Posted on 03/17/2007 3:37:58 AM PDT by Sam Hill
Before we put Plame "leak" story to bed once and for all, I want to reiterate out what I first posited almost two years ago, which now seems to be more true than ever.
It was almost certainly Mr. Joseph C. Wilson IV who "outed" his wife as a CIA officer.
And he probably did this in early May 2003 at after meeting with top level Democrats and around the time he began to work for the John Kerry for President campaign.
Let's run through the chronology.
January 28, 2003: President George W. Bush gave his State of the Union speech.
February 6, 2003: Joe Wilson wrote an editorial for the Los Angeles Times, A 'Big Cat' With Nothing to Lose, in which he claimed we should not attack Saddam Hussein because he will use his weapons of mass destruction on our troops and give them to terrorists.
February 28, 2003: Joe Wilson is interviewed by Bill Moyers. Wilson agrees with Bush's SOTU remarks, and reiterates his belief that Saddam has WMD.There is now no incentive for Hussein to comply with the inspectors or to refrain from using weapons of mass destruction to defend himself if the United States comes after him.
And he will use them; we should be under no illusion about that.
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.
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. The President goes on to say in that speech as he did in the State of the Union Address is we will liberate Iraq from a brutal dictator. All of which is true. But the only thing Saddam Hussein hears in this speech or the State of the Union Address is, "He's coming to kill me. He doesn't care if I have weapons of mass destruction or not. His objective is to come and overthrow my regime and to kill me." And that then does not provide any incentive whatsoever to disarm.
March 3, 2003: Joe Wilson wrote a piece for the Nation, Republic Or Empire. In it Wilson blasts the "neo-conservatives" in the Bush administration for their imperial over-reach. But he makes no mention of uranium or any other suggestion that Bush misled the country or lied about Iraq's WMD.
Then what's the point of this new American imperialism? The neoconservatives with a stranglehold on the foreign policy of the Republican Party, a party that traditionally eschewed foreign military adventures, want to go beyond expanding US global influence to force revolutionary change on the region. American pre-eminence in the Gulf is necessary but not sufficient for the hawks. Nothing short of conquest, occupation and imposition of handpicked leaders on a vanquished population will suffice. Iraq is the linchpin for this broader assault on the region. The new imperialists will not rest until governments that ape our worldview are implanted throughout the region, a breathtakingly ambitious undertaking, smacking of hubris in the extreme.
March 8, 2003: CNNs Renay San Miguel interviewed Joe Wilson about the so-called Niger forgeries.
SAN MIGUEL: So how do you play this, then? I mean, what, do you admit it, do you just move on? Do you try to get these things verified if you do believe, indeed, that Iraq was trying to buy this material from Niger? I mean, how do you handle this? Whats the damage control on this?WILSON: I have no idea. Im not in the government. I would not want to be doing damage control on this. I think you probably just fess up and try to move on and say theres sufficient other evidence to convict Saddam of being involved in the nuclear arms trade.
So up until at least March 8, 2003 Joe Wilson still contended that Saddam had WMD and that he was involved in the nuclear arms trade. Then what happened?
May 2003: Joe Wilson began to "advise" the Kerry for President campaign.
Wilson ... said he has long been a Kerry supporter and has contributed $2,000 to the campaign this year. He said he has been advising Kerry on foreign policy for about five months and will campaign for Kerry, including a trip to New Hampshire... -- David Tirrell-Wysocki, "Former Ambassador Wilson Endorses Kerry In Presidential Race,'' The Associated Press, 10/23/03
Five months prior to October 2, 2003 would be May 2, 2003. What happened on that date?
May 2, 2003: Joe Wilson and Valerie attended a conference sponsored by the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, at which Wilson spoke about Iraq. One of the other panelists was the New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof
Here, unlike his remarks to CNN on March 8, 2003, Wilson claimed State Department officials should have known better than to have been duped by the forged documents that allegedly had proved a deal for uranium had been in the works between Iraq and Niger.
May 3, 2003: Over breakfast the next morning with Kristof and his wife Valerie Plame, Wilson told Kristof about his trip to Niger...
(Excerpt) Read more at Sweetness & Light ...
[Wilson] Insist[s] He Remained A Centrist At Heart. (Scott Shane, Private Spy And Public Spouse Live At Center Of Leak Case, The New York Times, 7/5/05)
* Joe Wilson Is A Registered Democrat. (District Of Columbia Voter Registrations, Accessed 7/14/05)
* Joseph Wilson Has Donated Over $8,000 To Democrats Including $2,000 To John Kerry For President In 2003, $1,000 To Hillary Clintons (D-NY) HILLPAC In 2002 And $3,000 To Al Gore In 1999. (The Center For Responsive Politics Website, www.opensecrets.org, Accessed 7/12/05)
* Wilson Endorsed John Kerry For President In October 2003 And Advised The Kerry Campaign. (David Tirrell-Wysocki, Former Ambassador Wilson Endorses Kerry In Presidential Race, The Associated Press, 10/23/03)
* [Wilson] Admits It Will Be A Cold Day In Hell Before I Vote For A Republican, Even For Dog Catcher. (Scott Shane, Private Spy And Public Spouse Live At Center Of Leak Case, The New York Times, 7/5/05)
Wilson in 2003 said Hillary Clinton was interested in the "cia leak controversy" Wilson also contributed money to Sen Clinton's political action committee HILLPAC in February 2002 - which is the same month he traveled to Niger for the CIA at his wife's suggestion
Wilson noted at the forum that there's still congressional interest in this controversy from several high-profile members, including Sens. Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin, and Hillary Clinton."
bump
November 07, 2005
Joe Wilson's earlier mission to Niger
Not much commented on is the fact that in 1999, according to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Joseph A. Wilson IV made another trip to Niger, a trip also paid for by the CIA and for which he was chosen upon the recommendation of his wife, Valerie Plame. The SSCI gives no explanation for that trip.
