[harpo11]

I do not understand how a "secret report" "classified Pentagon report" provided to Congress on January 8, can be obtained by the Los Angeles Times defense analyst and Times contributor William Arkin.

Who gave it to him and what did the giver hope to obtain or achieve in divulging top secret/classified information to the press concerning America's National Security?

[Dutch Boy]

This seems more like a way of putting countries on notice. Nothing wakes you up more than to be on a nuke target list. Not sure if this ultimately is a good or a bad think but I am reassured that at least someone it planning for our safety and protection.

[Paraclete]

According to Condi Rice this morning on MTP, the report was "selectively leaked." I take that to mean that this is information the administration wanted revealed. It is valuable as a deterrent -- letting these countries know they're in the sights -- so they better watch their step.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

I do not understand how a "secret report" "classified Pentagon report" provided to Congress on January 8, can be obtained by the Los Angeles Times defense analyst and Times contributor William Arkin.

Transcript of Pentagon Office of Strategic Disinformation Meeting, 5 January 2002

SECDEF(Rummy): Okay, now, we need to instill in these bastards a credible fear that we’ll nuke there asses if they try anything stupid. Whether or not we’ll actually do it is another thing, we want to fear that we would. How we gonna get the message to them?

CJCOS(Myers): Could we have the Swiss Ambassador hand them a note?

RUMMY: Naw, they’ll see that as a bluff, they won’t think we’re serious.

COL. Anderson: What if we plant a story on the Drudge Report?

ALL: Studied silence.

ANDY: OK, something else.

RUMMY: What if we told congress, and their staff under pains and penalty of espionage law, that we were drawing up plans for attacks on certain countries. Might as well publish it in the legal notice section of the Washington Post.

MEYERS: They’d know about it in hours.

ANDY: Our media would believe it, but would they?

MEYERS: Could they afford not to?

……