Former ambassador speaks on Iraq, CIA leak investigation (Calls Bob Novak an ***hole and a jerk..)

http://www.nu-news.com/media/paper600/news/2005/11/30/News/Former.Ambassador.Speaks.On.Iraq.Cia.Leak.Investigation-1116172.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.nu-news.com ^ | Stephen Babcock

[Zacs Mom]

"What this is all about is the 16 words in the [2003] State of the Union Address"

Oh really???

Well, let's see now ...

prior to his interview in May 2003 with New York Times writer Nicholas Kristof (despite numerous opportunities), Joseph Wilson IV made none of the claims which for which he has now become notorious ~ no mention whatsoever about those infamous "16 words". 

On Feb. 6, 2003  Wilson appeared on PBS’s Newshour along with Khidir Hamza, the former director of the Iraqi nuclear weapons development program and Amatzia Baram, a professor of Middle East history at the University of Haifa in Israel, and a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington. Here is portion of that exchange:

JIM LEHRER: You agree Ambassador Wilson? From his (Sadaam’s) point of view, what’s the point of being there if you don’t have your weapons of mass destruction?

JOSEPH WILSON: Well, again I think he also sees them as necessary to defending himself against what he believes will be an American assault on his government and his life. There is no incentive for him even to give up a little bit of them.

JIM LEHRER: But, all three of you agree if anyone is sitting around expecting at the last minute Saddam Hussein is going to have some kind of revelation and pull back and say, okay, here are my weapons of mass destruction, let’s have no war, forget it, right?

JOSEPH WILSON: Yeah. I think the chances are pretty good you’ll get something of semblance of cooperation, but the core stuff we’ll have to go find it.

No ... no mention of them here ...

On February 28, 2003 in another PBS interview (Bill Moyers Talks with Joseph C. Wilson, IV) this exchange occured:

MOYERS: President Bush's recent speech to the American Enterprise Institute, he said, let me quote it to you. "The danger posed by Saddam Hussein and his weapons cannot be ignored or wished away." You agree with that?

WILSON: I agree with that. Sure. I…

MOYERS: "The danger must be confronted." You agree with that? "We would hope that the Iraqi regime will meet the demands of the United Nations and disarm fully and peacefully. If it does not, we are prepared to disarm Iraq by force. Either way, this danger will be removed. The safety of the American people depends on ending this direct and growing threat." You agree with that?

WILSON: I agree with that. Sure.

Nope ... no mention there either!!

During an April 3, 2003 online chat facilitated by the Washington Post Wilson failed to mention the 16 words ~ indeed during this chat this interesting exchange occurred:

“Boston, Mass.: Mr. Wilson

Thank you for taking our questions. What happens if we do not find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?

Joseph C. Wilson: Whether we find them or not is now immaterial. The liberation is now the rationale. If we don’t find them, discussion about them will cease and we will focus on the other reasons the administration has articulated. If we do find them, world public opinion will only change on the margins.” 

Again, no mention!!

In fact, in any number of additional appearances in the months between the President's Speech and his May 2003 NYT's interview, Wilson said not a single thing about "the 16 words"!

Additionally, at an Oct. 9, 2002, Middle East Council Policy Forum,  Wilson stated:

"My feeling on this…. is that we really do need to do something against the threat of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and I would concede to this administration the possibility that one of these days these weapons might move from the tight control of the Iraqi regime into the hands of organized terrorist groups who would, in fact, want to act against United States interests either abroad or in our homeland."

Wilson has no interest in the truth!

In fact, as the following excerpt from the Senate's Iraq Report clearly points out, Wilson is totally vested in lies!


Reference:

(you can click on the above to download a PDF file of this report)

[jw777]

So, Mr. Wilson, if Novak is the one who published your wifes name that was supposedly not known prior, why did you go after the White House? Wouldn't you go after the person who actually made it widely known?

Class A moron.

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

Yes, he's a class act...

Have you noticed how many times Mr. Class Act uses the word "asshole" in a public forum?

Don't misunderstand me. I can let the words flow (but not in front of the kids, since THE word is my favorite word when no other word will do). I know when it is appropriate and when it is not. That kind of class is not something Joe can acquire. One either has it or not. He doesn't.

[Steve_Seattle]

If Libby goes to trial, he MUST find a way to get Wilson on the stand. Wilson's lies must be brought into the light of day. Actually, they already have, during the congressional inquiry into pre-war intelligence, but the MSM has spiked the truth. So it's probably useless to think that the truth will be reported even if Wilson is exposed as a liar in open court.

[popdonnelly]

"He also had harsh words for Novak, calling him an "asshole" and a "jerk."

Glad you didn't take it too hard, Joe.

[Stultis]

Joe Wilson - Maxwell Smart
LOL!!

