Welcome Galley Slaves readers
Unfortunately, most of this blog is neither funny nor about movies. But you owe it to yourself to check out this post.
And if you want a taste of the real Lead and Gold blog, start here.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Most important lesson of the day
It's buried in a short post on movies. Trust me, you'll know it when you read it.
It's buried in a short post on movies. Trust me, you'll know it when you read it.
Wow, i agree with John Dean
If Plame was really covert, someone had to break the rules to reveal that classified information to Rove-- someone inside CIA or close to Plame. Rove, on his own, had no access to information about covert CIA employees. I tried to make that point last week here.
Rove must have had "authorized access to classified information" under the statute. Plame was an NCO (non-covered officer). White House aides, and even the president, are seldom, if ever, given this information. So it is not likely Rove had "authorized access" to it.Found here.
If Plame was really covert, someone had to break the rules to reveal that classified information to Rove-- someone inside CIA or close to Plame. Rove, on his own, had no access to information about covert CIA employees. I tried to make that point last week here.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Interesting activity for a "covert operative"
From the Jamuary 2004 Vanity Fair profile of Joe Wilson (found here):
From the Jamuary 2004 Vanity Fair profile of Joe Wilson (found here):
In early May [2003], Wilson and Plame attended a conference sponsored by the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, at which Wilson spoke about Iraq; one of the other panelists was the New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof. Over breakfast the next morning with Kristof and his wife, Wilson told about his trip to Niger and said Kristof could write about it, but not name him. At this point what he wanted, Wilson says, was for the government to correct the record. "I felt that on issues as important to our whole society as sending our sons and daughters to kill and die for our national security we as a society and our government have a responsibility to our people to ensure that the debate is carried out in a way that reflects the solemnity of the decision being taken," he says.I've always thought the Wilson to Kristof to Miller path was a pretty good explanation for how Miller learned about Plame's CIA job.
Not sure this is how it is supposed to work
A mother discovers that the handyman at her trailer park is a registered sex offender via the Pennsylvania version of Megan's Law. She sets out to warn other residents. The owner of the park commences eviction proceedings against the mother.
The story here.
A mother discovers that the handyman at her trailer park is a registered sex offender via the Pennsylvania version of Megan's Law. She sets out to warn other residents. The owner of the park commences eviction proceedings against the mother.
The story here.
Monday, July 18, 2005
Now that's an understatement
Duncan's defense attorneys have thankless job
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — The two public defenders of convicted sex offender Joseph Edward Duncan III have a thankless job in a community where many are baying for Duncan's blood.
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Joe Wilson's carefully calibrated '"courage"
Originally posted on Tuesday, July 20, 2004
For a year Amb. Wilson reveled in his persona as a courageous truth-teller who stood up to power and then warned the American people about the lies of the neocons. The factual case he presented in his book and in interviews has been shredded beyond repair. Less discussed is the curious timing of his courageous stand.
The New York Times op-ed that ignited the firestorm over "the 16 words" appeared on 6 July 2003. This was months after the SOTU speech where the words appeared.
Most importantly, it was after the war, after the capture of KSM, and after the Coalition called off the intense search for WMDs. Wilson knew that he was unlikely to be refuted by captured stockpiles or documents.
A courageous, public-spirited man who was certain that he really had debunked the case for war in 2002 would have gone public before the war. That way he might have prevented a grievous mistake by the government.
Evidence of opportunism? Certainly, and no great surprise. But it also suggests that Wilson was less certain of his conclusions in March 2003 than he now pretends he was.
Originally posted on Tuesday, July 20, 2004
For a year Amb. Wilson reveled in his persona as a courageous truth-teller who stood up to power and then warned the American people about the lies of the neocons. The factual case he presented in his book and in interviews has been shredded beyond repair. Less discussed is the curious timing of his courageous stand.
The New York Times op-ed that ignited the firestorm over "the 16 words" appeared on 6 July 2003. This was months after the SOTU speech where the words appeared.
