Jonathan Alter would have to produce something equivalent in significance and impact to Sy Hersh’s entire career output to compensate for his having recommended torture as a tactic after September 11 (in his Newsweek column the first week in November 2001). Or do you think he was forced to do this by his frightened editor?

Howard Fineman, on the evidence of his most recent column, does not appear even capable of real reporting.

However, I’d be willing to take seriously the theory that these two men were somehow held back by intimidated or bought-off media employers for the last eight years if we could strike a deal: neither will be allowed to appear in any medium as commenters or pundits for the next year, and their names can only appear in connection with actual reporting done by them.

With or without such an arrangement, I’m not holding my breath waiting for any stories of significance from either one.

I had it figured that GHWB as Dir CIA had recruited Chaney and probably Rummy.

Imagine an America in which that original Bush had never set foot on our soil.

Both Fineman and Jonathan Alter last night looked like they could not wait to start doing some real reporting.

I also got the impression that they are getting the Pulitzer sniff.

Joint Special Operations Command would be a military designation — anything that begins with “Joint” is almost always Military in the wake of Goldwater-Nickles. It combines the assets of the service special operations commands, the Navy Seals, the Army Rangers, Green Berets, and whatever the Marines and Airforce call their special operations types. Chain of command should be from the service units through the joint command and to the Secretary of Defense and then the President — but according to Hersh this ended in Cheney’s digs.

On KO’s show tonight, the little piece with Howard Fineman was of interest. He said he had checked around today with regard to Hersh’s points at the Minnesota event, and apparently was told that if Hersh was saying it, there probably was lots of there there. This could be a case where Hersh dropped just enough that his competition is now going to beat the bushes and see if they can outdo him — it tends to work that way, particularly with Sy Hersh. Both Fineman and Jonathan Alter last night looked like they could not wait to start doing some real reporting. Fineman’s comments suggested to me that he had just come off a very close reading of all Hersh’s reporting over the past few years, and he had some good ideas of where to go and start reporting. Hersh also said the other night that Bush/Cheney had lowered the boom on the national and major news and media outfits — no reporting on this stuff, and they in turn had turned off their investigative reporters. My thinking is that Hersh may have broken the dam, and that he intended to do so.

Apparently Leahy has not gotten lots of responses in the Senate to his idea for a Commission, or hearings however they are structured. Pressure needs to be put on the obvious Senators to wipe their eyes and sign on as a joint author with Leahy on a good plan. We can differ as to how it should be done — but we need to up the pressure to get Leahy co-authors. KO talked about this tonight too.

What do you figure the Joint in the name Joint Special Ops Command means???

Another name for that organization might be Jackals, Spies, Other Criminals…

Chaney is becoming more and more vocal – almost bragging about the power he wielded as VP. Just stupid that he admitted his influence in getting the waterboarding approved. Commenter above reports Chaney is to be on CNN again Sunday night…

Careful, Darth, seems those old seams of secrecy are beginning to leak… CIA no likey that.

Here is how Cheney and Rumsfeld come into the picture: [seems they had a pretty tight communication with the CIA in early 1970’s]

Article, London Sunday Express, August 25, 2002 – by Gordon Thomas

SNIP>

Eric Olson believes that Cheney and Rumsfeld were later given the task in the 1970s of covering up the details of his father’s death.

At that time Rumsfeld was White House Chief of Staff to President Gerald Ford. Dick Cheney was a White House assistant.

Among the papers found by Professor Olmstead is one that allegedly states: “Dr Olson’s job was so sensitive that it is highly unlikely that we would submit relevant evidence.”

In a memo, Cheney allegedly acknowledges that: “The Olson lawyers will seek to explore all the circumstances of Dr Olson’s employment, as well as those concerning his death. In any trial, it may become apparent that we are concealing evidence for national security reasons and any settlement or judgement reached thereafter could be perceived as money paid to cover up the activities of the CIA.”

Frank Olson’s family received $ 750,000 (then about GBP 400,000) to settle their claims in 1976.

Both the offices of Rumsfeld and Cheney have declined to comment on their role concerning the alleged coverup but, from his home outside Washington, Eric Olson said that the documents involving Rumsfeld and Cheney show they “have questions to answer”.

He added: “The documents show the lengths to which the government was trying to cover up the truth.”

SNIP

The Minnesota Post has up a response from Public Relations at the CIA denying everything. It is a piece in Eric Black’s sidebar.

This is a little ironic, as Hersh said the subject was the JSOC, the Joint Special Operations Command, that reported only to Cheney during the Bush/Cheney era — he never said CIA was the operational body in question, and CIA certainly did not have authority over JSOC, which he describes as including Navy Seals, Army Rangers, etc. But for some reason the Public Relations folk at CIA thought it worth while to send Black a denial without being noticed of the article. For what it is worth, the Minnesota Post is an all web “newspaper” created by former long time Strib reporters who were bought out when the paper downsized, and who got good start up money from local Family Foundations.

Anyhow, Black has sent the CIA PR denial to Sy Hersh for comment. So as some say — story developing…..