Insider Leaks to Reporters Spread as CIA Turns Wary on Iraq

[seemslikeadream]

By E&P Staff

Published: September 29, 2004 11:00 AM EDT

NEW YORK Conditions in Iraq appear to be deteriorating so badly that CIA officials are now leaking to reporters left and right, signaling a new dynamic in press coverage of the war. Columnist Robert Novak noted this on Monday in a column titled, "Is CIA at War With Bush?"

The latest example: today's Washington Post, which includes a lengthy article by veteran war-at-home watchers Dana Priest and Thomas E. Ricks, based mainly on anonymous insider comments. They explain that many interviewed would only talk anonymously, "either because they don't have official authorization to speak or because they worry about ramifications of criticizing top administration officials."

Priest and Ricks write, "A growing number of career professionals within national security agencies believe that the situation in Iraq is much worse, and the path to success much more tenuous, than is being expressed in public by top Bush administration officials, according to former and current government officials and assessments over the past year by intelligence officials at the CIA and the departments of State and Defense.

"While President Bush, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and others have delivered optimistic public appraisals, officials who fight the Iraqi insurgency and study it at the CIA and the State Department and within the Army officer corps believe the rebellion is deeper and more widespread than is being publicly acknowledged, officials say."

"People at the CIA 'are mad at the policy in Iraq because it's a disaster, and they're digging the hole deeper and deeper and deeper,' said one former intelligence officer who maintains contact with CIA officials. 'There's no obvious way to fix it. The best we can hope for is a semi-failed state hobbling along with terrorists and a succession of weak governments.'

more
http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000649634

[SidDithers]

1. Wow...

The best we can hope for is a semi-failed state hobbling along with terrorists and a succession of weak governments.'

Think the American people are going to hear that bit of good news from the Boosh campaign?

Sid

[lancdem]

9. We all know Iraq is only going to get worse

Of course, that won't become apparent to many voters until AFTER the election, when I suspect a large number of Bush voters (not the fundies) will realize they made a major mistake, if Bush beats Kerry.

[crispini]

2. Go, CIA leakers!

The more you leak, the more it'll get into the SCLM.

[Barrett808]

3. Following Ellsberg's plea? n/t

[Carolab]

10. I believe

Ellsberg was asking for FBI informants to come forward...

[dweller]

4. Wonder if one of the 'insiders'

leaks anything to Kerry b4 the debates?

and what could Kerry do with it?

dp

[capriccio]

14. Yes & Yes

[OKNancy]

5. Article in the Post

that this article is about:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=871937

[Career Prole]

6. Is the CIA at war with bushco? You betcha!

bushco went against intelligence advice and invaded Iraq and then turned around and blamed the entire mess on the professionals who had warned them. This internecine war is another one the chimp shouldn't have started because unlike Iraq these guys are armed. They know the secrets, and secrets are what bushco runs on.
This move on bushco's part was about as dumb as insulting your dentist's mama right before he gases you up for your root canal.
The chimp could wake up with all his teeth gone.
:evilgrin:

[AndyTiedye]

13. Yo Mr. Novak! That Means The CIA Is At War With YOU Too!

YOU outed Valerie Plame and wrecked her network.
There may some CIA people out there who are a bit angry about that.
They tend to take that sort of thing personally.

[Career Prole]

15. I'm not sure I want to know Novakula's secrets.

At least not this soon after lunch! :D

[wrate]

30. In that case, let's have the CIA do what they do best...Overthrow the *

Administration as soon as possible please!

[radfringe]

7. but but but but but

bush* said everything was just okey-dokey their and we will be bringing troops home just as soon as they get done sweeping up the flower petals that were thrown...

hope Kerry brings this little article up during the debates

[lovuian]

8. CIA has been treated like Dirt by Bush

Its called Survival of the Fittest

Even they see that Bush is dangerous

[sendero]

11. The CIA..

... has been used and abused, blamed and shamed. I don't blame them one bit for refusing to play lie-ball with Bush* any more.

[yellowcanine]

12. Don't cross the CIA. They literally know where the bodies are buried.

You would think Poppy Bush would have warned Junior to quit slamming the CIA.

[napi21]

17. I expected this since Shrub first blamed the CIA!

You can ax one guy and probably get away with it, but to do the entire Dept...an organization with LOTS of inside info...is not a good idea!

]Wonder if 5 weeks is enough time to do enough damage?

[Career Prole]

35. I remember an former CIA agent (Ray McGovern, I think) spoke of

what a bad idea it was for shrub to stab the CIA in the back shortly after yellowcake-gate, much less trying to pin both 9/11 and the Iraq war on them. There's some pissed off spies now. I heard someone speculate (perhaps here, at that) that Tenet might have resigned in order to shoot flaming arrows at bushco from beyond their reach. I wouldn't doubt that's happened, either. :D
The timing may be perfect if they dump lots of stuff on bushco, because they aren't going to have time to start the spin machine up. Their lies need repetition and lots of it before myth becomes "fact" so we'll get to election day with a big-ass question mark hanging over their entire campaign. I'm kinda likin' the CIA's style!
:evilgrin:

[Media_Lies_Daily]

16. Poor little Bobby Novak....he just doesn't get it, does he?

[Career Prole]

18. Hello...is this the Washington Post?

I'm a "pessimistic neighsayer"
and have I got a scoop for you...
that cowboy's afraid of horses too!