Most importantly, it was after the war, after the capture of KSM, and after the Coalition called off the intense search for WMDs. Wilson knew that he was unlikely to be refuted by captured stockpiles or documents.
A courageous, public-spirited man who was certain that he really had debunked the case for war in 2002 would have gone public before the war. That way he might have prevented a grievous mistake by the government.
Evidence of opportunism? Certainly, and no great surprise. But it also suggests that Wilson was less certain of his conclusions in March 2003 than he now pretends he was.
Well, that's one way to get a gig with the network
The court also strongly rebuked then-prosecutor Nancy Grace -- now host of Court TV's "Closing Arguments" -- of engaging in "inappropriate and, in some cases, illegal conduct in the course of the trial."Article here.
This included, Carr's appeal said, an illegal search of Carr's home to allow one of Grace's expert witnesses to view the crime scene and allowing, before the trial, a CNN television crew to enter Carr's home while filming a feature on her.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Plame, Rove, and Cover
If we are to believe the anti-Rove hardliners, KR found out that Valerie Plame was a covert operative at CIA because he had access to classified material at the White House. It does not seem reasonable, however, to think that the name of a covert operative would be in a written report sent to the White House. That's what code names are for.
To go farther, the CIA officer would never be the source of intelligence; they would merely be the conduit. The source would be the spy, electronic bug, or loquacious bureaucrat that produced the information. Hence, the NSC might receive a top-secret report that stated that HIGHBALL, an Iraqi general in Basra, had reported that no sarin gas labs were in his city. It would be absurd for that report to say that HIGHBALL reported this information to Linda Smith a CIA officer who operated under cover as Penny Jones a German archeologist.
So it is with Plame. It does not make sense that CIA sent over material to the White House that identified her as a covert agent. Yet, if they did not share such information with the White House, then it is hard to see how Rove could have broken the law or done anything immoral.
If we are to believe the anti-Rove hardliners, KR found out that Valerie Plame was a covert operative at CIA because he had access to classified material at the White House. It does not seem reasonable, however, to think that the name of a covert operative would be in a written report sent to the White House. That's what code names are for.
To go farther, the CIA officer would never be the source of intelligence; they would merely be the conduit. The source would be the spy, electronic bug, or loquacious bureaucrat that produced the information. Hence, the NSC might receive a top-secret report that stated that HIGHBALL, an Iraqi general in Basra, had reported that no sarin gas labs were in his city. It would be absurd for that report to say that HIGHBALL reported this information to Linda Smith a CIA officer who operated under cover as Penny Jones a German archeologist.
So it is with Plame. It does not make sense that CIA sent over material to the White House that identified her as a covert agent. Yet, if they did not share such information with the White House, then it is hard to see how Rove could have broken the law or done anything immoral.
Everything bloggy must converge
In this post, I noted that one reason the Watergate cover-up received all the attention (as opposed to the burglary itself) was that only Nixon could direct an Oval Office cover-up. By focusing on that crime, the media and Congress could keep Nixon, and only Nixon, in their sights. I think the same thing is happening to Karl Rove in the Plame/Wilson matter.
Right now, the only question the MSM is interested in is did Rove use the words "Wilson", "wife", and "CIA" in a sentence spoken to reporters? The press corps acts as if the answer, in and of itself, is a modern day smoiking gun. They completely ignore the equally critical question-"did Rove learn about Plame from a classified source?" If Plame's employer was an open secret among reporters and pundits, then Rove did nothing wrong.
In fact, I do not think that Rove could have known about Plame from classified sources if she was really covert. Her identity, in that case, would never show up in any document sent outside CIA.
There is another interesting Watergate parallel. In his book Secret Agenda, Jim Hougan argued that the press missed a blockbuster story in Watergate: widespread domestic spying operations conducted by CIA. In his view, Nixon failed in his attempt to use CIA to stop the FBI investigation. OTOH, CIA was successful in using the Plumbers as a cover for their own (illegal) domestic activities and then managed to deflect investigators away from their operations and onto Liddy, Dean, Mitchell, and Nixon. In Plame/Wilson, the ignored question has been the role of Plame and her co-workers in feeding misleading information to the press and into the intelligence stream.
