White House Says Democrats Using CIA Case for Gain

[CatWoman]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Thursday accused Democrats of "political opportunism" as President Bush (news - web sites)'s embattled administration brushed aside calls for a special counsel to investigate the leak of a CIA (news - web sites) agent's identity.


Despite polls showing Americans favor a special counsel, White House spokesman Scott McClellan gave no ground on the case that surrounds allegations the Bush administration illegally unmasked CIA operative Valerie Plame.


Plame's husband, former diplomat Joseph Wilson, has charged that White House officials blew his wife's cover in retaliation for his criticism of the Iraq (news - web sites) war.

God he looks stupid in this picture:


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&ncid=578&e=8&u=/nm/20031002/ts_nm/bush_leak_dc

[Democrats unite]

1. And why shouldn't we take advantage of it

No matter how you look at it, treason is treason.

[arwalden]

41. They Are All Hypocrites....

... ever I hear news stories on the radio in my car, and I don't know whether to laugh or scream.

It's so amusing to hear how ridiculous they all sound as they whine and moan about "political opportunism". But I want to scream because they are being allowed to get away with it.

Nobody is calling them on the HYPOCRISY of their protestations.

-- Allen

[laylah]

42. Whhhhateeeeever,

Whistle Ass.......my only concern is the lemmings that will believe this warped reasoning! They pursued the Clintons, unmercifully, for eight years, on trumped up grounds. Here we have TREASON......helllllloooooooooo........I look forward to the outcome but have reservations since they have had, how many days?, two? three? to destroy any evidence? These people are beyond evil! :mad:

jenn

[Solly Mack]

2. lololololololololololol Now that's rich

lolololol

Bush?..accusing others of political opportunism? lolololololololol

Oh my...

[Doug Decker]

3. "Embattled administration"...

pretty much says it all.

:hi: CatWoman

[CatWoman]

50. Hi, Doug!!

:hi:

[Zhade]

4. Yes, you STUPID TRAITOROUS ASSHOLE - gain on the truth!

YOU'RE GOING DOWN, MOTHERFUCKER!

Ahem. Sorry for yelling.

[salin]

5. er... admin officials leaks blows intel on WMDs... compromising National

Security... does so for political reasons (to discredit Wilson and intimidate other potential leakers)...

And the dems calling on an investigation... is political opportunism?

Orwellian.

[rocketdem]

6. please show me the picture where he looks intelligent

What's funny about the continued WH response to this whole mess is that they don't ever actually deny the reported facts. They just say that it's dirty, nasty politics. As opposed to, for example, the noble Repuglican quest to rid the world of illicit blow jobs.

[catforclark2004]

7. World to BUSH.......It's about the politics...stupid

Boy that man is a real moron....Can't wait to see him Frog walked back to Crawford! Maybe his term can include a month in each country he has insulted....We wouldn't be seeing him for quite some time!

[union_maid]

8. All righty then

We should probably just keep quiet about it and let it all blow over. It's probably very rude of us to be doing a victory dance. Can't seem to help it though. I just have happy feet today.

[Mari333]

The DEMS finally grow a spine

and now the * admin had a hissy fit??????????????///

This is long overdue.

[goforit]

20. You mean some are growing a spine....Not Gepthardt and Kerry!!

They believe that Dean IS the worst thing that ever
walked the Earth.
They are doing all of Bush's dirty work!!!
Dirty scumbags and skull & Boners!!!

Bush is proof why their philosophy of "No Rules apply"
just doesn't work and never will!!!!

Civilized societies ARE the only way!!!

Go Humanity!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[Mari333]

33. I watched Kennedy, Byrd, even that weasel Biden today on C Span

and they are growing some spines....Kennedy has always had one, so has Byrd,,other DEMS are finally speaking up.........Its long overdue........
I hope Kerry and Gephardt jump on the bandwagon......
the issue is to take down BUSH....I hope they ALL focus on that one issue...

[tridim]

9. Hey Whitehouse...

Fuck you! This has nothing to do with the Democrats, the 'liberal media', or the price of tea in China. YOU did the crime, you're going to do the time.

[uhhuh]

30. Pigs

Hey you whitehouse, ha ha, charade you are
You house proud town mouse, ha ha, charade you are
You’re trying to keep your feelings off the street
You’re nearly a real treat
All tight lips and cold feet
And do you feel abused?
...!...!...!

Sorry.. your post reminded me of that.

[diplomats]

10. Notice the use of the phrase "embattled administration"

Remember hearing that during the Clinton administration? I think we've crossed into new territory here. BTW, I found that quote from the Repuke aide interesting. He said GOPers will stand with the Bush WH "out of loyalty," at least for now, and oppose an independent counsel. Wonder how long that will last?

[Sinistrous]

19. Sen. Spector is advocating an independent investigation.

At least that is one repub out of formation.

