Anyone else thinking "Spygate" is a PNAC ploy to get us into Iran?

[KoKo]

So many of us had high hopes for the "Spy" story which broke on CBS last night to blow open PNAC and their influence on this Administration and forcing us into Iraq Invasion. Many of us thought this would be the "tie in" to the Plame Investigation that we thought Josh Marshall and others were working on that would "shift the tectonic plates."I was up until 2:00 a.m. reading Linda Rozen's "War and Piece" site and checking Josh every five minutes. I also read Atrios Blog and the comments there.

Now this afternoon I see Josh finally has new information up on his Blog and Linda has updated her site.

Folks it's looking to me like Larry Franklin could have been set up in a sting operation by the FBI. He's going to take a fall, but it will be presented as a desperate attempt for Franklin to get information that Iran is "imminently threatening Israel" and Franklin had to bypass our administration and get it to the AIPAC folks in a desperate plea to get the news to Israel.

I hope I'm wrong about this, but reading Rozen and Marshall's blogs I have this very bad feeling that it's another "rabbit out of the hat for Rove." Repugs always take bad news for them, and turn it into a counter attack which in the end gives them what they want. An election surprise of "Invasion of Iran" because Franklin's information
that he was passing along will be spun as somehow as trying to defend Israel against an attack?

I hope I'm wrong...and figure someone here can tell me why with all the PNAC'ers running an intelligence operation out of the back room of the Pentagon with ties to Gorbanifar (Iran Contra and Chalabi) the FBI would go after Larry Franklin...the least of them according to what I've read. :shrug:

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LINKS:

From Josh Marshall: Talking Points Memo:

The main focus thus far has been on the highly sensitive and troubling allegation that an ally, Israel, was spying on the United States or the recipient of classified information from a US government official.

However, I strongly suspect that as this story develops the bigger deal will be less the alleged recipient of the information, Israel, than the country that is the subject of the information, Iran.

I don't mean to imply that it's an either/or. It can very much be both. But the reportage thus far has understated the degree to which this is an Iran story -- it grows out of the simmering and unresolved administration battle over policy toward Iran.
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/


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From War and Piece Website: Rozen

The FBI Investigation Continued.

Key Update: Here's my latest thought on this: As I understand, Franklin wasn't motivated to pass the information to Aipac to give it to the Israelis. He wanted our own government to act. He wanted to get it to the NSC and the White House.

I'm not joking. From what I understand from my sources, Franklin was desperately trying to get the US government to act on this intelligence. Aipac was just a tool for getting influence in Washington and the White House.

Go read the post below for all the background to this.

Posted by Laura at 01:24 PM

[Warpy]

1. Let's face it, the Iraq war and removal of Hussein

directly benefited Israel and a couple of expat Iraqis with grudges. This war has done nothing for the US and plenty to the US.

I don't think Franklin is part of a sting, I don't think he's being set up to take the fall, and I don't think this will promote a new war in Iran. If anything, this whole thing may torpedo any attempt to sell a war in Iran by tying the whole march to war to the Israeli lobby and (by extension) the Sharon government.

I think this thing was leaked to the media by FBI guys who were terrified that Asscrock would bury the whole thing, that it would never become known, and that the Israel lobby could continue to run US foreign policy unopposed, glory jee to beezus.

[DoYouEverWonder]

2. On no

This is payback from the anti-neocon folks in the CIA and DOD.

There are a lot of career professionals, who are very, very po'd at Rummie and his civilians.

[reprehensor]

3. Nope.

It's disinformation intended to draw your attention away from Rummy's share of the blame in 'Torture-Gate' and to give the media hounds something to chew on other than this:

The former Texas official who got George Bush into the National Guard apologizes for making sure that young men with important "family names" did not have to fight in Vietnam.

Logistically, the military is too overstretched due to Rummy's shitty planning, so an invasion of Iran won't happen right away anyhow.

[KittyWampus]

7. Nope Again... ALL Three Stories Are True

and if you don't realise that exposing Likud influence of US Foreign Policy isn't more important the Junior's getting into the Guard- I beg you to reconsider.

[OHswingvoter]

4. I agree that we better keep an

eye peeled on these republicans. They have a knack of turning these things to their advantage.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

5. it was my first thought given Perle being on both Israeli and US Defense...

Boards, simultaneously on both boards :shrug:

[allalone]

6. maybe but also the story about Iran cracking down on women

owning certain animals etc. is also a setup. oh those awful people.

[ursacorwin]

8. they are so awful.

and i hate the fact that i'm inclined to feel scared...plates are shifting, even if the SCUM (so called unbiased media) doesn't present it as such.

this kind of thing never gets exposed to the light of press-sunshine. some one(s) is/are trying to preempt/distract/something. ok i'm not sober, but dammit i'm nervous as hell about all this. spook against spook.

i heard some awful stuff recently, people. i can't share it, but suffice it to say i'm walking on eggshells these days. what the hell is going on in DC?

[Classical_Liberal]

9. The neocons have strengthened the fucking hardliners considerably

in my view, and I think they know well that their provocation does this. They are in league with fundies in the US and Israel who don't view women as equals either, so the hangings of teenage lolitas and other ridiculousness doesn't cause them to lose sleep. They like this in fact because then they can use it to propagandize naive liberals into thinking our own fundies in the Bush administration represent the forces of progress. I believe with all my heart that fundies on both sides of this would like a clash of fundyisms, and for the world to turn into a dark age swamp.

[allalone]

10. clearing up my post

I was trying to be sardonic. Awful is only mild for the treatment of women all around the world. This is what the fundamentalists are trying to do to us. I used to think Americans were too tough and savvy to fall for the snake oil salesmen, but I think I was wrong. How can you be a woman and vote for those old, rich white men who hate us so much. I saw a grandmotherly looking lady today at the Kerry meeting waving a bush/cheney sign. She looked so normal.