Posted on 04/22/2006 12:27:36 PM PDT by demlosers
WASHINGTON, April 22 — In 1998, when President Bill Clinton ordered military strikes against a suspected chemical weapons factory in Sudan, Mary O. McCarthy, a senior intelligence officer assigned to the White House, warned the president that the plan relied on inconclusive intelligence, two former government officials said.
Ms. McCarthy's reservations did not stop the attack on the factory, which was carried out in retaliation for Al Qaeda's bombing of two American embassies in East Africa. But they illustrated her willingness to challenge intelligence data and methods endorsed by her bosses at the Central Intelligence Agency.
On Thursday, the C.I.A. fired Ms. McCarthy, 61, accusing her of leaking information to reporters about overseas prisons operated by the agency in the years since the Sept. 11 attacks. But despite Ms. McCarthy's independent streak, some colleagues who worked with her at the White House and other offices during her intelligence career say they cannot imagine Ms. McCarthy as a leaker of classified information.
As a senior National Security Council aide for intelligence from 1996 to 2001, she was responsible for guarding some of the nations most sensitive secrets.
"We're talking about a person with great integrity who played by the book and, as far as I know, never deviated from the rules," said Steven Simon, a National Security Council aide in the Clinton administration who worked closely with Ms. McCarthy.
Others said it was possible that Ms. McCarthy, who began attending law school at night several years ago, made a campaign contribution to Senator John Kerry's presidential campaign in 2004 and had announced her intention to retire from C.I.A., had grown increasingly disenchanted with the often harsh and extra-legal methods adopted by the Bush administration for handling Al Qaeda prisoners and felt she had no alternative except go to the press.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Exactly! You do not reveal classified information to those not cleared to receive it. Period. It's not debatable. I just wish they'd fired her long before now. She's a traitor, in my opinion. I hope she spends some serious time in federal prison.
So did Alrich Ames.
Reprehensible but typical NYT "spin control" masquerading as journalism. Does every member of the NYT reporting team have a direct FAX to/from the DNC?
crucify the bitch
It's called a "detail" and yes, operationally from daya to day Sandy was her boss. But the CIA was her employer. Bandy would have had major input into her annual review.
I believe the DCI and CIA chief were the same person, wearing two hats... until recent reorganization.
She is probably a dem.. one of many who are pulling this war on Bush which we all know members of the CIA are pulling to try and take him down. I hope Goss can clean that dept up in a hurry.
She'll lose her pension if she is convicted. She won't need it in prison anyway.
Remember when Sandy Burglar was sentenced? People here were upset that it was so light. Seems to me it included him cooperating with other investigations. Think he helped here to save himself?
Compare the seriousness and MSM coverage of McCarthy to Bush aide, Claude Allen, who scammed Target for a few bucks.
Mary, the CIA isn't in the business of playing nice by the rules. You leaked classified information and, as a result, you desrved to be fired. Maybe criminal charges should follow, too.
She confessed! Trust the NYT to try and spin it..
We know now via more press reports that she was a Clinton clone, a Burglar appointee and he was her patron and that she supported Kerryo for Prez. The fact is, as newsmax and Worldnet are reporting, the CIA operatives who are Clintoon holdovers are indeed out to undermine the Bushies on all levels. They thirst for lefty Dems regaining power so we can glide into that Third World status they so admire!!
Not only was it a lie...but a very damaging one to our relationships with some key allies in Europe...
Those countries named as site where these so-called prisons were...REALLY, REALLY are mad at the US...and the citizens of those countries are really, really mad that their government for going along with the US..
ANY attempt by the dems to try to compare this to Bush letting Cheney release some unclassified pre-war intelligence is ludicrous...but, the MSM will let them get away with this...
I can hear Harry Reid on the Senate floor, Monday, saying that McCarthy is a victim of McCarthyism...or some stupid thing...
I post here on rare occasion but have lurked 10-20 times each day for years. Is it my imagination, or are all of the following true?
1. The NYT has gone from crazy to utterly and totally incoherent over the past 12 months. (I subscribe to and read the NYT daily for the same reason that folks can't avert their eyes to train wrecks.)
2. The bloggers at Free Republic, Powerline, etc., have been increasingly effective at pummeling the NYT, and I mean PUMMELING the NYT.
3. NYT shareholders (other than the family owners) get it that the NYT is a complete and unmitigated disaster.
4. The NYT continues to think they can ignore this pummeling, but are showing signs of an awakening.
We can all see this war of attrition between the MSM and the Bush Administration. I'm just more and more convinced that the NYT is in far worse shape, objectively, than anyone has heretofore pointed out.
Or am I just fantasizing?????
Actually the top of the hour news I am hearing is all about this. Wait until the Talk Radio people sink their teeth into this Monday. This is NOT going away.
I posted on Howlin's main thread...that I am going to watch the Sunday shows...tomorrow ONLY to see if ANY of them mention this...and ask any of their guests about this...
Fox News has Jane Harman of the House Intelligence Committee..she should be asked what she knows about McCarthy...don't you think?
Well, one can only hope that the sting that caught her, will catch many more. Hopefully the Clintonistas will realize that they will have to wonder if everything they see at CIA might now be a canary trap, and it drives them to quit..
She was CIA assigned to the New York Times.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.