Right now Washington is obsessed over what Rove said and whom he said it to. It might also be useful to find out what Wilson said to Pincus, Judis, and Kristof about Plame and if she spoke to anyone else in the MSM.
In this post, I noted that one reason the Watergate cover-up received all the attention (as opposed to the burglary itself) was that only Nixon could direct an Oval Office cover-up. By focusing on that crime, the media and Congress could keep Nixon, and only Nixon, in their sights. I think the same thing is happening to Karl Rove in the Plame/Wilson matter.
Right now, the only question the MSM is interested in is did Rove use the words "Wilson", "wife", and "CIA" in a sentence spoken to reporters? The press corps acts as if the answer, in and of itself, is a modern day smoiking gun. They completely ignore the equally critical question-"did Rove learn about Plame from a classified source?" If Plame's employer was an open secret among reporters and pundits, then Rove did nothing wrong.
In fact, I do not think that Rove could have known about Plame from classified sources if she was really covert. Her identity, in that case, would never show up in any document sent outside CIA.
There is another interesting Watergate parallel. In his book Secret Agenda, Jim Hougan argued that the press missed a blockbuster story in Watergate: widespread domestic spying operations conducted by CIA. In his view, Nixon failed in his attempt to use CIA to stop the FBI investigation. OTOH, CIA was successful in using the Plumbers as a cover for their own (illegal) domestic activities and then managed to deflect investigators away from their operations and onto Liddy, Dean, Mitchell, and Nixon. In Plame/Wilson, the ignored question has been the role of Plame and her co-workers in feeding misleading information to the press and into the intelligence stream.
Right now Washington is obsessed over what Rove said and whom he said it to. It might also be useful to find out what Wilson said to Pincus, Judis, and Kristof about Plame and if she spoke to anyone else in the MSM.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Here's a perspective that you won't hear on CNN
Denounced but not disproved. Powell was not the last iconoclast to receive such treatment. How did this become the standard debating style among our chattering classes?
In 1968, the British Tory MP Enoch Powell made a prescient speech about the dangers of mass immigration to Britain that has been infinitely denounced ever since, although never disproved.
Denounced but not disproved. Powell was not the last iconoclast to receive such treatment. How did this become the standard debating style among our chattering classes?
Priceless
Lorie Byrd at PoliPundit on that dangerous DC gang the White House Press:
Lorie Byrd at PoliPundit on that dangerous DC gang the White House Press:
Big Tough Guys With Perfectly Coifed Hair
They sounded a bit like playground bullies, but ones with too meticulously styled hair and a little too much whine in their voices and prissy shoulder and hand motions to come across as exactly tough guys.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Plame/Wilson
PoliPundit: "Big Tough Guys With Perfectly Coifed Hair"
Cliff Kincaid: "Why Judith Miller Should Stay In Jail"
Junk Yard Blog: "A FIRST-CLASS SNAFU"
Also, here is a possible outing that the MSM does not have time for:
"Richardson could take prominent position in Wen Ho Lee lawsuit"
And just to keep the story straight and to help the MSM with their long-term memory problem, this is what Susan Schmidt wrote about in Wilson and Plame in the the Washington Post on Saturday, July 10, 2004:
PoliPundit: "Big Tough Guys With Perfectly Coifed Hair"
Cliff Kincaid: "Why Judith Miller Should Stay In Jail"
Junk Yard Blog: "A FIRST-CLASS SNAFU"
Also, here is a possible outing that the MSM does not have time for:
"Richardson could take prominent position in Wen Ho Lee lawsuit"
And just to keep the story straight and to help the MSM with their long-term memory problem, this is what Susan Schmidt wrote about in Wilson and Plame in the the Washington Post on Saturday, July 10, 2004:
Former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, dispatched by the CIA in February 2002 to investigate reports that Iraq sought to reconstitute its nuclear weapons program with uranium from Africa, was specifically recommended for the mission by his wife, a CIA employee, contrary to what he has said publicly.