[AntiCoup2K4]

24. Well, yeah, but with Arlen....

his idea of "independent investigations" is a fraud like the Warren Commission.

[dbt]

39. Specter is SUCH a loose cannon

Remember that he said we should explore the possibility of impeaching Clinton again after bu$h had taken office. However, a loose cannon can still be amusing to watch...

:wtf:
dbt

[sventvkg]

11. Isn't this the pot calling the Kettle black...LOLOLOLOLOL

Lets hope the dems do not let this get buried....

[Il_Coniglietto]

27. Ah, how short their memories are

"But Clinton's sexual affairs were a threat to national security, as we all know, and is COMPLETELY different to a simple leaking of an active CIA agent."

What's really scary is that some minds see logic in that :scared:

[Guaranteed]

36. Seriously, at least we didn't start a war. n/t

[DemCam]

45. Took the words

right out of my mouth. :)

[bemildred]

12. As opposed to the principled case about BigDog's blow job?

[E_Zapata]

13. And it isn't a problem to use the CIA to try to start wars (and succeed).

It's okay that we have mortgaged the future of our grandchildren to pay for this war.

And it's okay that those kids won't need money anyways, because we will need them for cannon fodder for all the wars that will follow.

[liberalmuse]

14. And the problem is...?

You bet liberals are taking FULL advantage of this. It must scare them that their whipping boy (the Democratic Party) is rising up and fighting back. All's fair in war and politics. The blame game just isn't going to cut it this time. This presidency got in with a treasonous act, and that is exactly how they'll go out.

[onehandle]

15. Our gain is America's gain. nt

[soothsayer]

16. No s, a-holes. That's FUNNY! so howl howl howl

at the injustice of what you do ALL THE TIME, coming back to you a wee bit (first of many stings you will feel, f-ers)

[goforit]

17. EXcuse me!!!...I do believe the GOP too had a chance to step forward

But they tried to sweep it under the rug permanently
and it didn't work!!!!

Nothing but suckers to the bone!!!

[goforit]

18. And your cats look so much more intelligent!!

LOL!!!

[young_at_heart]

21. Surely, the person in that picture is not our president?

My God......that is the worst picture I've seen of him (or at least, one of the worst). By the way, they have a LOT of nerve calling the Dems opportunists!

[DrBB]

22. No Republican would EVER do that! Not one! EVER!

And by the way, just to be clear: he looks stupid in EVERY photograph.

[truthisfreedom]

23. let's get this straight. bushco used valerie for political gain, botching

the whole thing for themselves in the process. this is all bushco's doing, not the Democrats'. no amount of spin is going to take the attention off the evil house of bush.

[Rex]

25. No shit, Sherlock!

You TRAITORS...I hope the Dems twist the wooden stake after its been hammered in!!!!

[BattyDem]

26. Georgie, let's review the situation ...

This isn't a few partisan Dems bitching about your tax cuts, this is treason. Whine all you want, it's not the Democrats' fault, it's not the media's fault and it's not Clinton's fault - it's yours ... and Daddy can't save your butt this time!

You and/or someone in your administration named an active CIA operative because you were pissed off at her husband. You endangered her life and the lives of her contacts and/or fellow agents. She and all of the contacts she made have been rendered useless after years of service. To top it off, her expertise is in WMDs, which are a threat to our national security. You ought to know - you've been using that threat to frighten the American people for two years now, not to mention the fact that you bombed the hell out of two countries because of them.

What was she working on at the time she was exposed, did you ever think of that? Let's hope she wasn't hot on the trail of some WMDs because her investigation is now dead in the water. Do you think the CIA can simply assign someone to pick up where she left off? This isn't football - you can't simply send in someone from the sidelines and continue the game. Besides, how many agents would be willing to go undercover knowing that their identities can be exposed the next time you or Dickie has a temper tantrum? How many contacts, informants and foreign officials will cooperate with the CIA knowing they can be hung out to dry at any given moment?

Face the facts. Your administration broke the law. You outed an active CIA operative because her husband exposed the lies that were your basis for war. You endangered her life and the lives of her contacts. You jeopardized our national security and you undermined the intelligence agency which is our first line of defense against international terrorism.

So ... explain to me what partisan politics has to do with all of that. :eyes:

[Melinda]

32. Tight post.

Nicely laid out, succinct, and you :loveya: Dean too. Nice to read you Batty, and a belated hello from me to you. :hi:

[BattyDem]

35. Thanks!

Hello to you, too. :hi: I'm always happy to "meet" another Deanie. :)

[quaker bill]

28. Classic rightwing misdirection ploy

"Please don't focus on the crime, focus on how my opponents are taking unfair political advantage of my criminal behavior" You know how evil those democrats are!

Besides, you know that Bill Clinton made us do it....