[pacalo]

21. I like your style, Career Prole.

We need more humor here! (It's better to laugh than cry.)

[Career Prole]

27. Thank you kindly, Ma'am.

Just you wait 'til November 3rd. It'll sound like a schoolyard playground at recess.
:hi:

[leftchick]

19. Wow! Sounds like Russia's result in Afghanistan....

which was predicted to happen here way before the invasion. We at DU are GD geniuses!

[Vincardog]

20. The Blame game bites Bunny-pants. He can't blame it all on everybody else

without pissing off some people who can and will hurt him. :puke:
Lets hear it for the CIA. Little king george thought they were the house dogs for Bu$hco. Too bad they don't want to be that.

[Carolab]

23. CIA

not Bush's bitches anymore

[nolabels]

22. "The best we can hope for is a semi-failed state ........."

So what would be the worst, a large Arab nationalist country that coalesces after several of them US-Corporate propped up puppet governments collapses selling Oil for what they could really get for it.

Oh, we know it's all about the Zionist state that is also really just a covert puppet and doesn't even know that it is (perpetuates arms industry with half their budget coming from US taxpayers). The little belligerent nation needing to hide behind mama's skirt when times get bad, that says they will light them hordes of invaders up with our (non)secret :nuke:

Such a tangled web we weave


http://la.indymedia.org/news/2004/04/107605.php

Excuse the bravado, I was just trying to think like them (this was assuming they think :eyes: ). It's just so stupid that it might be funny if it wasn't so serious

[Disturbed]

25. I still don't understand.

Rumsfailed and Cheney started the OSP to gather info. to persuade Congress and the American people that Iraq invasionn was necessary and immediate. They took raw intell. from the CIA and converted it to what they wanted it to be. Powell then went to the UN with the bogus intell with the blessing of Tenet and lied to the World.

If the Neo Fascists knew that there would be no WMDs why did they go forward with lies, knowing that the lies would surface?

[KansDem]

26. Excellent question...

why did they go forward with lies, knowing that the lies would surface?

The best explanation I've read was right here on DU. Bush et al were expecting this war to be a short one. When the American people finally discovered that there were no WMDs, Saddam would have been long gone and the oil fields and American interests secured, with only a minimum number of "accepted" causalities on our side and their's.

Think Grenada and Panama: critics were effectively silenced by the war-drum pounding of the "patriotic" Media. The battles were over in a relatively short amount of time with Republicans left chortling about the nay-saying "liberals." Essentially, those who criticized Reagan/Bush's actions were shrugged off as non-entities in a kind of "who cares, it's all over" mindset.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

29. EXACTLY. Basically, if the war had been "easy" and "cheap" as they wished

and expected, the lazy American public wouldn't CARE that 200 soldiers died and 30 billion bucks expended, now it's over, we have glorious victory, and we're getting all this oil revenue from Iraq! Four more years!

And it's true! People wouldn't care, at least a whole bunch of them! Look how bad it is now, and how many people STILL want to vote for la boosh! People really have NO EXCUSE to not know about what a disaster Iraq is. Even as bad as the media has performed, there's PLENTY of information even on TV and in the "normal" print media.

If they "rosy" PNACer scenarios had come true, Bush would be polling 70% and they would be replacing the Stars and Stripes with the Bush family coat of arms, with little "W" shoulder patches on the soldiers of the U.S. military.

[ItsMyParty]

24. One of the major newspapers a few months ago confirmed what was

just rumors before: both the CIA and the brass in the Pentagon hate this administration and want it out. NOW, I am wondering if the spooks possibly have any 'personal' info on Bush?? I'm afraid the type of news you listed above is going in one ear and out the other---too many who think CIA and the like are 'bad' and that it's so wonderful to have a know-all God like George in charge. BUT, if they have some tabloid type pictures/tapes of George, that could be a whole different story. (I pray).

[Kikosexy2]

28. It's..

about time. I guess they're tired of the being the "fall-guy" for the 3 Stooges (Chimpy, Dicky and Rummy). Sh*t air all the dirt on these scumbags and let the sh*t fly in their faces!! Wouldn't that be just de-lovely??

[jumpstart33]

31. It's called "Plame blowback"

Come on, you knew all along that the CIA was not going to take kindly to this administration outing one of it's own especially after they forced Tenent to take the hit for Iraq.

[gbwarming]

32. Dan Schorr (NPR) did a good commentary on this and the assessment leaks

Shadows of U.S. Rivalry in Iraq

Senior news analyst NPR's Daniel Schorr says that the deep rivalry between the Pentagon and the CIA comes to the surface in their support of different Iraqi leaders. Ahmed Chalabi was the Pentagon favorite, while Iyad Allawi was a friend of the CIA.

http://www.npr.org/rundowns/rundown.php?prgDate=29-Sep-2004&prgId=2

[Disturbed]

33. If I were a CIA Agent

Novak would be in the ground.

[Jackpine Radical]

34. Well, now we know where the October Surprise is gonna come from.

Langley.

[Lostnote03]

36. NONuts is stealing my lines

......close to two yrs ago I stated to our local radio hack that the CIA and the W.H. were at war with each other.....