I think we need to take a look at the guy the lefty blogosphere has been painting as the white knight to Woodward’s dark lord of the sith… because his actions in the Plame story have not been completely above board either.
Pincus has definitely been on the case of the non-existant WMD’s, but perhaps he isn’t pursuing the same agenda as we would think?
Why would he have agreed to “keep Woodward out of the story”? Is that what a “reporter” would agree to if he was actually concerned with tracking down the truth? Especially considering October 2003 was when the Plame story really started to pick up steam…
But of course, no one is demanding Pincus answer that question as the spotlight is on Woodward.
I just happened to stumble across this tidbit at Rigorous Intuition today….
Guess where Pincus got his start?
US Army (Counterintelligence Corps 1955-57)
Now of course, one could say, okay, he used to be an army spook, but surely he left that all behind when he became a reporter…
Really? Then why would the CIA have paid for a few trips overseas in the 60’s to “attend conferences”?
The Washington Post, 18-Feb-1967, DETAILS: How I Traveled Abroad on CIA Subsidy
And why would the Moonie Times have referred to him as such:
on 31 July 1996 described Pincus by saying that “some in the agency refer to [Pincus] as ‘the CIA’s house reporter.'”
And he just happened to be part of the character assassination of Gary Webb after the CIA/ drug dealing story broke… coincidence?
Then there’s the fact that he was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (where he supposedly received the “George Orwell Award”) along with the following “journalists”
- Bob Woodward
- Judy Miller
- Thomas Friedman
- Joe Klein
- Irving Kristol
- Jim Lehrer
- Bill Schneider
- Brian Williams (I just can’t get enough of Limbaugh…)
Coincidence that the above all parroted the Administration’s line in the lead up to war?
And of course, Bob and Walter’s old boss…
Katherine Graham
The list of who has been on the Council (they may actually be lifetime members vs. term members, but suprise, suprise, the Council website doesn’t list the members) reads like a neocons wet dream… sure there are some “progressives” represented (including Jesse Jackson), but for the most part, it’s neocon central.
Okay, I won’t leave you guessing… here are some other illustrious members:
- Scooter Libby
- Donald Rumsfeld
- Douglas Feith
- Condi Rice
- James Baker
- John Bolton
- Kenneth Blackwell (ie. 2004 election fame)
- Paul Bremer
- Zbigniew Brzezinski
- John Deutch
- Bill Frist
- Porter Goss
- Jeanne Kirkpatrick
- Henry Kissinger
- Newt Gingrich
- Joseph Lieberman
- John Negroponte
- Grover Norquist
- Daniel Pipes
Yes America, these are the esteemed individuals tasked with advising the President on foreign policy.
So back to Pincus… are there any reporters at the WaPo who DON’T have a spook background? Or is that the main criteria for becoming a journo?
And I seriously want some answers as to why he agreed to Woodward’s ridiculous and unethical request.
Makes one wonder just who is being played here and if we really have any idea of what’s REALLY going on.
(oh, and just for giggles, check out the report on Chavez on the CFR homepage and tell me how “non-partisan” it is…)