Spinning 16 words into basis for war - Seattle PI

[TacticalPeek]

Sunday, August 1, 2004

Spinning 16 words into basis for war

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD

The Bush administration's mishandling of Iraqi weapons issues remains a national embarrassment. No spinning of isolated facts in recent reports can change the erroneous grounds for war.

The administration's defenders would love to change the discourse. Some think discrediting former Ambassador Joseph Wilson is the key.

snip

GOP senators' claims that Wilson's wife, CIA agent Valerie Plame, suggested him for the job rests on modest evidence; there's more substantial evidence to the contrary. In any case, a suggestion wouldn't have been improper.

The fuss is largely irrelevant. Even if the Niger incident should prove belatedly true, it didn't amount to an imminent danger to the United States. As best anyone can tell, the alleged weapons threats just aren't there.

That's the administration's central embarrassment, but perhaps not the last tied to this issue. A criminal probe into the leaking of Plame's identity continues.


http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/184289_wilsoned.html

[skip fox]

1. Yes! Discrediting Wilson was the PRIMARY motive.

I'm amazed at how many people aren't thinking clearly about motive in this case since an invstigator's understanding of a motive is central to cracking the case.

The primary motives were NOT to punish Wilson or to warn others not to make such information public.

I'm still betting on Scooter Libby (Cheney's aide), though I wish it went higher. The motive of discrediting would take some really thinking, so I doubt it's W. (Unless prompted by Rove.) In fact, this is the only motive that would take real intelligence since an implicit backstory needs to "ride" the disclosed facts: That both Wilson and Plame (who, the story goes, "Had him sent to Niger") had an agenda to discredit Bush's speech and up-coming war with Iraq. See how that motive has a couple steps and complications involved, whereas the motives of punishment or warning are simple.

If we figure out what kind of mind (devious and clear) created the backstory, we have our man (or woman). . . . Come to think of it, what kind of relationship does Novak have with Rice?????


Thanks TacticalPeak for posting this find SeattlePI editorial. It would be good for us to keep this scandal front and center until election . . . since, God knows, it won't be "solved" previous to November.

(And I'm glad someone found an editorial on it . . . since an item in DU's Editorial section tends to stick around. I posted the essence of the above last night in GD and it sunk like a stone. Let's keep it out there!)

:toast:

[skip fox]

2. kick

:kick: