The Memory Hole
Thomas Jocelyn compares Mary McCarthy's position on the attack on the so-called Al-Shifa chemical weapons factory in the Sudan with that of Richard Clarke. Jocelyn brings up this bit of history from page 128 of the 9-11 Commission Notes:
On November 4, 1998, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York unsealed its indictment of Bin Ladin, charging him with conspiracy to attack U.S. defense installations. The indictment also charged that al Qaeda had allied itself with Sudan, Iran, and Hezbollah. The original sealed indictment had added that al Qaeda had "reached an understanding with the government of Iraq that al Qaeda would not work against that government and that on particular projects, specifically including weapons development, al Qaeda would work cooperatively with the Government of Iraq." This passage led Clarke, who for years had read intelligence reports on Iraqi-Sudanese cooperation on chemical weapons, to speculate to Berger that a large Iraqi presence at chemical facilities in Khartoum was "probably a direct result of the Iraq-Al Qida agreement." Clarke added that VX nerve precursor traces found near al Shifa were the "exact formula used by Iraq."
Mary McCarthy did not at first support the decision to strike the chemical factory at al-Shifa, but she soon came on board.
The report of the 9/11 Commission notes that the National Security staff reviewed the intelligence in April 2000 and concluded that the CIA's assessment of its intelligence on bin Laden and al-Shifa had been valid; the memo to Clinton on this was cosigned by Richard Clarke and Mary McCarthy, the NSC senior director for intelligence programs, who opposed the bombing of al-Shifa in 1998. The report also notes that in their testimony before the commission, Al Gore, Sandy Berger, George Tenet, and Richard Clarke all stood by the decision to bomb al-Shifa.
Jocelyn concludes by saying:
There was a time when Mary McCarthy knew about the connection between Saddam's Iraq and al Qaeda. Just as Richard Clarke did. Will The Washington Post explore this topic? Probably not. Why? That's not what Mary McCarthy was leaking to them.
Commentary
So was there an Iraq-Bin Laden connection? Did Iraq have a chemical weapons program? It's like the Whack-a-Mole. Now you see it, now you don't. In an earlier post I wrote:
Here's the problem as I see it. The leaky and politicized intelligence system has made it difficult to judge the truth value of any proposition. Did the Plame affair damage national security? Did Ms. McCarthy's actions damage national security? Is there someone lying dead in a gutter because somebody talked? The answer to those questions about the intelligence agencies is going to be answered by the intelligence agencies themselves. And so we come full circle to the modern version of the Cretan Paradox: which asserts that when a Cretan says 'all Cretans are liars' all logical roads lead to a contradiction. How then to know the truth about the lies? When intelligence agencies -- and I use that word broadly to encompass the press, which is the civilian intelligence system -- are politicized, then even our knowledge about our knowledge becomes uncertain. We are in a Wilderness of Mirrors indeed. ... in Washington politics, like the gravitational field of a massive Black Hole, distorts everything. In regions sufficiently close to the political event horizon truth and facts simply cease to exist.
Commentary etiquette
In the interests of keep comment threads lively and allowing others to jump in, please try and limit yourself to about five comments per post unless there is an extraordinary reason to do otherwise. It might also help if commenters tried to avoid very long replies. Use a link instead of copying and pasting large sections of reference. Please try and observe these guidelines out of respect for everybody.
posted by wretchardthecat at 4/22/2006 07:55:00 PM
70 Comments:
Wretchard laments the distortions that make knowledge "uncertain". I think he is too diplomatic to use the word "corrupt".
Hmmm, but there's always one simplest solution, the most likely conclusion from the facts at hand.
Ever since we've re-considered "what the meaning of is, is" we seem to find it difficult to agree on facts.
So much criticism of the war is blatant disregard of easily found facts, history, current events. In a context of common facts, the current Progressive argument is that we are wasting our time ... fighting our enemies? Isn't this EXACTLY what our enemies would like us to think? Another Vietnam.
Yuck.
Tony, that's what bedevils the bejeezis outta me--where is all the context, all the continuity--how did we find ourselves floating on a two dimensional sea of dots? Everything the same size, all gone tomorrow?
"[B]ecause the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression."
When Rousseau read that, and thought "how divine", mankind entered the modern battle for his soul.
dan, i guess grate minds run alike, huh?
"no one has ever been so witty as you are in trying to turn us into brutes: to read your book makes one long to go on all fours." - Voltaire's response to Rousseau.http://humanities.uchicago.edu/homes
/VSA/letters/8.30.1755.html
What would he have thought of the Lord of the Flies? What does Ms. McCarthy think of Rousseau and Golding? Mr. Clinton?
"Reading between the lines" kept Pravda a good source of truth, for the discriminating.
Dan 9:55 PM,
Given what was in Sandy's Pants, and when, I don't think it can be read in any other way.
Trish, the insider, posted optimistic comments about needed change happening at the end of the last thread.
10:09 PM Wish Verc was here.
Taliban Attack U.S - Backed Afghan Builder
McCarthy Firing
Several former senior intelligence officials said yesterday they could not recall a similar sanction being levied against a serving CIA officer in the past several decades, although they said they would have supported such an action if the agency had been able to trace a leak of a similar nature back to its source.
A majority of CIA officers would probably "find the action taken [against McCarthy] correct," said a former senior intelligence official who said he had discussed the matter with former colleagues in the past day.
"A small number might support her, but the ethic of the business is not to" leak, and instead to express one's dissenting views through internal grievance channels.
Since Bush appointed a Republican ally and former lawmaker, Porter J. Goss, to replace George J. Tenet as the agency's chief in September 2005, Goss has repeatedly criticized the media for writing about sensitive intelligence matters and called for reporters to be forced to reveal their sources to grand juries.
He personally oversaw the leak investigation that led to McCarthy's dismissal, rather than asking the Justice Department to do it -- as previous directors had requested in similar probes.
OT
Shades of Babs Bodine
And in a subtle but important shift contained in a classified order last year, the Pentagon gained the leeway to inform -- rather than gain the approval of -- the U.S. ambassador before conducting military operations in a foreign country, according to several administration officials. "We do not need ambassador-level approval," said one defense official familiar with the order.
Dana Disagrees Trish.
Dana Priest:
Thank you. Don Graham called me up to his office and told me, with Len Downie, Phil Bennett (managing editor) and Liz Spayd (national editor) present.
It was a greeaaat moment.
Lots of hugs.
What really made it feel like Christmas, though, was that my other great friends and colleagues won as well.
As for the other prize-winners, they and so many of the finalists are such a testament to the powerful work that can be done by newspapers these days.
You should go to the Pulitzer Web site and check it out.
It's amazing work.
Chester is worth reading:
Mary McCarthy: The Left's CIA Mole
5. BEAT REPORTING
For a distinguished example of beat reporting characterized by sustained and knowledgeable coverage of a particular subject or activity, in print or in print and online, Ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
Awarded to Dana Priest of The Washington Post for her persistent, painstaking reports onsecret "black site" prisons and other controversial features of the government’scounterterrorism campaign.
http://www.pulitzer.org/
Maybe one of the bigger mistakes, post 9-11 was sticking w/Tenet too long?
Some at our local forum called for his ouster within months.
I wasn't one at that time.
A Day to Celebrate in the Newsroom
Two records are worth noting. The Post newsroom has won 19 Pulitzers under Downie -- more than any editor in history. The Post also has a record in public service finalists -- six in seven years with two winners.
Monday ended with a party on the roof of the Hay-Adams Hotel, overlooking the White House and downtown Washington. For a day, there were no falling circulation numbers or angry bloggers or disappointed readers. Only celebration. Then back to work.
"There are times when she comes to know more about what she is reporting than some senior officials of the agencies she covers."
She said:
"The stakes [for journalism] could not be higher and the obstacles just keep growing."
...and then there's the stakes for the rest of the World.
But I distract.
"David Finkel, a national reporter, won in the explanatory division for a series documenting the failure of a democracy-building project in Yemen.
Finkel, a winner after being a finalist six times, has been at The Post for 16 years."
---
I was going to look for that, but it's just another failure.
