New Republic: CIA Back-Stabbed Bush to Cover Itself

Newsmax ^ | 5/31/02 | Carl Limbacher

[Lucky2]

New Republic: CIA Back-Stabbed Bush to Cover Itself

The CIA leaked that infamous Aug. 6 memo mentioning a possible terrorist hijacking to throw the blame on President Bush and cover up its own incompetence, suggests the New Republic.

The left-leaning but respected magazine notes the meaningless vagueness of the memo. "The real scandal, in other words, isn't Bush's non-reaction to the CIA memo. It is the memo itself - which testifies powerfully to the shoddy nature of the CIA's pre-9/11 anti-terrorism work," Richard Miniter writes.

"But rather than focusing on CIA incompetence, the media and congressional Democrats have used the memo to push the juicier story of White House inaction. Which may be just what the people who leaked the memo wanted - because the people who leaked it may be from the CIA itself."

In an appearance Friday morning on Fox News Channel, Miniter used stronger language than that. He indicated that though there was no absolute proof of the CIA's guilt in leaking the memo to CBS (the most anti-Bush of the non-cable networks), it was all but certain.

Asked why CIA Director George Tenet would do such a thing to the president, Miniter responded that Tenet was a Washington insider concerned mainly with protecting himself and diverting attention from the failures of his own agency.

Don't forget, of course, that Tenet is a leftover from Bill Clinton.

The article in the June 3 issue of New Republic details the CIA's motive for back-stabbing Bush:

"The Agency has been defensive about its pre-9/11 failures from the start; and in recent months the House and Senate Intelligence Committees' investigation into the intelligence failures preceding the attacks has made it much more so. Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Richard Shelby is on record as calling for CIA Director George Tenet's resignation, and last month the committee forced Tenet's longtime associate, L. Britt Snider, to resign as the committee's staff director.

'CIA Is Obstructing'

"In response, the CIA is obstructing the investigation as much as it dares. It has barred its employees from giving committee staff its business cards, according to The Washington Post. And - using a classic bureaucratic stalling tactic that won't win any friends on Capitol Hill - Langley has refused to turn over documents it got from the FBI and other agencies without those agencies' approval.

"Recently, when the Agency learned that some Senate Intelligence Committee staffers faulted the CIA for failing to grasp the significance of an April 2001 meeting in Prague between 9/11 ringleader Mohammed Atta and Iraqi intelligence officer Ahmed al-Ani, the CIA suggested that the meeting probably never occurred. (Had they grasped its significance, they might have investigated Atta and found that he was in the United States.) Unfortunately for Langley, Czech intelligence is standing by its story, and a Czech member of parliament briefed by that nation's intelligence service believes airport security cameras caught the meeting.

"Add to this the committee's apparent interest in the CIA's long-standing inability to hire Arabic-, Turkic-, and other language specialists; its legendary refusal to share information with other parts of the government; and the fact that it analyzes less than 10 percent of the data that its costly satellites collect, and you have an investigation that frightens Langley to death," Miniter writes.

In addition to motive, the agency had opportunity. "Only Tenet and a handful of top CIA officials would have had access to the August 6 memo. Which suggests that either they leaked it, or they allowed it to fall into the hands of someone who did."

Miniter, a senior fellow at the Brussels think tank Center for the New Europe, goes on to elaborate why it is unlikely the FBI or congressional Democrats leaked the memo.

He concludes that "you can bet that a White House with a deep hatred of leaks has already put out the bloodhounds to find the source of this one. The CIA's effort to deflect the political heat, in other words, may end up backfiring. And sometime later this year, don't be surprised if Tenet quietly announces that he is leaving his post to 'spend more time with his family.' If he does, the August 6 memo will have finally done some good after all."

[Lucky2]

I did a search and did not see this already posted. If this is true and I believe it is, Bush needs to clean house immediately. Clinton hold-overs are more evil than some of the terriorists.

[patriciaruth]

Got a broom?

[Asclepius]

... He indicated that though there was no absolute proof of the CIA's guilt in leaking the memo to CBS (the most anti-Bush of the non-cable networks), it was all but certain ...

The plan backfired. The president's poll numbers held; Democrat poll numbers plummeted, at least on national security issues. The grimmest irony for the elites of our permanent government is the blowback from their bungled campaign of leaks and misdirection: the CIA and FBI are under closer scrutiny now than they ever were.

If only our president would organise a cleansing purge.

[gcruse]

 
The left-leaning but respected....

Move toward the Light, Carl.

[section9]

You know, I suspected a Rat on one of the intel committees.

But I should have seen the signs. This makes sense. The CIA has been clumsy, arguing that they had a plan all along to deal with bin Laden but were never allowed to do it. So now what happens when Shelby starts throwing lamps all over Capitol Hill? Memos and leaks start coming out about the White House and the FBI.

NOTHING came out about the CIA.

It would be sad if the memory of a heroic agent such as Johnny Spann were tarnished by a Director more interested in covering his ass than anything else.

However, there is an upside: this gives Rudolph Giuliani his dream shot to take down Al Qaeda. The man's a bulldog, and should be given his chance at payback.

