Questions and Theories About the Pentagon Spy Scandal

[indyjones1938]

I'm still somewhat hazy on the details behind the Pentagon spy scandal and who leaked it (and why). Here's the theories I've read here so far...

(1) Leaked by the White House itself, on a Friday news dump day, in order to preempt an imminent leak during the Republican convention by someone else.

(2) Leaked by the CIA as "revenge" against Bush and the neocons for using the agency as a scapegoat. Interestingly, this seems plausible since Bush just approved a new law today that will give CIA chief and neocon Porter Goss widely expanded powers over the U.S. intelligence system.

(3) Patrick Buchanan theorizes that it was actually leaked by someone at the Pentagon itself in order to throw the FBI investigation off course and prevent the implication of higher-ups. Buchanan seems to think that Wolfie or even Rummy himself could be involved with the spy scandal.

But the only constant theme I can find in all these theories is that the United States and/or Israel were planning to launch an attack against Iran. Otherwise, why would an Israeli spy be there in the first place?

[David Dunham]

1. This spy story will definitely hurt Bush in any case.

[iconoclastic cat]

3. I'm confused about that idea.

Won't this just make Bush look like a dolt (old news) at worst? Why is this so bad for him?

[Cocoa]

4. it will make the war look even less justified

people will start asking themselves even more than they are now, why exactly are all our troops dying? One thing for sure, it's not the reason Bush gave.

[iconoclastic cat]

5. If that's all there is, won't this be buried by Monday?

[Davis_X_Machina]

6. The war is unpopular enough...

...without the realization that it was fought largely to advance the interests of Sharon's Shatrn's parliamentary majority rather than to get Saddam, or install democracy, or whatever the flavor of the week in in casus belli.

Anything that calls attention to the war in Iraq hurts Bush. It's his war - he chose to fight it. Its failure is his failure.

[girl gone mad]

7. At worst?

At best he looks like a moron who got duped into a costly war that isn't in our best interests by a foreign spy and his posssible cohorts at the Pentagon.

That's pretty bad.

[iconoclastic cat]

8. I understand that, and you understand that.

In my opinion, most people won't understand how this reflects badly on their own "God in the White House."

So if that's the best case, what is the worst? What could happen?

[blondeatlast]

9. Read the CBS (they broke the story) piece:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/08/27/eveningnews/main639143.shtml

The FBI investigation, headed up by Dave Szady, has involved wiretaps, undercover surveillance and photography that CBS News was told document the passing of classified information from the mole, to the men at AIPAC, and on to the Israelis.

CBS sources say that last year the suspected spy, described as a trusted analyst at the Pentagon, turned over a presidential directive on U.S. policy toward Iran while it was, "in the draft phase when U.S. policy-makers were still debating the policy."

This put the Israelis, according to one source, "inside the decision-making loop" so they could "try to influence the outcome."

The case raises another concern among investigators: Did Israel also use the analyst to try to influence U.S. policy on the war in Iraq?

Someone was trying to influence our foreign, and possibly Iraqi war, policy. We don't let the UN advise us, but we'll let a mole???

[indyjones1938]

10. yes

Under any other circumstances, the President and Secretary of Defense would be in very hot water. But this is George W. Bush, who controls the media like a shadowy Minister of Propaganda.

Sure, the story will get lots of media play, but most of it will be from shouting, hysterical maniacs like Sean Hannity, braindead fundies like Rush Limbaugh and GOP operatives like Wolf Blitzer who are gonna spin this story faster than a merry-go-round.

Within a week you can bet that the story will either be dead, or they'll have concocted a bizarre scapegoat story. You know...the Israeli spy's wife is a fifth cousin four times removed (by marriage) to the longtime dentist of a dogbreeder who adopted the puppies of John Kerry's pet dog "VC" after he came from from Vietnam, and so it's actually Kerry's fault instead of Bush's. This is the bizarre, frighteningly Orwellian society in which we now live. Up is down, right is left, everything is nothing.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

2. AIPAC and neo-cons.

Once again, an unholy alliance rears its ugly head.

Do a search on AIPAC on this forum for more interesting stuff about how deep they are in the whole neo-con thing.