Mighta Known.
Finkle Visits the Daily Kos
He came back the next day and we did it again, though we did manage to go out for lunch. The Post paid the tab;
I was shocked to learn that Finkel would not accept a glass of water from me;
he didn't want the slightest hint of impropriety, which meant not even using our bathroom, I discovered.
I suppose I should be more exercised over what McCarthy did.
Here's why I'm not:
What the Washington Post did in writing its expose about the prisons was right. What McCarthy did was against the law. The two are not incompatible. National security was trumped by the public's right to know. These two also are not incompatible. Messy to be sure, but that's American democracy for ya.
Wretchard said,
"How then to know the truth about the lies? When intelligence agencies -- and I use that word broadly to encompass the press, which is the civilian intelligence system -- are politicized, then even our knowledge about our knowledge becomes uncertain."
All intelligence agencies, all, use the concept of "the need to know". Regardless of your level of clearance, you are restricted to your assigned area. This becomes more strictly applied as the sensitivity increases. One base, or a rumor of a base in Eastern Europe may be what it seems or maybe not. It could be a critical link established at great political or personal risk to individuals in that country. Recall that there was immediate criticism from the older EU countries about the new Eastern Europe entrants, not representing EU interests. The idea made respectable by Jimmy Carter in the amnesty given to Viet Nam era cowards, traitors and draft dodgers has set the precedent for the selective disobedience of federal laws. The only requirement is the cause.
These intelligence-busting vigilantes are naive; they are smug and self-righteous. They are dangerous scum. They have caused good men their careers, fortune and lives. I can picture the face of a good man killed in Athens because of the ilk of McCarthy.
As bad as this type of activity is, and it is worse than you think, it does not compare to the damage being done by lack of governmental response. The fool on the hill will dither away until someone explains to him the need and advantage to strike back at this fast and hard. We know it is hard work to be presidential. But pretty please, can we just enforce the law for a change?
Mullen said
"National security was trumped by the public's right to know. These two also are not incompatible. Messy to be sure, but that's American democracy for ya."
There is no "public right to know". There is no "right to privacy". If both rights existed you arrive back at Wretchard's Cretan paradox.
As I have said many times the US is not engaged in a War of anything but words.
Or so it seems, by the seriousness not applied by the Federal Government to the effort.
CIA agents "leak" war secrets and are fired, no Special Prosecutor or indictment for the miscreant.
Our enemies are handed control of a country occupied by US, and we celebrate.
President Bush said of the Election of Mr Milikai
"“Yet, the enemies of freedom have suffered a real blow today, and we’ve taken a great stride on the march to victory.
“This historic achievement by determined Iraqis will make America more secure,” he said.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called him a patriot and “somebody with whom we can work,” even if he disagrees with the United States on certain issues. ... "
Yet he fails to describe how putting a radical secetarian Shia into the PM slot secures US.
The real divisions withi Iraq are left unaddressed by Mr Milikai's ascention to Power
"... “Weapons should be only the hands of the government,” al-Maliki told reporters. He pointed to laws requiring militias to be integrated into the nation’s security forces.
Al-Maliki’s toughest task will be assigning control of the defense and interior ministries, responsible for the army and the police. Sunnis have accused the Shiite-run Interior Ministry of tolerating death squads that target Sunni civilians. Army and police ranks are believed to be infiltrated by militias.
The current interior minister belongs to the largest Shiite party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, believed to operate a militia. U.S. officials have insisted the next minister have no ties to militias. ... "
But there are no Iraqi Politicians without ties to Militias.
Mr Milikai's option to "Integrate" the militias into the ISF dilutes the strength of which Force?
Finally the fault lines are still existent within the System
" ... the Mahdi Army, is controlled by radical anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who supported al-Jaafari for another term. Al-Sadr refuses to disband his force unless other militias are abolished and the army and police prove capable of protecting Shiites from Sunni extremists.
While politicians from all sides called for unity and an end to sectarianism in Saturday’s parliament session, the differences were visible.
The new Sunni parliament speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, insisted the armed forces must be built “on the basis of national loyalty” and spoke strongly against sectarian violence — code among Sunnis for militia violence.
