Plame's Lame Game [Wilson whupping by Hitchens]

Slate ^ | 7/13/04 | Christopher Hitchens

[Gothmog]

"Two recent reports allow us to revisit one of the great non-stories, and one of the great missed stories, of the Iraq war argument."

[Hitchens cites the "alleged martyrdom" of Wilson and Plame and the fact that Niger really is the center of an illegal uranium ore ring]

[Snip]

"To say this is not to defend the Bush administration, which typically managed to flourish the only allegation made about Niger that had been faked, and which did not have the courage to confront Mr. and Mrs. Wilson in public with their covert political agenda. But it does draw attention to an interesting aspect of this whole debate: the increasing solidarity of the left with the CIA. The agency disliked Ahmad Chalabi and was institutionally committed to the view that the Saddam regime in Iraq was a) secular and b) rationally interested in self-preservation. It repeatedly overlooked important evidence to the contrary, even as it failed entirely to infiltrate jihadist groups or to act upon FBI field reports about their activity within our borders."

[Deb]

Novak has tried to get the truth out about this from the beginning, but has been totally ignored while Wilson has written a book, cried huge glistening tears and played the victim on every news show from Charlie Rose to MTV.

Why didn't Hitchens do this piece for Vanity Fair which uses great hunks of every issue to trash the war effort and defeat the president?

[Zhangliqun]

"Why didn't Hitchens do this piece for Vanity Fair which uses great hunks of every issue to trash the war effort and defeat the president?"

I think maybe you've answered your own question.

[Ben Hecks]

"I think some of Wilson's "French contacts" will be exposed during the oil for food scandal and it is possible that Wilson has been the architect and go-between. The husband of someone with access to everything..."

I suspect you are correct. Wilson actively supported efforts to lift sanctions on Saddam based on the claim that it was bringing undue hardship to the Iraqi people (it's the children, you know). I would think it would have been impossible for Wilson not to have known about the oil for food dealings; he must have been aware of the value of oil exports versus the value of food, medical supplies and other humanitarian aid that was received in Iraq and how the proceeds from oil exports was being spent.

[YaYa123]

Just curious....whatever happened to Bill Press? He's been missing from MSNBC (and the planet), for a long time. I only thought of him today because I remember how "Buchanan & Press salivated over Joe Wilson, hook, line, and spinner! How they had this former CIA agent Larry Johnson on to tell us how Valerie Plame's career had been ruined by Scooter Livvy.

And lordyloo...where oh where is Dennis Kucinich?? I was googling today, ended up on something called Wonkette ?...and found the tidbit that Shirley McClaine was godmother to his offspring. Who knew he had any?

Valerie Plame still works for the CIA, doesn't she?

I was so glad Rush finally got around to Joe Wilson today, and I liked his take on it: That the source of the Wilson leak was someone in the CIA who knew Wilson was lying when he said his wife didn't recommend him for the Niger job. Tenet maybe?

[finnigan2]

I know, I know. Everyone claims that Hitchens has a brilliant mind, a way of presenting reasoned arguments to slice n'dice his opponents, but his essays bore me silly. He's like George Will in that they both are so wrapped up in their own hype that they nuance the hell out of everything. Frankly, although I agree with them on most things I just fall asleep reading their turgid prose.
Now, Mark Steyn! There's a guy that can keep you awake!

[cyncooper]

And lordyloo...where oh where is Dennis Kucinich?? I was googling today, ended up on something called Wonkette ?...and found the tidbit that Shirley McClaine was godmother to his offspring. Who knew he had any?

What?! Who knew indeed. LOL (Did I tell you how my husband's brother showed up at Christmas wearing a Kucinich t-shirt? Yes, he did. With a pin with a picture of Kucinich!! LOL).

I have no idea where Bill Press is. None of the media that touted Wilson have said "My God! I was snookered!". Jerks.

It wasn't Tenet, as in Tenet was not working against GWB. Tenet immediately, after Wilson's op-ed, pointed out Wilson's trip was worthless, that he'd been sent by a sub-group on their own volition, that he hadn't mentioned any documents at all--forged or otherwise, AND he mentioned the earlier Wilson trip where he did think Iraq was seeking uranium from Niger. Tenet could have been a source, I concede, to a journalist explaining that Wilson was sent at his wife's recommendation, but I'm willing to bet if so, the president and the investigators know this and no public comments are being made due to the ongoing investigation, which I pray is into the Wilsons and whether they committed crimes here.

I liked Rush saying today that Kerry should be asked what he knows about this plot to spread disinformation and when did he know it. Just liked having it put out there.

The "leak" was never about "getting" Wilson. It has always been that it was offered by way of explanation of the otherwise inexplicable question of "Why in the world was Joe Wilson of all people chosen for this mission?".

Why, indeed.

As to Plame still being at the CIA--yes, and that gives me hope that my theory is right. There will be a huge hue and cry if anything ever happens to her--fired and/or indicted and the firing will not happen until the authorities have their ducks in a row. You see what I'm saying?

[vrwc1]

"To say this is not to defend the Bush administration, which typically managed to flourish the only allegation made about Niger that had been faked,...

Hitchens can't even be intelluctually honest about the allegations. He knows darn well that the British intelligence services still stand solidly by their information, yet he chooses to ignore it. What makes him think that the British, who have better collection assets in Nigeria, don't have better information on this issue than the CIA? At the very least, what gives him the right to simply blow them off without informing his readers of this fact?

[Pres Raygun]

I've read that Wilson was very tight with Saddam himself and actually convinced Saddam to release the hostages he took prior to the first gulf war.

I've wondered whether Wilson was the one who told Saddam that the US would look the other way if Saddam invaded Kuwait.

[MEG33]

Oh, WOW that Cliff may article on Wilson is very revealing..Seems the Ambassador is not such a hotshot after all and has been making a lot of money somewhere after his early retirement from the Foreign Service as he seemed to be going nowhere..

[Gothmog]

For more on the subject of the CIA ignoring information because it does not fit their agenda, check out this from the Washington Post (of all sources):

The Washington Post, Farah and Schultz, 7/14/04

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48221-2004Jul13.html

"U.S. Gen. Charles Wald, deputy commander of the European Central Command, has been warning Congress and the Pentagon for months that al Qaeda-affiliated groups are active in Mauritania, Mali, Chad and Niger. The trade in diamonds used by terrorist groups, begun under the protection of former Liberian strongman Charles Taylor, continues despite international efforts to curb it. 'The terrorist activity in this area is not going to go away,' Wald warned recently. 'This could affect your kids and your grandchildren in a huge way. If we don't do something about it, we are going to have a real problem on our hands.'

"Wald has had success in bolstering regional efforts to face the terrorist challenge, but the problem is real. Despite Wald's warnings and other reporting on al Qaeda's regional activities and ties to the diamond trade, the intelligence community (particularly the CIA) has dismissed the reporting as inaccurate or irrelevant."