White House Outted CIA Agent

[Sava]

i-m-p-e-a-c-h-m-e-n-t


nah its too soon for that... I'd like to see an investigation and I would like to hear what Tenet has to say. So far, I've heard that the CIA says this person was covert...

Bob Novak, conservative windbag, is of course attacking these accusations. It was pointed out on MSNBC's Hardball that Karl Rove was fired from Bush Sr.'s staff after he planted a false story with Bob Novak in 1992. It sounds like anything coming from the White House will smell of BS... as usual...

I never thought Bush would be more dishonest than Clinton...

[Berzerker]

I never thought Bush would be more dishonest than Clinton...

[Sava]

so you roll your eyes at a possible criminal act that threatened our national security and possibly the life of this individual?? that's nice...

I thought you were a libertarian Berz? What happened? Did you sell your soul to Karl Rove?

[MrFun]

Originally posted by Sava
i-m-p-e-a-c-h-m-e-n-t

Don't masturbate prematurely, ok?

[rev]

So far, we've no reason to believe that President Bush had anything to do with this or had any knowledge of it.

We DO know that a crime has almost definitely been committed by at least one person in the White House, probably more. It's already clear that the Bush administration doesn't want to clean its own closets (Bush refuses to inquire of his staff whether they were involved or not). Hopefully, Joseph Lieberman's bill to re-open the independent counsel law (which was closed by sunset provisions in 1999) will pass and those responsible for a malicious act will be brought to full justice -- especially considering Ashcroft's recent memo to prosecutors, demanding that they avoid plea bargains and go for maximum penalties.

But, unless there's another major twist in this story, Bush can't really be blamed (except for not cleaning house and keeping up with his "honor and integrity" promise).

[Berzerker]

Sava -

so you roll your eyes at a possible criminal act that threatened our national security and possibly the life of this individual?? that's nice...

I thought you were a libertarian Berz? What happened? Did you sell your soul to Karl Rove?

The rolling eyes were my response to your assertion (insinuation?) that Bush is a bigger liar than Clinton (you know, the part of your post I quoted) based on the possibility someone in the White House leaked the identity of an alleged CIA operative. We know Clinton was a liar and based on this you're calling Bush a bigger liar, that's just ridiculous. Btw, if Rove leaked this, why would you conclude Bush is a bigger liar than Clinton?

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Too soon for impeachment. But the spectacle of the Republicans having to contend with their own Starr-like special prosecutor is just too, too delicious. Here's hoping this goes from being an investigation into the leak into an unfocused, free-form witch hunt into every damned thing. Payback's a b!tch.

[Mordoch]

Originally posted by Berzerker
It remains to be seen if she was a covert op, according to Novak she was an analyst and there may not have been some malicious attempt to punish Wilson. Novak's version of events, and he was the commentator involved here, paints a different picture.

According to a LA Times interview with a CIA official, Novak is dead wrong here.

Novak said the CIA asked him not to disclose Plame's name, "but never indicated it would endanger her or anybody else," and that he was led to believe that she was "an analyst, not a spy, not a covert operative, and not in charge of undercover operatives."

Novak was wrong on those accounts, according to the CIA. "We wouldn't file a crimes report" if the case didn't involve an agent undercover, a U.S. official said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-leak30sep30,1,7004579.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[Berzerker]

Then head(s) should roll, but the mistake was made at the CIA, not the White House if Novak is telling the truth about the information he got from the CIA. If Novak was led to her - given her name - by someone in the Bush administration - then they too will be in trouble.

[Verto]

Glad we've dropped the whole "innocent until proven guilty" and gone straight to impeaching Bush.

[Lefty Scaevola]

Washington Post is already backing off the description of the scoures as "highly place white house" it appears they sexed up their initial story a bit.

[Arnelos]

The more reputable sources like the Post are indeed backing off from the idea that this came from the White House. The conspiracy theorists already have their bone to play with, though

As for me, I'm a conservative Republican from Washington, D.C. with friends and family working in national security... so while I certainly support the Bush Admin, I'm pissed as all hell about this outing of an operative. That's just NOT something you do... This type of thing gets good people killed. It's that simple.

I'd like to think that conservative leaders who generally support the defense establishment would know better, but experience has taught otherwise. The worst leaks about the Afghanistan and Iraq operations took place because of primarily Republican congressmen bragging about how important they were because of what they knew... and then telling the reporters

Thankfully, the Pentagon is typically bright enough to release so many fake warplans when they're gearing up for an op that no-one has a friggin' clue which leaked plan is the real one

[duke o' york]

To "out" somebody seems to have a different meaning over your side of the pond.

[Sava]

Originally posted by Berzerker
Sava -

The rolling eyes were my response to your assertion (insinuation?) that Bush is a bigger liar than Clinton (you know, the part of your post I quoted) based on the possibility someone in the White House leaked the identity of an alleged CIA operative. We know Clinton was a liar and based on this you're calling Bush a bigger liar, that's just ridiculous. Btw, if Rove leaked this, why would you conclude Bush is a bigger liar than Clinton?

Well Clinton's big lie and subsequent impeachment proceedings were about a private sexual affair that, quite frankly, is none of the publics' business. Bush's lies, mistruths, manipulations, whatever; have put us in a war, and now seem to have put our national security in jeopardy and an alleged covert ops' life at risk. I also read another probable lie in the paper today about the White House denying Rove leaked any information to Bob Novak. Bush is a bigger liar than Clinton. Everything Bush says is a lie or political bait and switch... No Child Left Behind... Clear Skies Initiative... Tax Cuts... War... Uranium... etc...

Don't masturbate prematurely, ok?

don't you mean ejaculate?

I'm not going to declare Bush a criminal on this matter yet. I think the proper judicial procedures should be followed, and an objective investigation should take place. Unfortunately, Ashcroft is the Attorney General... hardly a critical and objective prosecutor when it comes to his buddy.

My little crack about selling your soul comes from my perhaps misguided impression that you aren't being critical of this administration. As a libertarian, I would expect you to be critical of an administration who's actions defy the principles of your political ideology. If I am mistaken in some way, I apologize. I just call it like I see it.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Sava
Well Clinton's big lie and subsequent impeachment proceedings were about a private sexual . . .

Clinton lied about a lot more than just that. It's just no one cared much about his lies on Kosovo or campaign finances, etc.