Then a lawmaker stood and chided him for not speaking out against terrorism — a reference to the Sunni-led insurgency.
Al-Jaafari took the podium and barked, “Your only enemy is terrorism. That is all.” ... "
Seems Mr al-Jaafari is still an influence in the Game, despite no being PM
" ... Al-Maliki was deputy chairman of a committee formed to purge Saddam allies from political life. Many Sunnis believed the committee’s goal was to deny them a role in Iraq.
He also was a tough negotiator in deliberations over Iraq’s new constitution, passed last year despite Sunni Arab objections. He resisted U.S. efforts to put more Sunnis on the drafting committee as well as Sunni efforts to dilute provisions giving Shiites and Kurds the power to form semiautonomous mini-states in the north and south. ... "
So there it is, the US is "more secure" now that Mr Milikai is the "man",
and little Ms Mary is out of a job, but not "busted".
See you all on the beach, cause this whole escapade is headed "South".
Now there are two job reference letters.
1. NYT: Colleagues Say C.I.A. Analyst Played by the Rules
2. ABC: Will CIA Firing Cloud Public Window on Government?
These leaks have been continuous for over a decade. They have stifled American options and capabilities throughout the world.
As noted in an earlier comment, the Left hates the idea of deporting terrorists to the land of their citizenship - often a land of torture and depravity. But, they also don't like imprisoning terrorists for undetermined lengths of time - whether here or abroad. Guess what, terrorist once terrorist again.
The Clarke/McCarthy VX/Aspirin factory debate is just another symptom of stasis. They cannot make decisions and live with them - they are conflicted. The only thing that makes consensus possible for the Left is the intrinsic belief that nothing of scope will be done based on that consensus – because there is no 100% mandate.
Thus, the legions of academics that filled the intelligence agencies during the reign of Clinton could come together with confidence. They knew that little would be done. There was always time to forge consensus and coalitions. On 9/11 that ended...
Mr Robert Kaplan, of "Imperial Grunt" fame, writes:
"... We are entering a well-armed world, with more players than ever who can unhinge the international system and who have fewer reasons to be afraid of us. That's why a resentful state leader, armed with disruptive technologies and ready to make use of stateless terrorists, poses such a threat. Hussein was a wannabe in this regard. According to a Joint Forces Command study, parts of which appeared in the May/June issue of Foreign Affairs, he was preparing thousands of paramilitary fighters from throughout the Arab world to defend his regime and to be used for terror attacks in the West. Looking ahead, Ahmadinejad would also be a prime candidate for such tactics, as would Chavez, given his oil wealth and the elusive links between South American narco-terrorists and Arab gangs working out of Venezuelan ports.
We face a world of unfriendly regimes, even as our European allies are compromised by burgeoning Muslim populations and the Russians and Chinese deal amicably with dictators, because they have no interest in a state's moral improvement. Never before have we needed a more unified military-diplomatic approach to foreign policy. For the future is a multidimensional game of containment. ... "
The whole piece is interesting but since it's in the WaPo, many will discount the work's quality, authenticity and accuracy.
Just like the "work product" of the CIA.
It is not George "Slam Dunk" Tenent or Peter "we know where Osama is" Goss that is the problem. It's is not just "Clinton Appointees", though they are part of the problem.
It is the entire Government's inability to function at it's various Missions, effectively.
Beyond Mr Bush's own suppossed "incompetence" is the fact the entire Federal Government from the CIA & State to the Forest Service, behaves incompetently, and has for years.
Desert Rat,
You are being a bit hard on all us gubmint flaks...
The Clinton era was extremely hard to deal with. The closest comparison would have been the 'Wiz Kid' era of Lyndon Johnson. They do not value the military, and they do not value the intelligence community. In fact, they provided 'early out' bonuses to 'shrink the size of government' in those regions.
When the Clintonistas squeal that General Shinkeki wanted 400,000 troops they conveniently forgot that they left that military with 600,000 troops (ground forces). They would have been unable to do anything, thus we would have sent the FBI out to investigate and prosecute al Qaeda.