[bpilgrim]

29. thats RIGHT we hit the F***IN TRIFECTA!

and yall neo-cons better get a GREAT LAWYER all yall are gonna need'em!

peace

[stevedeshazer]

31. Of course

Step 1: Smear your accuser.

Next?

[KayLaw]

37. Right

This guy ( Rove ) have a very limited playbook and is getting predictable. He has a lot of nerve after the way Bush used the events of 9/11 ( which happened on his watch and of which they received plenty of warning.) Instead of whining like little babies, they should get to the matter of the leak.

[Voltaire99]

34. Guilty as charged! The schadenfreude's delicious!

Now, let's get on with the opportunism, shall we? Har har har!

[robbedvoter]

38. Here's Krugman on this very thing:

> http://tinyurl.com/pjp6
>
> 'Slime and Defend'
> By PAUL KRUGMAN
>
> Published: October 3, 2003
snip
>
> And now that the C.I.A. has demanded a Justice Department inquiry,
> the White House's strategy isn't just to stonewall, Nixon-style; as
> one Republican Congressional aide told The New York Times, it
> will "slime and defend."
>

[0007]

40. Krugman sez it all, 'eh?

It appears to me that Rove has everything covered and will try to work this leak to his advanage.

I hope we're not screwed on this one!!

[snippy]

43. Anyone have a link to the "slime and defend" RNC talking points memo?

[tlcandie]

44. Former CIA agent , Larry Johnson, interviewed on Democracy NOW! stated

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/10/02/158200

<snip>
LARRY JOHNSON: It was just a cheap political shot. Unfortunately there are elements of the Bush administration that seem intent upon plain and intense partisan politics and smearing people without dealing with the substance of issues.

I don't care if Joe Wilson was an overt communist, that has nothing, no relevance to the fact that he delivered a report which was backed up by the other U.S. ambassador as well as backed up by Marine General who also conducted an investigation that there was no uranium being sold out of Niger.

So, instead of focusing on the substance of the issue what is underway we continue to see Scott McClellan engage in this to suggest that because of some political beliefs by ambassador Wilson that that discredits the substance of his report.
<snip>

<snip>
Now, what the nature of that cover is, I don't know, nor do I need to know. The spin that's been put out by people like Bob Novack to suggest that she was “just an analyst”, all I can say is that I was an analyst for the four years I was at the CIA. I was in an undercover capacity the entire time, which meant that the only person who was really aware of where I was actually working was my wife. The other members of my family thought I was working with another government agency.

<snip>
Doesn't matter. That is a red herring. That is completely irrelevant to the issue. Issue's not was she an analyst or was she a cleaning lady, if she's undercover she's undercover, period.

If the media allows themselves to get distracted with those kinds of curve balls, they ignore the issue.
<snip>
I've been told by someone who I believe has direct knowledge that it came out of the old executive office building.

I'm not going to identify specific individuals because I think that has to be carried out by the Justice Department to investigate.

I don't want to try people in public, but I think we've seen a parsing of words, “No, it didn't come out of the White House”.

Well, the reporter are just doing their job. How about asking the follow-up question: Well did it come out of the old executive office building?

<snip>
The simple question is, who revealed the name of his wife and compromised her cover status; and why are they attacking Joe Wilson for bringing the news that was available also in other sources which told them that that report that the President based his State of the Union message on was erroneous; and that there was in fact no credible evidence that Iraq was trying to obtain nuclear material. That was used as a pretext for war. That's wrong.

NOTE: BOLDFACE was added my me.

[snippy]

46. I see Johnson's comments as a proxy for the attitude inside the CIA.

Whistle Ass is in deep doo doo, as Poppy would say.

[ProfessorGAC]

47. Well, Duh!

Of course they are. They are using the fact that a criminal conspiracy took place in the White House. How stupid would they be if they DIDN'T use this for political gain?
The Professor

[Mari333]

48. David Corn rips the WH in Buzzflash Interview today

http://www.buzzflash.com/interviews/03/10/03_corn.html

[Oilwellian]

52. This statement from Corn stood out....

This affair can take many different bounces -- perhaps even some our imaginations cannot at this point fathom.

Wasn't it FAIR who suggested Corn may be a CIA plant in the media? I wonder what he knows. }(

[lovedems]

49. I am sick of hearing repugs using the argument "Well, we don't know if

she was an operative or an analyst". It doesn't matter. She was undercover for a reason. I wonder if Novak is proud of his role as being the "house bitch" and releasing that womans name. 5 other reporters wouldn't do it. I can only hope this goes all the way to the top and this administration dirty politics is finally revealed. Does that make me evil too?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

51. I thought everybody knew that it was a Witchhunt?

[The Magistrate]

53. Yes, We Are Using It For Political Gain

And it is working, too.

[GinaMaria]

54. The Democrats don't have to do anything

His concern should be about the CIA. CIA vs. * admin Who has more pull with the media?