I'll bet.
Posted on 08/10/2004 5:47:56 AM PDT by Fixit
A Cornell alumnus has recently reappeared on the national stage in a controversy whose repercussions could potentially affect both issues of national security and the upcoming presidential elections. The Associated Press reported on July 19 that Samuel R. "Sandy" Berger '67, former national security adviser to President Bill Clinton and an unofficial advisor to Sen. John F. Kerry's (D-Mass.) campaign, was the focus of a criminal investigation after "removing highly classified terrorism documents and handwritten notes from a secure reading room during preparations for the Sept. 11 commission hearings."
According to the report, Berger's office and home were searched by FBI agents earlier this year. Berger had allegedly removed classified drafts of assessments about the Clinton administration's handling of the millennium terror threats and identification of terror vulnerabilities at airports and seaports from the National Archives, as well as handwritten notes he made.
Berger knowingly removed the handwritten notes while reviewing the documents by sticking them in his jacket and pants, and inadvertently took copies of classified documents in a leather portfolio, according to the report. Berger said that when he was "informed by the Archives that there were documents missing, I immediately returned everything I had except for a few documents that I apparently had accidentally discarded."
The Sept. 11 commission never complained of missing documents, and other copies of the missing materials are apparently available in the Archives.
"I deeply regret the sloppiness involved, but I had no intention of withholding documents from the commission, and to the contrary, to my knowledge, every document requested by the commission from the Clinton administration was produced," Berger said in a statement to the AP.
The article has prompted President George W. Bush to call the controversy "a very serious matter" and for Congress to take action. According to the New York Times, House Government Reform Committee chair Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) asked the Archives to provide materials related to Berger last week. Many Democrats have accused Republicans of playing politics, criticizing the timing of the leak, which occurred days before the Democratic National Convention.
There have been mixed reactions in the Cornell community, but many seem supportive of Berger, who has maintained ties to his alma mater, visiting the campus as an Olin Lecturer in June 2003. He is also scheduled to give a lecture this coming year as part of Cornell's Mock Election events, which will be co-sponsored by The Sun.
"[As a student] Mr. Berger was ... a campus leader, widely known and highly respected. ... He and I, I'm glad to say, have been friends for a number of years," stated Prof. Walter F. LaFeber, the Andrew H. and James S. Tisch Distinguished University Professor, in an e-mail to The Sun.
Berger took LaFeber's class as an undergraduate, though LaFeber said that due to the large size of his classes he does not specifically remember him as a student.
LaFeber expressed his support and admiration for Berger and observed that he was not alone in doing so: "A number of leading public figures, including David Gergen and former CIA director James Woolsey -- neither of whom is known for being friendly to the Clinton administration -- have gone on national television to say that Mr. Berger has long been one of the most respected persons in American politics, especially because of his personal integrity. Mr. Berger has admitted he made mistakes in handling documents, and he is paying a personal price for those mistakes. It needs to be emphasized that in no sense did his actions threaten the national interest, nor did they prevent the 9/11 commission from seeing all the documents it wanted and needed to see. Given the current extraordinarily poor state of foreign policy advice on both the Republican and Democratic sides, if Mr. Berger's mistakes prevent him from later advising U.S. officials on foreign policy we'll all be the poorer for it."
President Jeffrey S. Lehman '77 declined to comment on the controversy. "I don't really know anything about the probe," he wrote in an e-mail.
Others in the University administration expressed their support for Berger. "I would expect to see him back at Cornell at some point," said Linda Grace-Kobas, director of the Cornell News Service. "He has not been charged; obviously the leaker put the worst possible face on it. It's far too soon to make any judgments, but we know Mr. Berger as a highly respected public official and he has a lot of friends at Cornell."
I'll bet.
More on Sandy Berger's Cornell connection.
One more thought...
Apparently undergraduates, never having had the joy of doing a document production, do not understand the value of multiple, not-merely-duplicate copies of a distributed documents.
The key to these documents is the draft process, as well as the hand written notes in the margins, which makes the collection of all copies far more valuable than a single copy that is merely representative of the final, washed work product.
these people are awfully stupid for being so highly touted as educators.
What's worse - stealing national security documents or getting information on another political party?
I HATE liberals.
THAT is the truly frightening part. What did those 'accidentally discarded' documents contain?
Fellow FReepers, I hate to say this, but if this goon isn't charged with something very, very soon,
I'm going to start acting like an illegal immigrant or a Democrat and just start doing whatever I want....to Hell with the 'law'.
Pathetic but typical of the so called elitists in academia.
Controversy? What controversy? If a tree falls in the forest and the liberal media don't report it...
It's a commie thing and Real Americans do understand. My fellow freepers, does anyone have any update info on the Berger fiasco? Bush/Cheney 2004
President Bush may be thinking that it would be more prudent to wait until he's safely re-elected. There's SO much going on right now, and we haven't even reached the "October Surprise", whatever devious nastiness may be thrown at him. The Dems are desperate, and they will do anything, ANYTHING, to get President Bush out of the White House.
Excellent line, mind if I borrow it to use on the libs in my life?
Contrast the rush to defend liberal Berger with Cornell's deafening silence towards the attacks on "Neocon" Paul Wolfowitz, also a CU alum.
...many seem supportive of Berger, who has maintained ties to his alma mater, visiting the campus as an Olin Lecturer in June 2003. He is also scheduled to give a lecture this coming year as part of Cornell's Mock Election events, which will be co-sponsored by The Sun...."I would expect to see him back at Cornell at some point," said Linda Grace-Kobas, director of the Cornell News Service. "We know Mr. Berger as a highly respected public official and he has a lot of friends at Cornell."
Ping
And so it goes
It looks like Ulysseus should return to Ithaca and bring his bow with him.
Ya think?
there she stands..Cornell
That smell is not Cayuga's waters
That smell is Cornell" (/music)
Thanks, be my guest.
from the Peoples University of Cornell in the DemocRATic Republic of Ithaca... smell the EVIL!!!
So Sandy has some Cornell friends, some high up, maybe he gives to the fundraising campaign or speaks on campus. And that would have WHAT to do with whether he stole highly classified documents from the National Archives? For the amount of tuition they charge, you'd think they could handle a class or two on LOGICAL THINKING. The city and campus of evil are cancers within our lovely Finger Lakes region.
Well, if he ISN'T re-elected Berger won't be charged at all.
Bush needs to stop being a nice guy. Politics is war by other means.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.