are Iraq’s WMDs?

The message was plain: Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction made war unavoidable. So where are they? Inside the administration’s civil war over intel

By Evan Thomas, Richard Wolffe and Michael Isikoff
NEWSWEEK
June 9 issue

http://www.msnbc.com/news/919753.asp?0cv=CB10

(snip)

The Cabal was eager to find a link between Saddam and Al Qaeda, especially proof that Saddam played a role in the 9-11 attacks. The hard-liners at Defense seized on a report that Muhammad Atta, the chief hijacker, met in Prague in early April 2001 with an Iraqi intelligence official. Only one problem with that story, the FBI pointed out. Atta was traveling at the time between Florida and Virginia Beach, Va. (The bureau had his rental car and hotel receipts.)

...more...

So...

There is no doubt but that this is a story that came directly from the administration. They rolled out this old chestnut that has been debunked more times than the old step-on-a-crack-break-your-mother's-back theory. This is not the move of a crew that has all hands at the oars.

This smells like a damned desperate action to me. I first heard this one debunked in July of 2002, a million years ago.

I dunno. I first read it and thought, "These SOBs just don't quit, do they?"

Then I thought, "Damn. A lot of people will hear this and believe it."

Then I thought, "Be that as it may, this is the very very very last arrow in the rhetorical cover quiver, and it is badly bent."

If this doesn't work - if this revelation doesn't turn the tide in their favor - if they somehow manage to survive the fact that this theory was torpedoed a year ago - if they can possibly withstand the beating they will take from big-time writers like Scheer and Herbert and the rest of the editorial pages on both coasts - if this doesn't work, they are flat out of bullets.

This was a hail mary pass, folks. Do your part to make sure it gets intercepted.

[FoxNewsIsTheDevil]

1. No, because this story is reported on more than

the Wilkenson story.

[lazarus]

2. excellent

I'd just avoid getting cocky, but we need to abandon the media on this one. Grassroots it. Just tell everyone we meet. Become annoying if we have to.

[blondeatlast]

3. MoveOn, MoveOn. MoveOn!

Cripes, the schist just gets deeper and deeper and they keep dredging it out.

We've gotta hold the media to the fire on this one, but how?

[Sliverofhope]

4. I have been out of the political bloodstream

I can't really tell how most people are taking this issue. But it is another semi-encouraging sign among many in several days.

However, we really do not need to be cocky. We need to keep the pressure up.

[ibegurpard]

5. Not until I see them in prison stripes.

n/t

[Terwilliger]

6. cool!

one more chain to hang around their necks

[Beetwasher]

7. Well, I think their big distraction was supposed to be the Africa trip and

the Liberia ultimatum. Maybe their pulling out all the stops and throwing this out too because they sense an impending press-shark-feeding-frenzy on the Niger lies? Maybe...I hate getting my hopes up, but really and truly, it doesn't get more cut and dry than we've got them. But I've said that before...

[stevedeshazer]

8. They are cornered

Caught lying, dead to rights. I smell desperation.

Who goes down first? I've got dibs on Condi....

[kentuck]

9. Yeah...and don't fire until you see the whites of their lying eyes...

Crooked lying bastards!

[Jack Rabbit]

10. Will, let me buy this one

:toast:

Goes down good, doesn't it?

ON EDIT

This evening, for the second time in my life, I contacted my congressman to tell him that I believed the President of the United States (or, as the case may be at present, an impostor masqerading as such) should be impeached.

The first time was Saturday night, October 20, 1973.

On the other hand, this time I added that all of his aides should also be removed office. Last time wasn't that bad.

[David Zephyr]

11. I'm With You, William. It Is Their Last...Bent Arrow.

The tide has finally turned. There is no doubt.

There is just too much shit to sanitize.

Memo to Karl Rove: War is not an American political campaign where you can control events, even fabricate events. War is hell, Mr. Rove as you are beginning to find out. When you pack your suitcase, take a few of the "W" keys from the keyboards there at the White House...as soveneirs for your old age.

I hear you, William Pitt---and you sound glorious!

[grasswire]

12. maybe George....

.....will find asylum with Charles Taylor.

[annagull]

13. George better be WEARING his Chuck Taylors

When he gets back from his little "safari". He's going to have to run straight from the White House all the way to Crawford!

[Octafish]

14. Intercept and run back for a touchdown!

Put a quick six on the board for the Good Guys and kick Bushler in the arse for an extra point.

The thing that makes me most proud:

The so-and-so neo-cons played it by hook and by crook. They cheated, lied and murdered for power and gain.

The Democrats, and the nation's real Republicans and Independents, took the high road and never stooped to the neo-con's level.

And, thus, the tide is turning on the little turd from Crawford.