Where's the "Cone Of Silence" when you need it?

[popdonnelly]

If you believe Chiocci's article, Niger was a hotbed of nuclear activity: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1531449/posts.

I guess none of this was happening in the hotel where Joe set himself up.

I'm reminded of a Marx brothers movie where Chico and Harpo are told to tail a man. Chico reports back: "We went to the ball game - he didn't show up."

[Sacajaweau]

Twenty Questions which the Media Ignores:

1. Who let Joe go to Niger without signing a confidentiality agreement?

2. Where are the receipts from this "pro bono" trip?

3. Why wasn't there a written report "signed by Joe" about his trip?

4. Who interviewed Joe after his trip and issued "the Tea Time report".

5. Was Valerie present at that interview?

6. Who at the CIA gave Joe permission to write his July 6th article?

7. Who "remembered" and "searched out" the memo that Powell got on July 7th while boarding the plane to Africa. (I believe the text itself is dated June 10, 2003.)

8. What reporters were on that flight?

9.Were the Dems afraid that Plamegate was about to blowup when Powell got that memo?

10. Who was Joe's friend who approached Novak on July 8th and why did this "stranger" even ask Novak about Joe??

11. Why did Joe call Novak on July 8th (finally reaching him on the 10th) instead of the CIA?

12. Why did Harlow (CIA) call Novak back the next day and say it wouldn't be prudent to use Valerie's name even though he had made no big deal of her status the day before? Did Novak consider it a threat? (I would).

13. Did the CIA pull the "perfect forgery" and "reclassify" Valerie after the July 7th memo got out?

14. Was Berger trying to get rid of references to Valerie? or add the S stamp to the memo when he first burgled on June 28 2003?

15. Berger and Wilson were BOTH dropped from the Kerry campaign within days of each other. Why Wilson? What's the connection?

16. Who took care of Joe's divorce from Jacqueline and marriage to Valerie Plame?...i.e., asset changes, insurance policy changes etc.. Was it Christopher Wolf?

17. Where are the Public Records of Joe's divorce and marriage to Valerie?

17. Who was at their wedding?

18. Some article noted that Valerie had to shift some assets when she was outed? Really?? Why??

19. DID COOPER DELIBERATELY CALL ROVE VIA THE WHITEHOUSE SWITCHBOARD" on July 11th which meant it would not be in Rove's log?

20. Did Cooper deliberately wait ONE DAY to call Libby, giving Rove enough time to note Cooper's call to upper staff members?

Summary: There are too many items that the media has "dropped in the basket".

Novak smelled a setup when Joe's friend approached him on the 8th and it was Joe himself that confirmed Novak's info with his "Leave my wife out of this". (Please note that there's no inkling of "Big Spy" in these words....It's a "mind your own business" statement.

Novak's still alive (thank God he avoided Marcy Park), has testified and was able to walk away. He has however, in a 2005 article said that what Harlow (CIA) has said in his testimony is not the truth.

In the end....My guess is that only a few knew that Valerie had been written up for BOTH Niger Trips. I have to believe that under the circumstances (no confidentiality form, "pro bono", no written report), Valerie ASSUMED she would not be written up and so did Joe.

I have to conclude that Valerie was a part of this simply because SHE, as Jane Bond, would have/should have stopped Joe from printing his July 6th article.....unless she wasn't really Jane Bond at all!! Gasp!!

The very statement that Joe used: "Leave my wife out of this" was the real secret. Valerie was an inside source who was likely feeding her hubby all kinds of "under the covers" information (people don't change). Neither of these two can keep a secret. They have no business being attached to the CIA in any way. Valerie's not a spy....she's a spud, aka a small potato!!

[popdonnelly]

"So, Mr. Wilson, if Novak is the one who published your wifes name that was supposedly not known prior, why did you go after the White House?"

Because, at the very least, he was trying to save his role as an asset to the Kerry campaign. Which worked for awhile.

[jw777]

Exactly. Politcal HACK to the enth degree. Nothing more.

[beyond the sea]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1508146/posts

Read this. The real story.

[mattdono]

Deluded. Plain and Simple.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

He referred to the Iraqis as "assholes," and Saddam Hussein as a "madman."

Ooooh! That Wilson guy is tough! </sarcasm>

[freema]

Would you please send that list, via receipted courier, to Mr. Fitz, and tell him we'd like the answers to those questions?

One more question, though. I want to know WHO thought it was appropriate and WHY to send a diplomat to have tea.

I don't believe that's what the Vice-President requested.

[freema]

The heck with sailors, I can make a Marine blush! But I darn sure only do it when it's appropriate!!!! LOL!

Perhaps he's feeling the squeezepucker on a certain part of his anatomy, and this is all just Freudian, subconscious slippage.