Clap, clap, clap. :-)
You are amazing! I searched for an hour, and couldn't find it.
I seem to recall that they all use the same Speakers' Bureau, part of Bill Goodfellow's network.
Pretty cool to do PR by rolling over in bed and telling your wife, the Washington Post reporter, that you have another story ready for her to cover....
How much nepotism is 'enough??'
During Val's hearing, the various congress folks made several references to her having breakfast with Kristof and Joe. She confirmed her presence at that breakfast.
Did Clinton's Africa trip involving half of his administration include a stop in Niger? As I recall, Joe was one of the ringleaders for that. Bet that position would have covered a whole lot of questionable trips and exchanges of various contacts and favors...
I always think of you when something needs to be found on the Internet! ;-)
Hope all is well with you and yours. :-)
I've been half joking about Valerie doing her Hearing so she'd have material for her last chapter in her book, and visuals for her movie. Check this out...http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/16/AR2007031601953_pf.html
Dana Milbank is helping the screenwriter with a first draft for that scene in the movie.
Thanks for jogging my memory. I was convinced then, and now, that certain individuals or organizations were working to discredit Cheney/Bush. Remember, there was a lot of hostility directed at Cheney because his office involved itself in matters where they weren't wanted.
Thanks for all of your outstanding posts. BTTT!
This came up when we had that T J Wilkinson discussion here on FR over Cap hill Blue's weird sources [which helped kickstart the Nigerflap story]... Cap Hill Blue when caught cleaned their site and the author Doug claimed he reported the fraud CIA agent source [said to be a Vietnam era Army special forces vet knowledgable about Los Alamos & Sandia N Labs and with ties to NEW MEXICO as I recall, like Wilson and his VIPS home selling pals the Christensons] he used in a series of articles going back to this Jan 2003 :
JANUARY 6, 2003 : (CHB ARTICLE IS PUBLISHED : DEMOCRAT PLANS TO UNDERMINE THE PRESIDENT : EFFORT TO BE LED BY DICK GEBHARDT -- See TRUTHOUT.COM, T J WILKINSON, CIA) Democrats plan to undermine public confidence in President George W. Bush by challenging his credibility and raising doubts about America, sources within the party tell Capitol Hill Blue. A multi-pronged attack against Republicans and the President will focus not only on economic issues, but question American values, raise doubts about how this country is viewed by other nations and question the patriotism of Bush and his party. The extensive campaign, developed by senior Democratic consultants and party leaders, was launched last week with attacks on the Bush economic plan by Democratic presidential hopeful Rep. Richard Gephardt.
In coming weeks, Democratic elected officials will question the Presidents intentions on the pending war with Iraq. Writers and broadcasters friendly to the Democratic cause have already been provided talking points suggesting the war is about oil, not terrorism. The talking points were developed before the end of last year and sent out to operatives and friendly media, one Democratic consultant confided. No Democratic member of Congress will question the Presidents patriotism openly but we will use the media and other surrogates to raise doubts.
Capitol Hill Blue obtained a copy of the talking points when the Democratic National Committee sent them to a news outlet recently acquired by CHBs parent company. The talking points outline a strategy to raise public doubts of the Presidents real intentions, including: --Saying the war is about oil and will be fought to benefit oil companies that have long supported Bush and the Republican party;
--Claiming the Bush administration has manufactured evidence against Saddam Hussein and used that evidence to encourage Britain and other allies to join the American fight against Iraq; --Suggesting a wartime economy is the only way the administration can revive the countrys lagging economic situation.It is clear that the current approval ratings of the administration are tied directly to strong American feelings toward traditional values, the talking points say. To counter this, doubt must be raised as to Americas true position within the world community and the true intent of the Bush administration in waging war.
--Both President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are controlled by oil and defense industry special interest groups. --The war on terrorism is a failure because Osama bin Laden is still at large. --America is unprepared for another terrorist attack because of White House preoccupation with Iraq. --War will increase the countrys economic woes. --Bush will be forced to raise taxes to finance the war.Its time to take the battle to the people and make them understand just how dangerous George W. Bushs policies are to the future of America, the talking points conclude. Democratic sources say the talking points were developed by Democratic Chairman Terry McAuliffe, former Clinton campaign strategist James Carville, Senate Majority Leader Daschle and former House Democratic Leader Gephardt. This is a classic, Jim Carville, scorched earth campaign, crows one DNC staffer. Take no prisoners. Thats how you win elections. Democratic party spokesmen would not return phone calls seeking comment on this report.
jeeez louise....I feel like I have been hit in the stomach after reading that.
Thanks for posting it...
bookmark
Wow. I remember the Doug Thompson/Wilkerson source business very well. But whoever or wherever that came from, it has turned out to be incredibly accurate.
It's really amazing.
These folks, demonrats, are so stupid. Don't they KNOW that every word they say is recorded somewhere? I can't believe their collective stupidity.
What does it matter when no one in the Dept. of Justice, WH, Congress, Drive-By Media, or any other American institution has the honesty and fortitude to hold the Demagogues to account. Yes, we hear blather all the time about "accountability" but the concept is only applied to fatuous non-scandals that can be used against Republicans.
Don't hold your breath expecting scum like Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson to be held to any standard of accountability. It won't happen.
Don't worry, I won't bet the farm on anything in our government anymore. It's very sad to see the downward spiral in morals and accountability.
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