What's really behind the RW noise about Kerry's trip to the Middle East?

[whometense]

I think this Steve Clemons post holds the key: http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/001829.php

...Flynt Leverett, a former government official who worked at the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of State, and on the National Security Council staff of the George W. Bush administration, is now a senior fellow and Director of the Geopolitics of Energy Initiative at the New America Foundation.

He has written numerous books, manuscripts, working papers, and many dozens upon dozens of some of the most important public policy op-ed commentary on American engagement in the Middle East and has always dutifully submitted his materials to the CIA's review process. Never -- not even once -- has been a word or item changed in anything submitted.

The White House has now forced the CIA to heavily censor a 1000 word op-ed draft planned for the New York Times that is based on a much larger product he produced under the sponsorship of the Century Foundation titled "Dealing with Tehran: Assessing US Diplomatic Options Toward Iran." (A pdf of the article can be downloaded here.)

Leverett believes that the White House is now politicizing the "secrets review" process and is rewarding those who support Bush's policies and punishing those don't...

I recommend reading the whole thing, especially if you haven't been following the Flynt Leverett flap. Let's just say I don't think it's remotely :tinfoilhat:ish to see that the attacks on Kerry are no coincidence.

Also, http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/011613.php
and http://www.liberaloasis.com/2006/12/iran_shifts_bush_censors.php

[blm]

1. Elliott Abrams pops up again on another Iran story - where is the media?

Oh yeah - his cousin is running NBC's newsrooms now.

[karynnj]

2. Wow

Although I need to find a link, Bush actively discouraged pro-democracy Iranians from voting in the election that Ahmadnejad won. He claimed they weren't free - which they weren't.

He really does want to create more chaos. The attacks on Kerry do make sense. he is one of the few with the knowledge, guts and integrity to speak the truth.

[whometense]

3. I thought it was a Wow too,

but I've been in and out on the news the past few days, and wondered if someone else had already brought this up.

It looks like a HUGE story to me, and all the more so because the serious bloggers - Steve Clemons, Josh Marshall, Bill Scher - are all giving it a lot of attention.

[wisteria]

4. Bush and Rove are still playing politics as usual at the expense of

our soldiers,America and Democracy. This is more reason why we need leaders, like Sen. Kerry, willing to challenge this administration.
Bush and Company have learned nothing from this past election or the Baker Report. Bush still behaves as if he has a mandate. The man is delusional.

[LittleClarkie]

5. I think it was John Dean, or maybe Woodward, who said the Bush administration

has a bloated political wing, and almost no policy wing. It's all about how a decision will play, and not about whether it's actually working.

And we all know that Bush prizes loyalty over competency. So the truth matters little.

Anyone who doesn't agree with them will be kept marginalized if possible. They smear those who dissent. They call them unAmerican and traitors. Nevermind if they also happen to be right. Just think of how dissenters were treated before the Iraq War. There would indeed seem to be similarities.

It matters little to Bush whether or not Dodd, Kerry, or anyone in the Foreign Relations committee could actually make a difference. They go against his world view, and therefore must be slammed.

Truth is, if Kerry wasn't an issue, they wouldn't bother to attack him.