Besides, the CIA needs a buttkicker up top.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[exit82]

Tenet should have been kicked out on 1/21/01. I hope Bush learned something here. Everyone is definitely NOT on the same team. And everyone in the FBI, CIA, NSA, and Justice Department aligned with Clinton, needs a heave ho or a reassignment to Dogpatch pronto.

[denydenydeny]

"Recently, when the Agency learned that some Senate Intelligence Committee staffers faulted the CIA for failing to grasp the significance of an April 2001 meeting in Prague between 9/11 ringleader Mohammed Atta and Iraqi intelligence officer Ahmed al-Ani, the CIA suggested that the meeting probably never occurred. (Had they grasped its significance, they might have investigated Atta and found that he was in the United States.) Unfortunately for Langley, Czech intelligence is standing by its story, and a Czech member of parliament briefed by that nation's intelligence service believes airport security cameras caught the meeting.

FYI.

[Lucky2]

The more this administration tries to work with the Rats, the more leaks and stabs in the back they are going to get! I do not trust the Rats, period.

[LarryLied]

The New Republic doesn't know anything. There is a similar story around which pins the blame on the Mossad. The writer of that doesn't know anything either. Everyone is pinning the release of the memo on their favorite bug-a-boo.

[okie01]

"Unfortunately for Langley, Czech intelligence is standing by its story, and a Czech member of parliament briefed by that nation's intelligence service believes airport security cameras caught the meeting."

Emphasizing the point. And you forgot to ping Shermy...

[Ciexyz]

I saw this report on Fox News this AM and it sounded logical to me. A Clinton holdover trying to screw Bush--I can believe it.

[Mitchell]

Yes, there have been previous reports of this. At this link, Edward Jay Epstein says (referring to an Oct. 27, 2001, New York Times article by Patrick E. Tyler and John Tagliabue):

The Times story provided a number of new details, such as a Czech member of parliament, who had been briefed by the Czech intelligence services on this issue, said he “believed the meeting with Atta may have been captured by airport surveillance cameras.” This would imply that the meeting took place at the Prague airport.

Other reports place the meeting at a cafe at the Prague airport. There might be some confusion with an earlier Prague meeting between Atta and al-Ani, in June, 2000, which was also said to be in a cafe (I think in the city proper, not the airport).

[mrsmith]

"The Agency has been defensive about its pre-9/11 failures from the start"

It's failure was simply caused by the "no unsavory characters" limitation put on it, so it didn't need to leak this.

Of course there might have been some decisions by high CIA officials against using specific "unsavory characters" that were, in hindsight, deadly wrong.

[DrLiberty]

"Tenet should have been kicked out on 1/21/01. I hope Bush learned something here. Everyone is definitely NOT on the same team. And everyone in the FBI, CIA, NSA, and Justice Department aligned with Clinton, needs a heave ho or a reassignment to Dogpatch pronto."

But he wasn't kicked out was he? Why? Primarily because of the insistence of George HW Bush, as I recall from the articles at the time. He reassured the younger Bush that Tenet was OK....and as past CIA Director GHWB would know.

Or is it that Tenet knows alot more than Junior does about what's really going on here?

[texlok]

The plan backfired. The president's poll numbers held;

The plan worked perfectly, it put a lot of pressure on Bush, took the spotlight off of the CIA, and with the FBI fiasco of ignoring about as much as evidence as they would have needed, the CIA is sitting pretty. I don't know that the CIA leaked it, I doubt anybody ever will, but if it was, it succeeded. Too many tried to blame Bush, and this was one more piece of ammunition. Most of the problems (the real problems) seem to concern people left over from Clinton's administration, as well as the PC environment that ran rampant.

As far as poll numbers, FReepers should not place so much importance on them, otherwise they have selective memory - the elder Bush had higher numbers and it didn't get him re-elected.

[exit82]

Makes one wonder, right Dr.? After 1/20/01, President Bush would have been better served and more respected by the Dims if he cleaned out the Clintonites. If he doesn't realize this by now, he never will.

[Shermy]

the possible disinfo came from a newsweek article by Isikoff. I noted if there was a mistake (maybe) about meeting Atta in April, that doesn't mean there weren't other meetings. Isikoff seems to miss this point, presuming there could only be "one" meeting.

Here's a thread where we discussed it. See esp. T.G.S's and my posts:

Czech Officials Say Story That Atta Met with Iraqi Agent in Prague May Be Wrong

And here's a follow-up article from the Czech press, much to hesitant to challenge the Western press it finds (or hopes) is "prestigious."

Czech Minister Doubts US Reports Questioning Atta's Contacts With Iraqi Agent

If there is disinfo going out there, the issue, for one, where the Anthrax came from, or its history, is surely an issue uncomfortable to someone.

[Mitchell]

the possible disinfo came from a newsweek article by Isikoff

Isikoff was the vehicle for the disinformation. But it is likely that it was somebody in an official position of some sort who gave him the story.

[denydenydeny]

I think that videotape of the Atta-Al-Ani meeting will be shown to us--on the day we start bombing Iraq.

If there were a pool, my bet would be on September 11, 2002.