Posted on 11/07/2005 3:51:47 AM PST by AliVeritas
In a surprise, closed-door debate, Senate Democrats last week demanded an investigation of pre-Iraq War intelligence. Here's an issue for them: Assess the validity of the claim that Valerie Plame's status was "covert," or even properly classified, given the wretched tradecraft by the Central Intelligence Agency throughout the entire episode. It was, after all, the CIA that requested the "leak" investigation, alleging that one of its agents had been outed in Bob Novak's July 14, 2003, column. Yet it was the CIA's bizarre conduct that led inexorably to Ms. Plame's unveiling.
When the Intelligence Identities Protection Act was being negotiated, Senate Select Committee Chairman Barry Goldwater was adamant: If the CIA desired a law making it illegal to expose one of its deep cover employees, then the agency must do a much better job of protecting their cover. That is why a criterion for any prosecution under the act is that the government was taking "affirmative measures" to conceal the protected person's relationship to the intelligence agency. Two decades later, the CIA, either purposely or with gross negligence, made a series of decisions that led to Ms. Plame becoming a household name:
• The CIA sent her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, to Niger on a sensitive mission regarding WMD. He was to determine whether Iraq had attempted to purchase yellowcake, an essential ingredient for unconventional weapons. However, it was Ms. Plame, not Mr. Wilson, who was the WMD expert. Moreover, Mr. Wilson had no intelligence background, was never a senior person in Niger when he was in the State Department, and was opposed to the administration's Iraq policy. The assignment was given, according to the Senate Intelligence Committee, at Ms. Plame's suggestion.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
True, Cboldt! What is also true is that seeing, hearing and reading the same "news" on different networks, in numerous magazines and in different newspapers automatically lends an air of authenticity to the information. Repetition creates credibility, regardless of merit!
With this particular story, the volume of disinformation, misinformation and lies by omission being overtly and systematically disseminated to the public by countless sources is unfathomable! It has become (by design, I think) a case of "If you can't dazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your BullSh*t" scenarios and even a person with the sincere desire to be "well informed" can easily become overwhelmed by it all!
While I admit I am in a 'catchup' mode with regard to this story, I actually have been trying to follow this case fairly diligently lately, but I somehow missed reading this brief ~ I recall some mention of it in my readings but did not realize until this morning when I actually saw and read the filing the significants of this single document. (you weren't the only one andyandval) Seeing, in black and white, the names of the organizations involved in making the assertion that NO CRIME was committed was stunning to me and their declaration that Plame had been outed in the 1990's outraged me! When you compare the MSM's coverage of this story to their claims in this document it becomes clear that they are, in fact, beyond complaisant in an overt campaign to discredit and disable the Presidency of George W. Bush. They are demonstrably active facilitators of an ongoing and escalating seditious attempt to overthrow a sitting president!
The majority of people I know have jobs. They also have families and homes, hobbies and friends. What they do not have is the time required to wade through hundreds of articles, emails and posts in an effort to gain 'knowledge'. In fact, some don't even have ready access to the bulk of available information. Hard as it may be for some of us to believe, not every home has (or wants, for that matter) an on-line computer and many households that do rarely use their computer as their resource for "news". And among those who do use their computer as a resource for "news" generally access the traditional "news" outlets.
What troubles me is the fact that few citizen are even cognizant of the fact the most of this "information" avail to them in the traditional venue is engineered by a handful of huge mega-corporations who totally control the flow of news, information and entertainment within this country ~ this includes books, magazines, television, newspapers, movies, music, internet access, etc.,etc. Shielded behind the cloak of 'journalism', without regard for truth, accuracy, or impartiality, these information brokers continually present us with carefully manufactured versions of world events and most of us are unaware that 'news' stories repeated by numerous, and seemingly 'different' sources, are actually choreographed illusions designed to manipulate public opinion.
The war on terror is not the only war being fought right now. "There's a war out there and it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think ~ it's all about information." The Federation Of American Scientists
We are under attack from an insidious enemy within and we need to take this very seriously! What we really need is a Special Prosecutor appointed to investigate the collusion involved in the on-going efforts to unseat George W. Bush!
Thanks for the ping!
Victoria pulled together the various loose threads regarding Plamegate better than anyone else has been able to do so far. It helps that she wrote the legislation and fully understands the law and has paid attention to actual details (something the MSM seems loathe to do).
An excellent article; thanks for the ping.
Great stuff -- thanks!!!!
It's not just the information brokers. I used exactly that word, "illusion," in post 40 linked below. See also post 37, because it helps set the stage.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1516559/posts?page=40#40
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1516559/posts?page=37#37
This is a fantastic post ZM. You SHOULD put it on a thread of its own!
The CIA was a mess. President Bush made a deal to take it back over. The HQ has been renamed in honor of President Bush, and he got to put his top man in charge.
This incident is a reaction to the potential housecleaning that is and will continue to go on.
The bad apples want to 'get that rat bastard' (President Bush).
This was their plan. Have Wilson go to Niger supposedly to look for and not find YELLOWCAKE, and while there get official NIGER stationary to use to make 'fake proof'.
This way, not matter what the case, nor what the President did, he could be accused of going with the wrong info.
Looks great devolve!
I'm frustrated too.
But I find some comfort in the fact that we have come as far as we have in exposing the media for what they are...the most dangerous enemy in the Global War on Terror.
Their time is nearly up.
BUMP! GOOD WORK on post #9!
The subject is noted in plenty of threads, but here is an old one that deserves a good piling on, especially since it was timely posted by Pikamax!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1369614/posts
Here are a couple more references, for those who don't want to diddle with the entire brief ...
http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1121317604.shtml
http://www.boomantribune.com/?op=displaystory;sid=2005/7/24/143149/571
Excellent, this deserves to be a stand alone thread.
Thank you so much...fascinating..
Investigate who initiated Joe Wilson's Niger "fact finding" trip.
Investigate why Fitzgerald spent two years and $700k to find out who "outed" Valerie Plame and found no one. Also why he came up with five lame indictments against Libby having nothing to do with "outing" Plame. Also why he never conclusively determined Plame's CIA status.
Investigate how many public references to Plames CIA status existed prior to Bob Novak's article that "outed" her and who revealed it.
Investigate all claims of Saddam's attempts to obtain uranium and build a nuclear program and definitively determine the validity of those claims.
Investigate MSM reports of Saddam's WMD activity vs MSM reports denying Saddam's WMD activity and determine when they changed from one to the other, why they changed and who led and promoted that change.
Investigate the exact nature of Wilson's CIA "report." Determine who ordered it, when was it turned in vs the date of his WaPo op-ed, was the op-ed approved of by the CIA and were his op-ed conclusions consistent with his written report submitted to the CIA.
Excellent advice...I'll give Ted and John a call.
I have such losers for senators!!!!
I know what you mean. In MD it's like talking to a brick wall - Mikulski and Sarbanes. We have great hope in Michael Steele, who they have already started dirty tricks with. Beside throwing oreo cookies at him during the last Gov. election, Schumer's 'holier than thou' staff stole Steele's SS# and got his credit report.
ping to #9
Thanks bitt. Zacs Mom did a great job of compiling vital material there, it does deserve its own thread.
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