I used to sign my personal correspondence (fancy term for personal emails, but...) with:
'I survived the Clinton Legacy!!!'
As to the Political rift, here in the US over Mr Bush's Strategies and Tactics,
Mr Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security advisor to President Carter from 1977 to 1981, writes
"... Although the United States is clearly dominant in the world at the moment, it has neither the power nor the domestic inclination to impose and then to sustain its will in the face of protracted and costly resistance. That certainly is the lesson taught by its experiences in Vietnam and Iraq. ... "
His article in the LA Timesdescribes the Strategy that Mr Bush has taken towards Iran as all wrong in "Been there, done that"
Desert Rat,
Let us not forget that the Clinton era lasted eight (8) years... And, the conflicted Liberals controlled the Senate for another two (2)...
The Last DOD budget under Clinton was 290 Billion, we are running at 520 Billion now. And, the Clinton DOD budget increased in his final year...
boghie,
I did not mean to imply that ALL Government workers were incompetent, just most of the "work product".
The Military accomplishes some Missions with distiction, others though are never complete.
While the individual troops in Somolia were valient to a man, the product was disaster.
The CIA, untrust worthy product, at best.
The Forest Service, here in AZ, was operating outside the Law.
Border Security & Immigration, Airport Security, Amtrack, and FEMA under Mike Brown.
Ruby Ridge & Waco. The Gonzalaz boy that was returned to Castro.
The list of incidents is endless, the Authority of the Federals unchallenged, their competency in question, no matter who is President.
Zbigniew Brzezinski fought a variant of the cold war on the basis of 'human rights'.
I reviewed his history and found it mixed, but not negative (other than Iran and the support of the mujajadeen in Afghanistan - both hindsight so I'll give him that)
However, where is his concern over human rights now?
He hung Iran - an 'ally' - out to dry in 1978 by pushing human rights. However, in 2006 he doesn't see the progress of human rights as a path to America security.
Me thinks he has spent too much time reading and commenting on teh DailyKos website.
Check out Drudge.
J Effen K is defending his gal Mary...sort of.
How bizarre.
Then, boghie, they WERE THE GOVERNMENT and the Government is, was, and by it's very nature, will continue to be more of the same.
Martha Stewart's prosecution was for "lying to investigators", not illegal trades.
Mr Libby is up on charges of "lying to investigators" not leaking information.
Ms Mary McCarthy, what is she being prosecuted for? nada.
Government workers Slide while citizens and Republicans to time.
Politics in Prosecution,
Selective enforcement of the Law
Not the type of competency I'd like in my heart specialist.
Ooo, ahhhhh, Zbigniew Brzezinski looks quite Kissingerian in the article linked by Desert Rat:
Been There, Done That'
So now, Brzezinski is a 'Realist' - a proponent of RealPolitik that left us the mess of kleptrocracies in the Middle East.
Yeah, he been there done that... And to boot, he is talking like an expert on Iran. I hope to God he has spend the last 28 years in careful study.
Brzezinski, Carter, Clinton, Berger, Clarke, McCarthy, Kerry, Beers, et. al. are all conflicted Liberals. They cannot make decisions and act decisively.
Guess what folks:
If you were a young teenager around the time of Brzezinski's major success (Iran Hostage 'crisis') then you are in your early 40's now...
Hhhhmmmmm...
How old are the flag officers (Majors and up) and senior Staff NCOs in our military.
Oh, thats right, they are in their 40's.
Ah, the memories... The 444 memories... Never forget...
I was an E4 or 5 in those days boghie, before the bombs fell in Libya, before Mr Ortega was removed from office, before the USA beat Russia on the ice. All of which were accomplished before I eventually left the Army.
Seemed to me, then, that all the "best" people got out and those looking to "skate" through life to retirement stayed in.
That was Combat Arms, in the US Army, late'70's to mid '80's.
But as you say, that was then, and those that remained, are in charge, now.
I have a suggestion to MSM, disgruntled CIA employees, those who love to find and tell and all those advocates of the right to know. Think your good and clever? Find Bin Laden.
you can add the current leaders of the enemy to that 444 list. from Achmadinejad's perspective, managing the American left has been a very do-able project.
