Robert Parry: Plame-gate: Time to Fire WPost's Hiatt

[babylonsister]

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2007/031707.html

Plame-gate: Time to Fire WPost's Hiatt

By Robert Parry
March 17, 2007

The testimony of Valerie Plame destroyed some of the long-standing myths about her outing as a covert CIA officer that have been circulated for more than three years by George W. Bush’s apologists, including Washington Post editorial page editor Fred Hiatt.

Indeed, Hiatt and his editorial page cohorts have made trashing Plame’s husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, and mocking the seriousness of Plame’s exposure almost a regular feature, recycling many long-discredited White House talking points, including an attempt to question whether Plame was in fact “covert.”

After the March 16 hearing before Rep. Henry Waxman’s House Oversight Committee, those pro-Bush falsehoods stand in even starker disrepute – as should the reputation of the Post’s editorial page, which has never quite reconciled itself to how thoroughly it fell for Bush’s Iraq War deceptions.

Based on testimony before Waxman’s committee, it also now is clear that while the Post was busy defending the Bush administration on the Plame affair, the White House was conducting a systematic cover-up of its role in the leak.

Though Bush declared in September 2003 that he was determined to get to the bottom of who blew Plame’s cover, it was revealed at the March 16 hearing that the White House never even undertook an administrative review to assess responsibility for the leak.

more...

[DemReadingDU]

1. I like Robert Parry

thanks for posting!

[slipslidingaway]

2. "But General Hayden and the CIA have cleared these following

comments for today's hearing.

During her employment at the CIA, Ms. Wilson was under cover.

Her employment status with the CIA was classified information prohibited from disclosure
under Executive Order 12958.

At the time of the publication of Robert Novak's column on July 14,2003, Ms. Wilson's
CIA employment status was covert.

This was classified information."


from Waxman's opening statement
http://oversight.house.gov/Documents/20070316172636-89494.pdf

Thanks for posting and additional letters here.
http://news.findlaw.com/legalnews/lit/iraq/documents.html

[Olney Blue]

3. I've been baffled by the editorials as well. It conflicts with the facts.

[Joe Bacon]

7. The WHORESHINGTON POST is America's Pravda on the Potomac

No propaganda organ has whored more for the Republican Party than THE WHORESHINGTON POST!

[usregimechange]

4. k/r

[mrdmk]

5. The Media is backing the Bush Jr. White House because they have

their own credibility to protect also. One goes down, so does the other!

K&R

[druidity33]

6. wow, great stuff!

An excellent effort to get behind! Wapo's editorial staff has been dire for awhile now... i just don't read them anymore. I'd love to see a response to this though... AS IF.

an enthusiastic K&R!

[Lasher]

8. Very good, I am seeing a whole new wave of rightwing talking points on this

For instance, the now discredited 'she was not covert' argument is now circulating as 'she was only slightly covert'. This reminds me of the old 'slightly pregnant' thing. From an ongoing email battle:

Convert or undercover in the CIA means you are on a classified mission -- not necessarily dangerous or subject to national security. Does not mean that you are doing anything undercover.

One good resource: http://mediamatters.org/items/200703060008