Comments on: Bush’s Direct and Constant Knowledge of the NIE Intelligence http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/08/bushs-direct-and-constant-knowledge-of-the-nie-intelligence/ Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:35:13 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: prostratedragon http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/08/bushs-direct-and-constant-knowledge-of-the-nie-intelligence/comment-page-1/#comment-36512 prostratedragon Sun, 09 Dec 2007 08:09:16 +0000 http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/08/bushs-direct-and-constant-knowledge-of-the-nie-intelligence/#comment-36512 <p>My whoop for the day, from Silverstein’s article: The same crew that caused some agent to be in eternal spiritual peril by ordering this:</p> <blockquote><p> “The tapes would have shocked the conscience of the public, and should not have been made. Nothing good would come of it.” </p> </blockquote> <p>nevertheless went to trilling and ululating in horror at the thought of <i>enduring discomforts of travel to view the questioning live:</i></p> <blockquote><p> This person said a key reason behind the decision to videotape the interrogations was that “it would eliminate the need to travel to these remote, dangerous, and uncomfortable locations. If they could watch the tapes at HQ, they didn’t need to travel to a remote place to watch. It was too far and too hard.” </p> </blockquote> <p>Ladies and gentlemen, that’s it for me, and good night!</p> My whoop for the day, from Silverstein’s article: The same crew that caused some agent to be in eternal spiritual peril by ordering this:

“The tapes would have shocked the conscience of the public, and should not have been made. Nothing good would come of it.”

nevertheless went to trilling and ululating in horror at the thought of enduring discomforts of travel to view the questioning live:

This person said a key reason behind the decision to videotape the interrogations was that “it would eliminate the need to travel to these remote, dangerous, and uncomfortable locations. If they could watch the tapes at HQ, they didn’t need to travel to a remote place to watch. It was too far and too hard.”

Ladies and gentlemen, that’s it for me, and good night!

]]> By: bigbrother http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/08/bushs-direct-and-constant-knowledge-of-the-nie-intelligence/comment-page-1/#comment-36506 bigbrother Sun, 09 Dec 2007 06:29:31 +0000 http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/08/bushs-direct-and-constant-knowledge-of-the-nie-intelligence/#comment-36506 <p>AMAZING I CAN SEE WITHOUT EYE STRAIN NOW THAT IS VERY COOL THAT THE VEIWER CAN CHANGE THE SIZE! MANY THANKS</p> AMAZING I CAN SEE WITHOUT EYE STRAIN NOW THAT IS VERY COOL THAT THE VEIWER CAN CHANGE THE SIZE! MANY THANKS

]]> By: Neil http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/08/bushs-direct-and-constant-knowledge-of-the-nie-intelligence/comment-page-1/#comment-36505 Neil Sun, 09 Dec 2007 06:15:03 +0000 http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/08/bushs-direct-and-constant-knowledge-of-the-nie-intelligence/#comment-36505 <blockquote><p>What has undermined public support for the war in Iraq is the suspicion that other <strong>agendas</strong>, not least oil among them, <strong>were at work but not being disclosed by our leaders</strong>. It is a sure guarantee that the American people will turn against any foreign enterprise when they come to suspect that they are <strong>not being told the truth.</strong></p> <p>Perhaps now is the time for everyone to put their cards on the table.</p> <p>The NIE Iran Report and Alan Dershowitz<br /> <em><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-hart/the-nie-iran-report-and-a_b_75894.html">Gary Hart</a></em>, December 7, 2007 </p> </blockquote>

What has undermined public support for the war in Iraq is the suspicion that other agendas, not least oil among them, were at work but not being disclosed by our leaders. It is a sure guarantee that the American people will turn against any foreign enterprise when they come to suspect that they are not being told the truth.

Perhaps now is the time for everyone to put their cards on the table.