[BGAL1965]

15. These evil people have always been with us

They rode out of Asia with Ghengis Khan. The helped Tamarlane destroy Mesopotamia. They conseled Alexander and Caesar. They declared crusades and then profited from the misery. They declared the inquisition, They rode with Cortez. They proclaimed Napolean and the Kaiser. They supported the madman Hitler and the Butcher Stalin. They proclaimed allegiance to Mao. But their real allegiance and passion is for POWER. Nothing else matters to these people. Not God. Not Country. Not Family. The craving for Power is what motivates them. The pursuit of Power is their obsession. No action is too foul,too base,too evil if it results in their acquiring the obsession. There is nothing that we can do to ever rid ourselves of these people. Since this evil lurkes in all of us. No one is fully immune from the lust for power. No one is too pure to insure against the temptation. All we can do is to constantly strive to set and maintain the highest possible standards of honesty humanity compassion and committment to public service that we can possibly achieve. Then we must be ever vigilant against those who can hide their real intentions. We must force our will(THE PEOPLEs) upon all public servants and any that balk hesitate or seek to subvert the people`s will must be removed from power. Highmindedness may seem a cliche but it is exactly what we most need now. The highmindedness that compells a person to sacrifice oneself for the good of all. Our search for Democracy will never end nor be completely successful. It is an ideal beyond our reach . But we can strive nontheless toward that unreachable goal and make that journey that search one of noblility, of selflessness,of geniune compassion. We can move forward but only if we force those lusting for power back into the shadows of impotent malice. We can never defeat them but as long as we act together they will NEVER CONQUER US!!!!!!!!!!!

[WilliamPitt]

16. INCREDIBLY well said

:toast:

[Eloriel]

18. I'll second that

:toast:

Eloriel

[ibegurpard]

19. Wow, you gave me goosebumps!

:toast:

[mix68]

23. remember too that someday

the left in this country might have to govern, so get use to holding and seeking power

asap

[CWebster]

39. This is precisely why

In order to have a successful civilization, regulation (law) is essential to keep the barbarians, who squeal about "big gubbermint" at bay.

[mix68]

17. drudge is a little slow on this

this could be a tease, the story conceivably could be yanked at the first sign of a firestorm

once it hits drudge, that's hail mary territory

[JCMach1]

20. Not even a hail mary-- this is running it up the middle

at the end of the game when YOU KNOW you are going to lose...!

[IkeWarnedUs]

21. What the hell do people need? A 2 x 4 to the head?

Maybe a neon sign hovering over DC with an arrow pointing down that says, "Bad men here."

The group even calls themselves "The Cabal." I wanted to be sure I understood exactly what that meant, so I checked the dictionary. Cabal: a small group of persons joined in a secret, often political, intrigue; junta.

Then I had to check exactly what "junta" meant. Junta: a group of military men in power after a coup.

<snip>

(from the MSNBC/Newsweek link)

The CIA was especially wary of Chalabi, whom they regarded as a con man (Chalabi has been convicted of bank fraud in Jordan; he denies the charges). But rather than accept the CIA’s doubts, top officials in the Bush Defense Department set up their own team of intelligence analysts, a small but powerful shop now called the Office of Special Plans—and, half-jokingly, by its members, “the Cabal.”

<snip>

Cocky bastards. Let's nail them. I'm making lots of copies of this article.

[proud patriot]

22. You betcha

Sent out ... :hi:

We should also send this to all local papers and
TV as well as Cable ...

Now is the time to act ...Keep the pressure on ...

[Merlin]

24. Perhaps. But we've got to start paying attention to OSP

I've been grinding the OSP axe a lot around here lately, because there seems to be collective amnesia about it. OSP is the key to how they pulled this off, and it's the key to nailing them.

OSP (Office of Special Plans) was established last year as an alternative intelligence source under civilian (Wolfy's) control.

They then mainstreamed phony intel from Chalabi directly to the WH and to the NYT without the prior vetting by or even knowledge of the CIA.

This operation is a clear violation of the spirit, if not the letter, of the National Security Act of 1947 establishing the CIA in the wake of intel failures at Pearl Harbor.

Here are a couple of recent items on it from In These Times:


In an interview with All Things Considered, former CIA analyst Larry Johnson, a self-described Republican, said his former colleagues told him the CIA had concluded Iraq did not pose a threat to the United States, with regards to weapons of mass destruction, but that the CIA’s attempt to get their analysis considered by the administration was “thwarted” by the Pentagon’s Office of Special Plans (OSP). The OSP is the command center of a group of followers of political philosopher Leo Strauss, who—half-jokingly, but wholly in earnest—refer to themselves as the Cabal.

Johnson, saying it appears “Bush is being misled deliberately” by the OSP, is calling for a congressional investigation. “These individuals that have been operating out of the Office of Special Plans at the Department of Defense, I think, represent a clear and present danger to the United States,” he says.
...