Loose lips sink ships. You keep your mouth shut and do your job.
Someone who discusses work with anyone but those who have a need to know is endangering their work and the lives of those involved.
The individual analyst never has the whole picture of what is going on and its presumptuous to think that you have all the information to reach a policy decision.
One would think, 2164, that with all the resources of the Federal Government availble, the Hunt for Osama could have been accomplished, by now?
Either the effort has not been serious, or it has been under funded and under staffed.
Or the searchers are less than competent.
In any or all of the many locales that Osama could be finding Sanctuary in.
Apparently McCarthy has been deleted from the CSIS website.
Coverup?
I wonder what other info is dissapearing as we speak?
Were McCarthy and her fellow dems running their own Dezinformatsiya campaign?
Was she assinged this task by someone?
Who else is involved?
Someone needs to dress McCarthy up in a Plumber's outfit.
Focus on Sandy Berger and the Riadys.
Relevant I think:
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has approved ambitious plans to fight terrorism around the world and retaliate more rapidly in the case of another terrorist attack on the United States, The Washington Post reports.
Citing unnamed defense officials, the newspaper said the blueprint includes a general campaign plan for the global war on terrorism as well as two subordinate plans that are considered the Pentagon's highest priority.
Details of the plans are secret, but in general they envision a significantly expanded role for the military and its Special Operations troops in operations to combat terrorism outside of war zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan, the report said."
"...irrespective of the ebb and flow of national politics."
But mankind is vain, said Churchill. Yes, taken down to the nub, we're in the zone of sin, of vanity and pride, on this issue.
Gotta Go,
But Desert Rat, things have changed dramatically since you were in. It ain't the Carter era anymore...
There was Reagan - before my time.
There was Bush Sr. - beginning for me.
Then there was the Clinton era - which we knew would end sometime.
Now there is the 'W' era.
We are recruiting very highly qualified individuals. We are retaining very high quality individuals. Both statistics are over 100% of goal.
9/11 changed everything.
We will resolve this issue. It will take years and it will not primarily be a military confrontation - but some of that must occur. We do not want to send our military back when Iran has nukes.
Watch how Navy ships are named. Any carriers called the 'William Jefferson Clinton'.
Watched 'Blackhawk Down' again. Always reminds me of why the military is fond of Clinton/Carter. And, Osama always likes to look back at those glory days...
BTW: I never had the honor of wearing the EGA. I am just a civilian slug who works for the Marine Corps.
I keep wondering when someone is going to post a bit called "Something About Mary", and wonder what sort of strange gook Ms. McCarthy is using to keep her hair in place. And could it be that it's filtered into her brain and contaminated it.
Was it Churchill that said that the truth needs a bodyguard of lies?
Rather than merely a "bodyguard" lies need an entire army, complete with air, naval, and intelligence support.
The really big problem with lies in DC is that they yield still more lies.
There, when you are attacked by liers you have to lie back in defense - because there is never enough time to get the real truth established.
The typical lieing attack is released at around 1730 local, and you have to have a complete response formaulated and approved before you can go home that night.
You have to guess in order to form a response, which often leads to a lie when more details are demanded, instantly.
Eventually, it all comes out, but often not before a John Keegan or Victor Davis Hanson - (or me, of late) - explains it all, usually decades later.
Danmyers:
"Lose a war for political cover?"
You need to realize, that just as in Vietnam, the Western Left has such deep-seated racist contempt for people outside their inner circle that they cannot conceive of foreigners ever theatening them in any way.
They are at the "buck toothed, bespeckled silly little yellow men flying bamboo airplanes" stage when it comes to recognizing Islamofacism as a threat - in other words, analogous to a 6 Dec 1941 view of the world.
Boghie--good post--optimism is a generative force unto itself--when it's justified, i hasten to add. Yours is, by all evidence.
Nahncee--it's the cell phones.
Traffic deaths are up--breaking a 20 yr downtrend--and the cellphones are being blamed. That's a behavioral clue.
DC Dems are a biological clue. Already weakly-connected within itself, the liberal brain is especially vulnerable--to the cellphone rays.
