Who's Spinning Intel?

LAST WEEK, the Washington Post ("Hussein's Prewar Ties To Al-Qaeda Discounted") covered the latest round in Senator Levin's ongoing struggle to prove that the connection between Iraq and al Qaeda was nothing more than a fiction. Levin has been at this game for a while, and this time the Post's story centered on Levin's request for the declassification of a report written by the Pentagon's acting inspector general, Thomas F. Gimble. The report's conclusion: a Pentagon analysis shop, once headed by former Undersecretary of Defense Douglas J. Feith, "developed, produced, and then disseminated alternative intelligence assessments on the Iraq and al-Qaida relationship, which included some conclusions that were inconsistent with the consensus of the Intelligence Community, to senior decision-makers."

The inspector general determined that Feith's shop did nothing illegal, but still maintained that his office's analyses were "inappropriate." Why? According to the inspector general, Feith & Co. did not sufficiently explain that their conclusions were at odds with the CIA's (and the DIA's) judgments. That was enough for Levin to go on the attack once again.

But Levin's story, which was simply repeated without any real investigation by the Post or even the inspector general's office, relies on a false dichotomy. The senator now pretends that the CIA and other intelligence outfits had reached a rock-solid conclusion that there was no noteworthy relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda in 2002, but Feith's shop improperly pressed on. The Post summarized the inspector general's report as saying: " the CIA had concluded in June 2002 that there were few substantiated contacts between al-Qaeda operatives and Iraqi officials and had said that it lacked evidence of a long-term relationship like the ones Iraq had forged with other terrorist groups."

The GOP is so feckless they deserve to lose next year. Every time a Dem brings up “possible” crimes, Republicans ought to rub their noses in Sandy Burglar’s outright theft and destruction of Clinton’s documents from the National Archives and clamor for hearings on those missing papers.
Every time Schumer brings up missing emails to try once again to get Rove, the GOP ought to remind everyone of the missing emails from the White House during the Clinton/Gore years. They were never located. But no, no one ever brings these up...especially not the Dem lapdog msm.
So night after night, the manufactured charges go unanswered and the incredibly stupid US voters who watch CBSABCNBCCNN all get the same stories implying criminal behavior on the part of Republicans. Then the GOP wonders why it loses elections. Pitiful.

Dear Mr. Larkin (Opinions Editor, Cleveland Plain Dealer):

As you ought to know our Nation is at war. And while you didn’t send us to war, our troops are in harms way, so the Plain Dealer has a moral obligation to fully support the troops. Without games please. By full support, that means demanding that our politicians provide funds for the troops without partisan pork, or aid and comfort for our enemies. Perhaps at one time your contemporaries thought the threat of Islamic Fascism was real in Ohio, but judging by the behavior of your journalism colleagues throughout the Nation, they’re using my fellow soldiers as "pawns" in shenanigans against the President.

Washingtonian monkeyshines don't exist in a vacuum. Our enemies analyze every media stunt and parse every political word, in their effort to evaluate and test our Nation’s will. According to the Al-Qaeda training manual, written before the 9/11 attacks, it seems Islamic Fascists correctly estimated they could wait out our instant gratification politicians and the lap dog, partisan US press.

An informed Publisher ought to know that while our soldiers overwhelmingly won every battle they've fought; as Sun Tzu defines war; we're losing the war. Mostly because the cocktail circuit of self-centered politicians along with their eager accomplices in a highly biased mass media, willingly feed a false perception of reality back home daily. Picture Rome is burning; meanwhile Neurotic politicians are failing our troops abroad and our citizens at home. Because the “free press” turns a blind eye whenever their “favorite” politicians are living above the law.

As a Nation of laws, we’re suddenly bordering upon anarchy, and the “free press,” is not addressing the issues or holding partisan politicians accountable in the First Amendment spirit. For example, while at war, the Speaker of the House violates the Logan Act and deliberately provides aid and comfort for enemies of our Nation. Furthermore a former National Security Advisor, the one who pilfered key classified documents so the 9/11 Commission could not evaluate the content, now violates the terms of his guilty plea agreement. How about growing a spine Mr. Editor? Demand accountability! Such as demanding congressional committees investigate both SOTH Pelosi's possible Logan Act violation and Mr. Burger's classified document thefts? An independent press. What a concept! Is that too much to expect from an industry buying ink by the barrel?

So, allow me to respectfully remind the Plain Dealer, it's supposed to represent ALL of Ohio, not just the lunatic kook fringe. And let me assure you that no matter what, our troops really need your unconditional support. They are far too busy rooting out terrorists to engage in the partisan letter writing campaign programs rivaling those of the anti-American kook fringe. You ought to instantly recognize and discount kooks as the oxymoron “oppose the war, support the troops” catchphrase types.

Again, there is an expectation that the Plain Dealer will exercise its First Amendment Rights for our National interests; as opposed to this unending pursuit of selfish partisan interests. Especially if this dying form of mass media communication intends to survive within the marketplace of ideas. And let me remind the publishers, AM radio was once considered a dying form of mass media communication just a few years ago.

The President, our constitutionally designated Commander in Chief, no matter what “party,” needs to win this war for the Nation. The demobilization benchmarks are clear: when we destroy our enemy’s will to fight, our troops return home. Otherwise we’ll be fighting Islamic Fascists on the streets of Ohio, as we’re doing today in Baghdad.

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