Posted on 04/08/2006 8:42:11 AM PDT by Carling
WASHINGTON, April 7 That President Bush authorized an aide to disclose classified intelligence on Iraqi weapons, as asserted in court papers, comes as no shock to official Washington. The leaking of secrets has long been a favored tool of policy debate, political combat and diplomatic one-upmanship.
"We've had leaking of this kind since the administration of George Washington," said Rick Shenkman, a presidential historian at George Mason University.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Where in that order does it say it applies to the president?
What can I say? These people are liars by saying that when the president releases information it is "leaked".
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I agree, since it is only logical. The criminal MSM aside, we should be objective about how this information, important or not, was handled. See my previous post containing the link to Bush's executive order modifying the procedures about how information is classified and declassifed. It does prove there is a process to be followed.
So how do you watch what a President does? I mean, you are clearly wrong on this 'leak', so I wonder how you form your incorrect opinions. I imagine you are "watching" him through a filter; I don't see Bush on CSPAN with a live running feed.
You don't seem very INFORMED to me. Why is this? I'd like to know.
The New York Sun reported today that I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby has testified that he released information from a National Intelligence Estimate in 2003 to a reporter prior to its publication. Predictably, the media and the blogosphere has overreacted, proving once again that most people do not understand classified materials, unclassified materials, and the process used to classify documents...Austin Bay: "So whats the story here? That someone who worked in the White House selectively passed properly declassified material to the press? Thats not a scandal; thats Beltway business as usual...Power Line: "This is the same "scandal" the press tried to sell a few months ago. I wrote about it here...David Ensor at CNN:If the president decides to declassify information, he has that legal right. So, it's not about a law being broken here, and it's not about Valerie Plame-Wilson's name.
UPDATE: Once again, the President has the authority to declassify materials at his discretion, a point hammered home by the Washington Post as well: Comments (43)
'The media has one mode: "Get Bush."'
"Anyone who has ever worked in intelligence for the US government knows perfectly well that a President, any President, can declassify anything they wish for any reason. Any President can delegate declassification authority down to any level they wish, down to the most newly minted second lieutenant, if they wish, as well."
http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/
Why do we need bloggers to fill in the relevant legal details on news stories...The sudden press flap over Scooter Libbys alleged revelation that President Bush declassified intelligence information related to Iraq is silly but all too predictable...Read the original to access the background links mentioned...(Via Instapundit)...Byron York concurs...More for the reading-comprehension-challenged in the peanut gallery - CNN's David Ensor; Comments (5) |
As usual when one of these stories comes out, my esteemed colleagues on the loony left email me gloating about how Bush is going DOWN this time, man! Usually a few obscenities thrown in for emotional impact.
Wish I had a dollar for every pumped-up soon-debunked half-baked pseudo-scandal theyve gloated over.
Because here we go again: Bush Authorized Leaks About Iraq, Libby Testified. link: 81 comments
(l) "Declassification authority" means:
(1) the official who authorized the original classification, if that official is still serving in the same position;
(2) the originators current successor in function;
(3) a supervisory official of either; or
(4) officials delegated declassification authority in writing by the agency head or the senior agency official.
Where in that order does it say it applies to the president?
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You are trying way too hard. Where does it say it does not? The order applies to ALL that handle classified information, and initiate the classification or declassification processes. And it was drafted and executed by Bush and his adminstration. It simply demonstrates there are procudures to be followed.
Here's the truth:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1611378/posts
We are being allowed to lose context in this issue. The proper context is that ALL information gathered by government should be available to the public. Only in extraoridinary circumstances should information be classified.
Declassifying documents should occur as quickly as possible.
See 65 and let me know if you want ketchup with your crow.
"Declassification" means the authorized change in the status of information from classified information to unclassified information."
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Exactly. And if Bush, Cheney or whomever, applied the proper processes to declassify that information, then it was done appropriately. If not, then the opposite applies. That is the essence of the original question, not some attempt to hang Bush. For some reason, Bush or his assigns will NOT answer that question which is not a good position to take and gives the criminal MSM every opportunity to raise serious doubt.
Explain the process the president is required to follow and who signs off for him.
bump
What will we do?
"Explain the process the president is required to follow and who signs off for him."
You didn't really read this did you....
In some exceptional cases, however, the need to protect such information may be outweighed by the public interest in disclosure of the information, and in these cases the information should be declassified. When such questions arise, they shall be referred to the agency head or the senior agency official. That official will determine, as an exercise of discretion, whether the public interest in disclosure outweighs the damage to the national security that might reasonably be expected from disclosure.
Since the Commander-in-Chief is the ultimate classification authority, he exercised his discretion that the public interest was in declassifying this document.
Are we going to have a political environment where only media lies are discussed?
Looks like a "senior official" has the discretion to disclose classified information.
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