The NIE Iran Report and Alan Dershowitz
Gary Hart, December 7, 2007

]]> By: readerOfTeaLeaves http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/08/bushs-direct-and-constant-knowledge-of-the-nie-intelligence/comment-page-1/#comment-36504 readerOfTeaLeaves Sun, 09 Dec 2007 05:37:26 +0000 http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/08/bushs-direct-and-constant-knowledge-of-the-nie-intelligence/#comment-36504 <p>So Bush leaned on the intel community to deliver up credible evidence that Iran was building nukes, then told us he’d been kept in the dark? Surprising? Not so much.</p> <p>Probably the WaPo is getting so anesthetized to BushLies that it doesn’t even regard them as ‘Page 1 News’ anymore…? Even when they are REALLY BIG lies.<br /> Just sayin’.</p> <p>An alternate interpretation as to why the House Intel may not have been ‘fully briefed’ about the NIE:<br /> Wasn’t some former bootlicker of Bolton’s hired onto the House Intel committee staff last year? <strong>If </strong>he’s still there, <strong>OR ELSE IF</strong> the intel community had any qualms that the committee staffs are still a NeoconNode, the intel community probably didn’t share much info with the Congress. After all, wasn’t Dick the Chair of the House Intel committee during Iran-Contra? If anyone knows how those committee staffs function, it ought to be Dick. And if anyone has had a network from the committees straight to the back door of his office, it’s probably Dick. </p> <p>One supposes that the intel folks did not want to tip off Cheney by sharing too much info with the Congressional committees, but that’s just an outtamyarse guess from outside the Beltway.</p> <p>But if Bush (and Cheney) knew in mid-August that the intel community was convinced Iran had shut down developing nuclear weapons… well… just how desperate did Bush and/or Cheney become…. particularly in late August or early September? There’s food for thought. </p> <p>And if the WaPo ever does stumble on information that sheds light on those questions, well… what are the odds that the info might find its way to page A1?<br /> Just for a change of pace, even if they don’t think the story might actually have ‘legs’?</p> So Bush leaned on the intel community to deliver up credible evidence that Iran was building nukes, then told us he’d been kept in the dark? Surprising? Not so much.

Probably the WaPo is getting so anesthetized to BushLies that it doesn’t even regard them as ‘Page 1 News’ anymore…? Even when they are REALLY BIG lies.
Just sayin’.

An alternate interpretation as to why the House Intel may not have been ‘fully briefed’ about the NIE:
Wasn’t some former bootlicker of Bolton’s hired onto the House Intel committee staff last year? If he’s still there, OR ELSE IF the intel community had any qualms that the committee staffs are still a NeoconNode, the intel community probably didn’t share much info with the Congress. After all, wasn’t Dick the Chair of the House Intel committee during Iran-Contra? If anyone knows how those committee staffs function, it ought to be Dick. And if anyone has had a network from the committees straight to the back door of his office, it’s probably Dick.

One supposes that the intel folks did not want to tip off Cheney by sharing too much info with the Congressional committees, but that’s just an outtamyarse guess from outside the Beltway.

But if Bush (and Cheney) knew in mid-August that the intel community was convinced Iran had shut down developing nuclear weapons… well… just how desperate did Bush and/or Cheney become…. particularly in late August or early September? There’s food for thought.

And if the WaPo ever does stumble on information that sheds light on those questions, well… what are the odds that the info might find its way to page A1?
Just for a change of pace, even if they don’t think the story might actually have ‘legs’?

]]> By: Neil http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/08/bushs-direct-and-constant-knowledge-of-the-nie-intelligence/comment-page-1/#comment-36456 Neil Sun, 09 Dec 2007 01:27:04 +0000 http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/08/bushs-direct-and-constant-knowledge-of-the-nie-intelligence/#comment-36456 <p><em><br /> </em>Also good to see that annoying troll ‘Jodi’ from TNH seems to have disappeared. </p> <p>Where is that confounded <strike>bridge </strike>troll?</p>
Also good to see that annoying troll ‘Jodi’ from TNH seems to have disappeared.

Where is that confounded bridge troll?

]]> By: prostratedragon http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/08/bushs-direct-and-constant-knowledge-of-the-nie-intelligence/comment-page-1/#comment-36446 prostratedragon Sun, 09 Dec 2007 00:58:36 +0000 http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/08/bushs-direct-and-constant-knowledge-of-the-nie-intelligence/#comment-36446 <blockquote><p>Too bad this article appears on a Saturday and under the cloud of the torture tapes news.</p> </blockquote> <p>Ah, the Saturday rollout, a fine chestnut from the NYTImes playbook! I’ll bet it was on p.1, just so no one could say they never run this type of story there.</p>

Too bad this article appears on a Saturday and under the cloud of the torture tapes news.

Ah, the Saturday rollout, a fine chestnut from the NYTImes playbook! I’ll bet it was on p.1, just so no one could say they never run this type of story there.

]]> By: WilliamOckham http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/08/bushs-direct-and-constant-knowledge-of-the-nie-intelligence/comment-page-1/#comment-36344 WilliamOckham Sat, 08 Dec 2007 21:29:43 +0000 http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/08/bushs-direct-and-constant-knowledge-of-the-nie-intelligence/#comment-36344 <p>Can I go back to something I pointed out earlier? In February of this year, a former Iranian deputy defense minister (served until early 2005) defected. A senior U.S. intelligence official told the WaPo’s Dana Linzer (co-author of the current article) in March that we weren’t even asking the guy about the alleged Iranian nuclear program.</p> <p>This was right in the middle of the time period when Bush was pushing hard for more information and getting his deep dives (according to the current story).</p> <p>I’m not some much concerned about whether or not the March story was true (it seems silly to think it was). I want to know who the “senior intelligence official” was talking to through the WaPo. The sentence in question was this:</p> <p>Iranian officials said he was not involved in the country’s nuclear program, and the senior U.S. official said Asgari is not being questioned about it.</p> <p>Isn’t that an odd point of agreement between us and the Iranians? Was that somebody’s way of signaling the Iranians that we had figured out they were telling the truth when they told us in 2005 they had stopped?</p> Can I go back to something I pointed out earlier? In February of this year, a former Iranian deputy defense minister (served until early 2005) defected. A senior U.S. intelligence official told the WaPo’s Dana Linzer (co-author of the current article) in March that we weren’t even asking the guy about the alleged Iranian nuclear program.

This was right in the middle of the time period when Bush was pushing hard for more information and getting his deep dives (according to the current story).

I’m not some much concerned about whether or not the March story was true (it seems silly to think it was). I want to know who the “senior intelligence official” was talking to through the WaPo. The sentence in question was this:

Iranian officials said he was not involved in the country’s nuclear program, and the senior U.S. official said Asgari is not being questioned about it.

Isn’t that an odd point of agreement between us and the Iranians? Was that somebody’s way of signaling the Iranians that we had figured out they were telling the truth when they told us in 2005 they had stopped?

]]> By: Starbuck http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/08/bushs-direct-and-constant-knowledge-of-the-nie-intelligence/comment-page-1/#comment-36244 Starbuck Sat, 08 Dec 2007 19:24:20 +0000 http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/08/bushs-direct-and-constant-knowledge-of-the-nie-intelligence/#comment-36244 <p>Reading from a screen as never as good as reading from a book. But even books have certain styles that differ from each other. Change from one to which you are used to and the grumbling starts.</p> <p>Objectively, these new pages are a relief to me. On PC, hit Ctrl+ to increase the font size. Ctrl- to decrease.</p> Reading from a screen as never as good as reading from a book. But even books have certain styles that differ from each other. Change from one to which you are used to and the grumbling starts.

Objectively, these new pages are a relief to me. On PC, hit Ctrl+ to increase the font size. Ctrl- to decrease.

]]> By: MrWhy http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/08/bushs-direct-and-constant-knowledge-of-the-nie-intelligence/comment-page-1/#comment-36209 MrWhy Sat, 08 Dec 2007 18:21:46 +0000 http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/08/bushs-direct-and-constant-knowledge-of-the-nie-intelligence/#comment-36209 <p>Re readability:</p> <p>In IE7 you can use your own style sheet. (Tools/Internet Options/Accessibility) You can then choose your preferred font and font size. Requires some minor work to create a suitable style sheet.</p> <p>I find Firefox (home) is handling the formatting much better than IE (work).</p> Re readability:

In IE7 you can use your own style sheet. (Tools/Internet Options/Accessibility) You can then choose your preferred font and font size. Requires some minor work to create a suitable style sheet.

I find Firefox (home) is handling the formatting much better than IE (work).

]]> By: Leen http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/08/bushs-direct-and-constant-knowledge-of-the-nie-intelligence/comment-page-1/#comment-36205 Leen Sat, 08 Dec 2007 18:11:53 +0000 http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/08/bushs-direct-and-constant-knowledge-of-the-nie-intelligence/#comment-36205 <p>“I am told that the reason the conclusions of the NIE were released is that it was communicated to the White House that “intelligence career seniors were lined up to go to jail if necessary” if the document’s gist were not given to the public. Translation? Someone in that group would have gone to the media “on the record” to disclose its contents.”</p> <p>Bless those “intelligence career seniors” souls.</p> “I am told that the reason the conclusions of the NIE were released is that it was communicated to the White House that “intelligence career seniors were lined up to go to jail if necessary” if the document’s gist were not given to the public. Translation? Someone in that group would have gone to the media “on the record” to disclose its contents.”

Bless those “intelligence career seniors” souls.

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