Purpose for leak, central to knowing what happened and who's involved!

[skip fox]

I keep pushing my pet purpose, but let me lay out the four commonly referred to:

1. Revenge on Wilson.

2. Warning to any others with similar information or gripes.

3. To indicate nepotism, and thus discredit Wilson.

4. To imply the trip was self-initiated (Wilson got wife to send him) and thus discredit Wilson.


These are not, as is often pointed out, mutually exclusive. But the primary one is #4. If the administration could show that Wilson was chomping at the bit to get to Niger, they could paint him and his investigation as partisan. The story would run: Here's Wilson yelling about the false information in the President's speech, but no one could really believe his investigation in Niger was objective since he was a Clinton man, got himself assigned to Niger the previous fall, then found what he WANTED, and reported to the CIA. It is little wonder that the President gave no credence to Wilson's report. We've seen him as a maverick all along.

The nepotism "take" (3) was thick-headed Novak's, who simply didn't "read" the leak in the manner intended.

#1-2 are side benefits, only, not the primary reasons IMHO.

Once we see #4 as primary, we see another kind of mind working. One which is intelligent, cold and dispassionately calculating, trying to substitute one narrative to undercut another. Not a mind given to firebombing opponents (like Rove?), but one which tries to quickly and surely relegate Wilson to the junkpile of history. Nothing personal; he's just gone. No credibility. No more editorials. Nada.

To my mind, this places it in Cheney's lap.


#1-2 (revenge and warning) make better stories, but they might draw us away from the true leakers.

IMHO

[gWbush is Mabus]

1. Cheney

did make 5 trips to the CIA

[skip fox]

2. Yeah . . . Scooter Libby is at the top of my list!

I just hope we don't get pulled away from the real culprits just because #1-2 (revenge/warning) make a better story and a more damning critique of the administration. Any leak of this order is against the law, no matter the purpose. Let's not lose the entire issue just because we'd like a better story.

[soothsayer]

3. So one theory sez it's the neocons

They say rove told * "no more new wars during your first term" cuz they would make dumbasspretzelboy even less popular. And the neocons (wolfie and all) became infuriated, and got Tenet to go after Rove (who either on his own had done this type of retaliation, for which he is well known, having gotten kicked out by poppy for a similar act) for outing Mrs Wilson.

[skip fox]

4. I gotja. but think it was more on-the-fly, but intelligent.

Wilson makes the papers. Says the yellow-cake was discredited in his report. Questions why the president used discredited material. Implies president wanted war no matter the facts (and the facts have not been kind to Mr. Bush recently--no WMD, no flowers in the streets, no Saddam-Osama terrorist ties).

The administration wants this last hornet to just disappear. They imply that he's unstable and hates the administration ALL with "His wife's CIA and had him sent to Niger" (never mind it's not the truth--she only provided the Bureau with contact information according to Tom Oliphant). "Thus, he went (implying he instigated the trip and told wife to send him) to undercut our efforts" (drumming up a case for Saddam's WMDs) "and is still doing so with shrill editorials." Message: Pay him no mind.

It's really very deft. The fact that Novak didn't see it only means that the leaker(s) overestimated Novak (or, perhaps, Novak has a thing about nepotism?).

[skip fox]

5. shameless one last time kick

:bounce: