Author: catnip

Steve Clemons over at The Washington Note informs us that National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft will rip through Bush’s hide in an upcoming New Yorker article.

Clemons quotes from a UPI story Old Bush vs. new:

The article also contains some critical comments on the handling of U.S. foreign policy by the current President Bush from his father, whose 1989-1993 presidency is hailed for deft management of the end of the Cold War, German unification, the first Gulf war and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Scowcroft’s remarks follow on the heels of a scathing rebuke of the Bush administration this week by Larry Wilkerson who labeled the current atmosphere in Washington the result of the “Cheney-Rumsfeld cabal”.

Next week will likely be the worst week so far for this administration.

Here’s what’s on the radar screen:

* possible indictments in the investigation by Patrick Fitzgerald into the leak of Valerie Plame’s name.
* planned anti-war protests across the country the day after the US casualty rate reaches 2000.
* more developments, confusion and angst regarding the nomination of Harriet Miers to the US Supreme Court. (maybe she should give Bush a call to tell him he’s the “best president ever” to cheer him up a bit)
* the continuing scandals of Tom DeLay and Bill Frist.
* worst.poll.numbers.ever for Bush and Cheney.

more on the flip…

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In a stunning revelation that has caused a “furor” at the United Nations, The Times Online reports that the UN report on then assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri was edited prior to its release by a UN office:

THE United Nations withheld some of the most damaging allegations against Syria in its report on the murder of Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese Prime Minister, it emerged yesterday.

The names of the brother of Bashar al-Assad, President of Syria, and other members of his inner circle, were dropped from the report that was sent to the Security Council.

The confidential changes were revealed by an extraordinary computer gaffe because an electronic version distributed by UN officials on Thursday night allowed recipients to track editing changes.

more…

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On October 20, 2005, the United Nations released its report to date about its investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri which occured February 14, 2005. The report implicates Syrian and Lebanese officials, yet several original MSM headlines in the American press, along with TV coverage by CNN, only mention the Syrian connection.

Notably:

Washington Post (Robin Wright and Colum Lynch)
: U.N. Report Sees Syrian Involvement in Hariri’s Death

New York Times (John Kifner and Warren Hoge): Top Syrian Seen as Prime Suspect in Assassination

Bloomberg News: UN Probe of Rafiq Hariri’s Murder Implicates Syrian Military

Los Angeles Times (Maggie Farley): the headline was originally “Report Implicates Syrian, Lebanese Officials in Hariri Slaying” but the online version has now been changed to read U.N. Links Syria to Lebanon Slayings.

CNN: U.N. probe links Syria to Hariri killing

On the other hand, the Associated Press ran with this headline: U.N.: Syria, Lebanon Involved in Slaying

FOX (via AP as well): U.N. Probe Questions Lebanese President

more…

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Last weekend (was it only last weekend? it seems like months ago now), Judith Miller revealed in her NYT account of her grand jury testimony that when she was embedded with troops in Iraq in 2003 she had a special security clearance:

I told Mr. Fitzgerald that Mr. Libby might have thought I still had security clearance, given my special embedded status in Iraq. At the same time, I told the grand jury I thought that at our July 8 meeting I might have expressed frustration to Mr. Libby that I was not permitted to discuss with editors some of the more sensitive information about Iraq.

That raised some eyebrows.

Now, Miller has decided to clarify that status and that raises even more questions:

But Miller told the paper for a story published Thursday that her “clearance” was akin to the routine nondisclosure form for all reporters “embedded” with military units, which she signed when she was deployed with the 75th Exploitation Task Force. The unit’s job was to find weapons of mass destruction.

Miller said she also agreed to additional ground rules permitting her to discuss some secret information only with two of the paper’s top editors.

Wait a minute: didn’t she say in her own words, in her own NYT article that she told Fitzgerald she couldn’t discuss sensitive info with any of her editors?

One of Miller’s lawyers, Floyd Abrams says her special status was “unusual” and:

“Although the form she signed was similar to that signed by other journalists, her selection to be exposed to highly classified information was approved at a significantly higher level than is generally done, and this was because she was routinely exposed to secret information,” he said.

Judith Miller, propaganda tool of the neocons, given special security status by someone at a “significantly higher level”. What’s wrong with this picture?

more…

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Friday’s New York Times tells us that Karl Rove and Lewis “Scooter” Libby are definite targets of Fitztgerald’s investigation of the Plame leak.

They may not be busted on the most serious offenses, but it’s likely they will be indicted on lesser offenses that would still ruin their political careers, seeing them frog-marched right out of Washington.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 – As he weighs whether to bring criminal charges in the C.I.A. leak case, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the special counsel, is focusing on whether Karl Rove, the senior White House adviser, and I. Lewis Libby Jr., chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, sought to conceal their actions and mislead prosecutors, lawyers involved in the case said Thursday.

Among the charges that Mr. Fitzgerald is considering are perjury, obstruction of justice and false statement – counts that suggest the prosecutor may believe the evidence presented in a 22-month grand jury inquiry shows that the two White House aides sought to cover up their actions, the lawyers said.

Mr. Rove and Mr. Libby have been advised that they may be in serious legal jeopardy, the lawyers said, but only this week has Mr. Fitzgerald begun to narrow the possible charges. The prosecutor has said he will not make up his mind about any charges until next week, government officials say.

According to the NYT article, it is still quite possible that someone may be charged with espionage. Fitzgerald’s people are mum on the speculation though.

Blogger Matthew Gross thinks that Wurmser and Hannah are the most likely leakers, thus the rumours that they’ve both turned on their higher-ups who orchestrated the conspiracy.

Meanwhile, back at the conscience-challenged White House ranch, Bush referred to the investigation as background noise. I guess that’s what it sounds like when you hold your hands over your ears like a toddler and scream “I can’t hear you! La la la.”

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