... e-mails, leaked to Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz, reveal that Ahmad Chalabi, leader of the Iraqi National Congress and ally of the Pentagon hard liners in the OSP, was the man the Times turned to for confirmation on Iraq’s alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction. The communications in question focus on a turf squabble between John Burns, the Baghdad bureau chief, and Judith Miller, the paper’s reporter for bioterrorism. In response to a chastisement by Burns over her use of Chalabi as a source, Miller wrote, “I’ve been covering Chalabi for about 10 years, and have done most of the stories about him for our paper, including the long takeout we recently did on him. He has provided most of the front page exclusives on WMD to our paper.”

http://www.inthesetimes.org/firststone/

[mvd]

25. Well, we're starting to get smoking guns

That's very good news, and despite the media, I have seen the uranium story displayed today.

[opihimoimoi]

26. I fear the rats will weather the storm, they having media power to deny

and stonewall.

These guys play rough, don forget that, they are brutal.

They will lie their way out, downplay it, and "move on, move on...."

Come, we find some manapua and smoked ribs

[mvd]

28. It will be hard to get the media to make a BIG deal out of things, but..

You'd have to admit there have been some cracks lately. A big key is the Democrats standing up to the misadministration, and they do want a probe of the uranium issue.

I always think that things can start small and grow, but we can't rely on the media unlike before.

[opihimoimoi]

36. Believe me I hope this brings about the fall

and you are right, the Dems are now voicing stronger and stronger concerns, etc

[bpilgrim]

27. and just think of the army of facts we still have on hand!

are you trying to get our hopes up ;->

give'em hell will :toast:

peace

[proud patriot]

29. LBN now WP story on capture includes FBI CIA debunking

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=4278&mesg_id=4278&page=

[nolabels]

30. These people are lower than whale feces

What next, roll out "god told me"? I have seen five year olds lie more intelligently

[ibegurpard]

31. Yes, here was my favorite part:

Perle: "If he chose to, he could confirm the meeting with Atta," Perle said. "It would be nice to see that laid to rest. There's a lot he could tell us."
"Of course, a lot depends on who is doing the interrogating," said Perle, adding he fears that if it were the CIA, it could skew the interrogation so as to play down evidence that the alleged meeting with Atta occurred.

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30323-2003Jul9.html?nav=hptop_ts

A lot depends on who is doing the interrogating????!!!
That is a pretty fucking frightening statement! So now we have an administration official (he IS still an official isn't he? If not, someone needs to shut him up fast) trying to say that the CIA can't be trusted??!! Who do we trust? Perle? :puke:

[Merlin]

32. Can't you just hear that coming out of the mouth of Dr. Strangelove.

"If he chose to, he could confirm the meeting with Atta," Perle said. "It would be nice to see that laid to rest."

I can just see Peter Sellers grimmacing as he says that, reaching out and grabbing the air and twisting!!!

Perle is vermin. No offense to vermin.

[nolabels]

33. Is this what he was meaning about who was doing the interrogation

http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/wot/foreignpolicy/renditiontorture.html
(snip)
Rendition,_torture,_other_forms
of unlawful interrogation

Summary: The United States has been conducting illegal interrogations of suspected terrorists all over the world. Numerous accounts confirm that U.S. Special Forces and the CIA are using torture as a means of interrogation. In cases where U.S. personnel have been unable to extract the sought-after results, the suspects are sent to ‘friendly’ countries – which are notorious for human rights violations – where they are interrogated further under a practice referred to as ‘rendition’.
(snip)
a few pages

[ibegurpard]

34. That's exactly what I was wondering.

:scared:

[proud patriot]

35. Holy Cow ...Wow ..Thanks for posting that nolabels

that site has links to all the sources ...:wow:

[iangb]

37. Cornered?

Will. Watching from afar I've seen countless lies, deceipts and frauds being ignored (if not positively accepted) by the American people.....it looks like they are hearing (and seeing) what they want to believe.....and letting anything that's not in accord with their expectations pass through to the catcher without even a swing.

The WH still holds the upper hand on this.......at worst it'll be a case of "OK we 'mispoke'. But we did it to protect your freedom."

[CWebster]

38. The fundamental problem has always been

not that it wasn't well-documented that they were lying, but that no one was willing to call them on it.

[nolabels]

40. A little kick for Dr. Fate

:kick:

[havocmom]

41. Remember the fear that Saddam would use anything at his disposal

to save his fanny if we attacked? Turns out he had nada at his disposal.

What worries me is that the MisAdministration have an awful lot of awful at their disposal. As they get boxed in and tangled up in their own web of lies, they might do anything to save their fannies. Considering what they have done that can be proven, the possibilities are truly terrifying.