Wilson last year launched a public firestorm with his accusations that the administration had manipulated intelligence to build a case for war. He has said that his trip to Niger should have laid to rest any notion that Iraq sought uranium there and has said his findings were ignored by the White House.
Wilson's assertions -- both about what he found in Niger and what the Bush administration did with the information -- were undermined yesterday in a bipartisan Senate intelligence committee report.
The panel found that Wilson's report, rather than debunking intelligence about purported uranium sales to Iraq, as he has said, bolstered the case for most intelligence analysts. And contrary to Wilson's assertions and even the government's previous statements, the CIA did not tell the White House it had qualms about the reliability of the Africa intelligence that made its way into 16 fateful words in President Bush's January 2003 State of the Union address.
Monday, July 11, 2005
9/11 Report and US sleeper cells
In light of the atrocity in London, this section of the 9/11 Commission's report is a cause for grave concern:
In light of the atrocity in London, this section of the 9/11 Commission's report is a cause for grave concern:
7.1 FIRST ARRIVALS IN CALIFORNIA
In chapter 5 we described the Southeast Asia travels of Nawaf al Hazmi, Khalid al Mihdhar, and others in January 2000 on the first part of the "planes operation." In that chapter we also described how Mihdhar was spotted in Kuala Lumpur early in January 2000, along with associates who were not identified, and then was lost to sight when the group passed through Bangkok. On January 15, Hazmi and Mihdhar arrived in Los Angeles. They spent about two weeks there before moving on to San Diego.1
Two Weeks in Los Angeles
Why Hazmi and Mihdhar came to California, we do not know for certain. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM), the organizer of the planes operation, explains that California was a convenient point of entry from Asia and had the added benefit of being far away from the intended target area.2
Hazmi and Mihdhar were ill-prepared for a mission in the United States. Their only qualifications for this plot were their devotion to Usama Bin Ladin, their veteran service, and their ability to get valid U.S. visas. Neither had spent any substantial time in the West, and neither spoke much, if any, English.3
It would therefore be plausible that they or KSM would have tried to identify, in advance, a friendly contact for them in the United States. In detention, KSM denies that al Qaeda had any agents in Southern California. We do not credit this denial.4 We believe it is unlikely that Hazmi and Mihdhar-neither of whom, in contrast to the Hamburg group, had any prior exposure to life in the West-would have come to the United States without arranging to receive assistance from one or more individuals informed in advance of their arrival.5
KSM says that though he told others involved in the conspiracy to stay away from mosques and to avoid establishing personal contacts, he made an exception in this case and instructed Hazmi and Mihdhar to pose as newly arrived Saudi students and seek assistance at local mosques. He counted on their breaking off any such relationships once they moved to the East Coast.6 Our inability to ascertain the activities of Hazmi and Mihdhar during their first two weeks in the United States may reflect al Qaeda tradecraft designed to protect the identity of anyone who may have assisted them during that period.
Saturday, July 09, 2005
i got nothin' to match this
Just One Minute is still the indispensable blog on Plame/Wilson/Novak/Miller. It has been since the whole scandal started. As an example, check out this post and the comments. If Valerie Plame actually leaked to reporters under the guise of a "CIA analyst" then she had no covert status to protect after her hubby wrote his op-ed.
Ace of Spades just skewers the press for its gullibility in reporting the charges of systematic torture at Gitmo and elsewhere. If this doesn't pique you interest, you must be in a coma.
Just One Minute is still the indispensable blog on Plame/Wilson/Novak/Miller. It has been since the whole scandal started. As an example, check out this post and the comments. If Valerie Plame actually leaked to reporters under the guise of a "CIA analyst" then she had no covert status to protect after her hubby wrote his op-ed.
Ace of Spades just skewers the press for its gullibility in reporting the charges of systematic torture at Gitmo and elsewhere. If this doesn't pique you interest, you must be in a coma.
This is a Penthouse Forum fantasy, not a credible ....charge. This is the sort of fantasy concocted by a sexually-repressed Islamoretard who believes such things are possible in the decadent US.
Friday, July 08, 2005
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