If the White House had simply ignored Joe Wilson...

[nyhuskyfan]

Would his report even be talked about any more? In other words, did Wilson's NYT piece and subsequent book have enough teeth that people would have discussed it anyway? His report merely backed up two other existing reports, so it wasn't like he was breaking new ground.

I can't help but think that their desire to get revenge on a critic has shined so much light on this subject that it was a colossal mistake on their part. Just huge. Like throwing gasoline on a simple brush fire (I call it a brush fire in the sense that it would have been largely ignored in the mainstream media, not that his discoveries weren't significant).

It looks like Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson will now be intertwined with the Bush legacy.

[Walt Starr]

1. Nope, it would have probably just gone away

Embarrassment for about a month, then nothing.

[bushisanidiot]

2. Yep. The temptation to abuse power and seek revenge against Wilson

is what is bringing them down.

these idiots actually believe they are above the law.. it's so much like watergate.. you'd think they'd have learned something from that.

[Bonhomme Richard]

3. It's the combo of Paranoia and the illusion of.......

Power that gets them all into trouble eventually. Not to mention a pinch of evil thrown in for good measure.

[Hobarticus]

4. Story would have sunk like a stone...

Fighting it gave him credibility. Not that he needed it.

[sojourner]

5. A few of us expected that hubris would be their downfall,

together with their policy of personal destruction. As powerful and successful as this cabal has been, they were bound to become overconfident in their abilities. And then there's the principle governing the universe (I've sure seen it in action, anyway) -- that what "goes 'round, come 'round."

I'm just hoping that is what what we are indeed observing.

[Old and In the Way]

6. Political revenge seems like the obvious MO for this administration.

But why would they send an outsider who had demonstrated objectivity/integrity to investigate a story that the WH knew was BS? Especially where they may well have had some hand in producing the fabrication....

Why not send a yes man that would have cooroborated the story...it was, afterall, a centerpiece of their case to go to war on Iraq. Cheney/Busg couldn't have pushed Tenet to send someone who would confirm the story?

Maybe they misunderestimated Wilson's willingness to go public with the OP/Ed piece that informed the public that there was no proof of Iraqi plans to purchase Yellowcake.

But what if that was just an elaborate scheme to neutralize Plame's position in the CIA? I think she was in a position to develop some seriously incriminating evidence on this administration. Search on the words "American Judas" on DU....there was a remarkable post by Robert Paulson that presents a very damning indictment on both Cheney and Rumsfield's business dealings in the 90s.

[Booster]

10. Got my little tin hat on here, but I believe that Valerie's covert

company was getting a little too close to finding out what Cheney had done over there, i.e., Halliburton/Iraq sanctions, etc., and this was a totally calculated attempt to disband that covert co - I really don't think Mr. or Mrs. Wilson were the target, except they wanted to send a message to other CIA people to "watch what you say". They just used the Wilson's to send that message, but Mr. Wilson just wouldn't cooperate and be intimidated. Just my opinion.

[wli]

14. no tinfoil required

The public coverstory is almost always bunk.

[GreenPartyVoter]

15. Do you have details on what naughtiness Cheney's buddies were up to? And

do you know the details of what Prescott Bush got up to in WWII? (I want to blow some freeper minds with this.)

[Booster]

16. This is one of a few articles I have seen about the subject, but

there's more than this one article. I'll try to find more.http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/7/3/16838/88864

[GreenPartyVoter]

18. Thanks. I will try to track down some original sources. Freepers won't

even count the NYT as a reliable source, let alont DailyKos. *g*

I really hope Fitz is onto this stuff too. If it comes out from him it'll be taken so much more seriously.

[Burried News]

7. What we don't know is ...

How many people with inside knowledge were scared off and played ball because of what they saw happen to Clarke, Shinseki, O'Neil et. al.?

For every hero or person willing to buck the system there may be a hundred who hunker down. Never underestimate the power of the dark side.
The Busheviks have been very successful so far and I personally don't see them being stopped without demonstrations in the streets. Hope I'm wrong; but I don't think so.

[Bleacher Creature]

8. Isn't that always the case??

As much as it pains me to say it, Nixon would have crushed McGovern even without the dirty tricks. Had he accepted that, Nixon's legacy would be comletely different.

Also, had the Nixon White House cooperated -- or at least didn't try and cover things up -- there would have been no Watergate.

It's always that extra step that screws the bad guys.

[kentuck]

9. Excellent point.

It might be understandable to go after someone if they tell lies about you...but to go after people that tell the truth???

[wishlist]

11. WH must have wanted to derail Plame's WMD investigations too

There must be more to the leak than just an effort to set the record straight about Wilson's trip to Niger and to retaliate against him for being a WH critic. Merely accusing him of having a partisan Democrat agenda would probably have been enough. The WH use of such a highly orchestrated strategy for the leak raises suspicions that Cheney and neocons may have feared she was on to their deceptions and getting too close to finding out about incriminating information from overseas sources about WMD so this whole ruse was set up to make the leak look like simply retaliation against Wilson.

[Nite Owl]

12. Like so many articles and

news it would have gone down the big media memory hole. But this is a mirror to how they operate, it's all about the revenge. Sort makes you wonder about all the things we don't know or that we surmise and think it's all 'tin foil hat' stuff.

[BuyingThyme]

13. I'm with you guys.

If they had left him alone, it would have gone away.

[QuettaKid]

17. .....

[immoderate]

21. As opposed to committing "High Crimes"

I think he put his pinky in the socket this time. This is really impeachable. It is illegal and political.

They could have stone walled. They are just a bit too arrogant. Now, they must be taken down.

--IMM

[mmonk]

19. Those that seek absolute power

have control issues. That is why Plame was outed.

[dogday]

20. Why didn't they take that into account? We all

know Joe's story would of sunk like a stone. Karl would of known that. This comes out of extreme hatred and payback. If they had of just left this all alone it would of died out. By their own actions, they have created this mess and their own plight.

[samsingh]

22. wilson and plame are the things we've found out about

i bet you there are many similar situations that have not seen the light of day.

also, this may provide insight into why the media has been so cowed. There must be intimidation tactics behind the scenes driving the media into becoming a propoganda machine.