We have all heard about FLYNT LEVERETT’s efforts to get his OP-ED printed in the NY Times. Even after the CIA had cleared the piece as being OK, and un-classified material, the Bush administration scrambled to get the piece – at least, parts of it – edited out.
It should be interesting for the Blogosphere to play a game of “Fill In The Blanks” as the NY Times prints the OP-ED anyways, but with the edited parts blacked out.
A Sample of some of the material:
The argument that Iran helped America in Afghanistan because it was in Tehran’s interest to get rid of the Taliban is misplaced. Iran could have let America remove the Taliban without getting its own hands dirty, as it remained neutral during the 1991 gulf war. Tehran cooperated with United States efforts in Afghanistan primarily because it wanted a better relationship with Washington.
But Tehran was profoundly disappointed with the United States response. After the 9/11 attacks, xxx xxx xx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxxx xx set the stage for a November 2001 meeting between Secretary of State Colin Powell and the foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s six neighbors and Russia. xxxx xxxxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxx xx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxx xxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxx xxxxx xxxxx xx xxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxx xxxxx Iran went along, working with the United States to eliminate the Taliban and establish a post-Taliban political order in Afghanistan.
In December 2001, xxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx x Tehran to keep Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the brutal pro-Al Qaeda warlord, from returning to Afghanistan to lead jihadist resistance there. xxxxx xxxxxxx so long as the Bush administration did not criticize it for harboring terrorists. But, in his January 2002 State of the Union address, President Bush did just that in labeling Iran part of the “axis of evil.” Unsurprisingly, Mr. Hekmatyar managed to leave Iran in short order after the speech. xxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxx the Islamic Republic could not be seen to be harboring terrorists.
It should be interesting to see if some of the brighter bulbs in the Blogosphere can piece some of the edited material together. To make the game easier and more fun for all of us: Leverett has provided his original citations “to demonstrate that all of the material the White House objected to is already in the public domain.”
This could be fun! lol
This is a link to a Raw Story post where the supposedly relevant quotes from the references cited at the NYT have been assembled, and may be helpful in the task of deciphering the blacked out portions…
Perhaps one should say “Bush forces CIA edit – NY Times Prints Anyway”.
You are correct, but I think most people are pretty much up to speed on that. 🙂
to start the day off right. I so want Pelosi to redact her”Impeachment is off the table” remark. I think we are due for a wrie your rep campaign here folks. Who’s in? Let’s load up their fax machines and inboxes before they return from their 17th vacation of their three day work week year.
Spread a little holiday joy to your congress critters, eh? I haven’t stopped Emailing them to, umm, make suggestions since they were elected… lol
Given the CIA’s mania for secrecy and the fact they ok’d this just proves again how sick/twisted and paranoid this administration is..making Nixon look like an open book.
I know. The CIA is pretty careful about what is classified. The fact that all of the info was already out there in the public domain tells the story as far as censoring opinions in the press.
Bush will USE anything or anyone for political gain.