The hairspray is a red hairing put out by Motorola and Nokia.
Governor Richardson was just on Fox. Among a plethora of suggestions for dealing with Iran offered by the Governor was “talking” to the Iranians. To his discredit, Brian Wilson did not ask Mr. Richardson the obvious: before or after lobotomy, ECT, and anti-psychotics.
OT, but interesting.
Watch this video taken in Iraq featuring an American sniper team. About half-way through (at 4:01), as the team is taking down the enemy in a "turkey shoot", the sniper asks his spotter about a man he sees holding a green flag.
His spotter responds, "That's Mahdi Army. Green Flag is Mahdi Army. They're to be engaged at any opportunity."
This was in 2005. Didn't we reach a truce with them in late 2004?
In case you missed Old Dad's Drudge advice.
(as he says, Bizzare, but in keeping with Kerry's versions of "truth," I might add:
"SEN. KERRY: Well, I read that. I don't know whether she did it or not so it's hard to have a view on it.
Here's my fundamental view of this, that you have somebody being fired from the CIA for allegedly telling the truth, and you have no one fired from the white house for revealing a CIA agent in order to support a lie.
That underscores what's really wrong in Washington, DC Here."
Zbigniew Brzezinski has been all wrong, almost all the time.
And a Phoney to boot, imo.
Who would know the Putz if his name was Joe Smith?
Rat 7:51 AM,
One problem with DC govt is it's sheer SIZE, and that of the surrounding parasite "support" infrastructure.
Look at the non-imperial presidency sized staff of Truman vs what it has become.
Same for all the rest, diffusing and distorting accountability and efficiency.
9-11 was a great example of how much smaller decision loops would most likely have prevented it's occurrence.
"That underscores what's really wrong in Washington, DC Here."
No, Sen. Kerry. What's "really wrong" is that you turned-coat on your fellow soldiers in the field, joined the enemy, and then made a political career out of it. THAT's what's "really wrong in Washington, DC, here".
Sorry to the Booster Club Section, but I have to agree w/2164th's 5:19 AM and some of 'Rat's critiques:
There have been an unbroken string of AVOIDABLE disasters that never would have happened the way they did if GWB had brought an Ax to town (didn't Clinton?) instead of the New Tone.
As 2164th points out, one thing more damaging than law breakers are law-enforcers that don't.
I agree, but must point out that the guy had a grand vision of a better DC--that had one tiny li'l chance at succeeding, and was--in view of the benefit of two real parties again--worth taking.
Deception of this Magnitude makes GOP vulnerable to even Howlin Howie, and further degrades RESPECT for Law Order, and those Pledged to Enforce it:
Chertoff gets tough with employers of illegals
Critics say Homeland Security has done little interior enforcement since the department's creation in January 2003, despite existing laws that provide sanctions against employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted in a July report that ICE issued just three notices of intent to fine an employer for hiring illegals during fiscal 2004 -- down from 417 by the now-defunct U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in 1999 during the Clinton administration.
Buddy,
But after getting kicked in the balls 10 times, shouldn't he have changed the plan?
Or now?
3:08 PM was the MAGNET for the rush through the border at unprecedented levels.
...until "Amnesty" talk came along to supersede it.
buddy wrote:
"No, Sen. Kerry. What's "really wrong" is that you turned-coat on your fellow soldiers in the field, joined the enemy, and then made a political career out of it. THAT's what's "really wrong in Washington, DC, here". "
So, Buddy, in your view of the world truth doesn't matter but only loyalty to your 'clan' does?
Ash, ole friend, Sen Kerry is one of the biggest liars of all time. They're well documented. Actual things he says--has said--that are plain old deliberate falsehoods. He says these things for political gain, and in the highest contempt for his own followers.
What does that have to do with me?
Fred, right, Kerry is tuned to that "higher truth", and facts don't matter one little bit.
I knew when the Left started calling itself "the party of reality" that it was beginning to understand that it needed much cover on that issue.
Here is a nicely organized list of media articles dating back to the 1990's that mention Saddam's WMD or Saddam's collaboration with terrorists.
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