[Enchante]

What's going on with our government??? More concerned about protecting Russia from embarrassment than with letting the American public (and the world) know how well justified the Iraq war really was/is???? This is madness!!

[Enchante]

The huge problem with following Negroponte's proposal to release only documents with "no intelligence value" is that of course those are most likely to be the more minor docs of purely "historical" interest (at best). Anything that's truly explosive would be likely to still have "intelligence value" especially if it referred to WMDs going to Syria, the role of Russia (or France, Germany et al) in helping Iraq, etc.

I realize that there can be serious dilemmas between preserving intel value in secret and getting info into the public, but I fear that people like Negroponte and the intel bureaucracies are putting NO WEIGHT at all on the enormous damage the USA has suffered and continues to suffer from the LACK of public information on what really went on in Iraq before the war, the role of Syria, Russia, et al....... not to say that there is not already plenty of damning or at least suggestive info available, but if there are any "smoking gun" tapes and/or documents that would show conclusively that WMDs went to Syria, that Russia helped or even carried out this process entirely, etc. etc. then these things MUST be made public asap. The severe damage to US credibility and judgment that has been allowed to occur should have been challenged far sooner and far more vigorously by this administration. That is not merely a question of the "Bush legacy" - it seriously affects our ability to carry out effective policy toward Iran and North Korea, etc.

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

It would be foolhardy to release the tons of documents and tapes without knowing what's in them. Negroponte's hesitation is warranted. And it says something very good about Bush that he is respectful of the potential national security issues involved. A lesser president (such as his predecessor) would not have such qualms.

It is not "madness", unless you value politics over national security.

[jess35]

All this takes is an order from the President. Declassify and release all documents and let the chips fall where they may. If it embarrasses our allies or the previous administration(s), so be it. Our crediblity should not suffer just to cover France/GermanyRussia's collective @ass.

[Daralundy]

Previous post - not that there is anything wrong with that.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1594192/posts

[OKIEDOC]

Makes even the most hardened supporter wonder what the hell is going on.

[CheyennePress]

I think this beckons some our nation's finest lyricists:

Who let the dogs out
(woof, woof, woof, woof)
(woof, woof, woof, woof)
(woof, woof, woof, woof)
(woof, woof, woof, woof)

Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)
Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)

(woof, woof, woof, woof)

When the party was nice, the party was jumpin' (Hey, Yippie, Yi, Yo)
And everybody havin' a ball (Hah, ho, Yippie Yi Yo)
I tell the fellas "start the name callin'" (Yippie Yi Yo)
And the girls report to the call
The poor dog show down

Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)
Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)
Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)
Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)

[highlander_UW]

For months, Negroponte has argued privately that while the documents may be of historical interest, they are not particularly valuable as intelligence product.

If this is true, then there is no reason why the documents can't be released immediately. Let the people read the documents and we can judge for ourselves rather it's just interesting back-story or ground-shaking information.

[Peach]

I'd like to suggest that freepers get back to activism. What we do best rather than arguing among ourselves.

We should write hard letters, or at least call, people who can take action on this matter. Those people would be, at a minimum, Senator McCain, Condi Rice, Karl Rove, President Bush, Senator Warner, Senator Cornyn, Senator Allen and I'm sure some others.

In those letters or phone calls, we should reference the article by name, author and title with a quick synopsis of what the article details, and then ask if Negroponte is ignoring a direct order from the President of the United States of America.

I am drafting my letter today and compiling my list.

Kristinn: Is there any way you can either copy this article and hand it out to people on the Hill, or get it to someone who will take action?

[FreedomNeocon]

Hey, lets just append a bill to some appropriations bill that they must all be released... that seems to work every time. /rolleyes

Seriously though, this pisses me off that these are not all translated by now. Release them ALL, too many big players would block the release if it takes a year to process.

Its quite clear that Negroponte has NO interest in doing anything with them.

What in the hell is up with first saying "I won't release because they are irrelevant" and then saying "I won't release because they are too valuable and important"

Sounds like Bush is getting pissed about it too, for EXAXTLY the right reasons.

Not sure if its some "big players" who have too much invested in the "Bush Lied" line to allow anything to discredit it, or just the simple reluctance to 'embarrass' our 'allies' (like we just did VERY PUBLICALLY to UAE)... either way it STINKS!

[Lee'sGhost]

"For months, Negroponte has argued privately that while the documents may be of historical interest, they are not particularly valuable as intelligence product. A statement by his office in response to the recordings aired by ABC said, "Analysts from the CIA and the DIA reviewed the translations and found that, while fascinating from a historical perspective, the tapes do not reveal anything that changes their postwar analysis of Iraq's weapons programs.""

I read that and got a huge sense that Negroponte does not want to release info because it might help Bush. Is Negroponte trust worthy? Could he be screwing the pooch?

[maine-iac7]

I wonder if one of out "allies" that might be "embarrassed is Negroponte and the NIA... and how do they "own the documents"?

And why are not the libs screaming to have them released - they're so big on 'disclosure"...or are they in league with keeping them under wraps, perhaps knowing, or highly suspecting the WMD might be 'in there"?