Laws were actually broken this time.
Posted on 01/03/2006 5:23:36 AM PST by governsleastgovernsbest
by Mark Finkelstein
January 3, 2006 - 07:58
Katie Couric's just-completed interview with NY Times Reporter James Risen, who broke the NSA surveillance story and is now publishing his book on the matter, 'State of War,' offered a treasure-trove of insights into the matter. And give Katie a gentlelady's 'C' for her questioning. Couric earned the bulk of her credit by posing this seminal line of questioning:
"Did [the leakers] have any sympathy or understanding about this new climate this country finds itself in and the criticism the Bush administration took prior to 9/11 for not putting the pieces together and figuring out that a terrorist attack was imminent? In other words, did they acknowledge that tough times may call for tough measures?"
In other matters:
Whether wittingly or not, Risen seemed clearly to tip his hand to the fact that the leakers were disgruntled career employees. People will recall that State Department careerist Lawrence Wilkerson, Colin Powell's former chief of staff, recently claimed there was "a cabal between the vice president of the United States, Richard Cheney, and the secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, on critical issues that made decisions that the bureaucracy did not know were being made.''
Along similar lines, Risen alleged that "the checks and balances that normally keep American foreign policy and national security policy toward the center kind of broke down. You had more of a radicalization, in which the career professionals were not really given a chance to forge a consensus within the administration. The principals: Rumsfeld, Cheney Tenet and Rice were meeting constantly, setting policy and never allowing the experts, the people who understand the region to have a say."
Cooed Katie: "You suggest there was a lot of power-grabbing going on."
"Yes," responded Risen, only too happy to concur.
"Power-grabbing?" How is the exercise of power by the people the president explicitly put in charge of foreign and national security policy a "grab"? Only in the minds of the liberal establishment, who believe that power rightly resides with the career 'wets' in State and the intelligence agencies.
As with Wilkerson, it sounds as if at the origin of this leak were career employees, disgruntled at being shut out of the center of the action by appointed officials.
Further to her credit, Couric did ask a question along such lines, stating 'many critics alleged your sources had serious axes to grind."
Time and again, Risen defended his sources as having the "purest" and "best" motives, springing entirely for their concern for the rule of law.
As to whether he was concerned that in light of the Justice Department investigation into the leaks he might be forced to reveal his sources, Risen was quick to claim that this was "the complete opposite of the Plame case."
True, but surely not in the way Risen meant it. The Plame case involved the 'revealing' of the identity of someone apparently already well-known in many DC circles to be a CIA employee, and a desk jockey at that who had not worked abroad in many years. The NSA affair involves the compromising of a current intelligence operation aimed at America's deadliest enemies.
Today Show/NewsBusters bad-moon-Risen ping.
Caught just enough of it to see Katie on her knees with her "smart glasses"
Good morning, Mark..Was she on roller-skates again..yesterday's vignette with the ladies from "Rollergirls" was NOT one of her high-points..wonder if CBS execs were watching..here's your new "anchorette".....
IOW the leakers are PO'd beaureaukratz who are in a snit for not being in on the BigWigs meetings. If this is the case, they should be summarily executed on national TV........
Bush, Rummy, Rice, et al wouldn't have had to do so much "power-grabbing" if Clinton hadn't been doing so much ASS-GRABBING the previous decade.
Bingo. The philosophical heirs to the career types who set foreign policy in the 'good old days' of Jimmy Carter, etc.
Laws were actually broken this time.
Laws were actually broken this time.
Can we get a rim-shot, please? ;-)
Next, on 'Civil Servants Gone Wild,' these State Department Party Animals tell what goes on behind closed doors!
They were sooooooooooooooo concerned for the "rule of law" that they would LEAK highly classified national security informtion about phone calls from terrorists
BULL!!
I want names .. who are they !!!
Why if one didn't know better, one would believe that the enemy Democrat Party would subscribe to a permanent elitist class of "civil servants" running the country and thus do away with the cumbersome office of president.
At least until they can figure out how to get back in that office.
WHAT?? You mean the people at the top were actually making decisions without your permission?? OMG!! This is outrageous! The leaders are actually... leading!!
Well, you can't blame some of them for being shocked. They've never seen that done before.
During time of war, traitors are executed.
"Never allowing the experts, the people who understand the region to have a say."
The condescension of Risen and the career employees whose case he pleads is breathtaking.
These people "understand the region" so well that over the course of the presidencies they let Iran and Afghanistan fall to murderous mullahs, and let Al-Qaeda run rampant, leading to 9/11.
"Time and again, Risen defended his sources as having the "purest" and "best" motives, springing entirely for their concern for the rule of law."
OMG! Who in the hell does he think he's kidding? I'm so sick of these black-souled Bush-haters. "Pure" motives that spring entirely from their concern for the rule of law??? Give me a friggin' break.
How long do we have to wait for some heads to start rolling? I want these "pure" traitors' names NOW!
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