Salon: Conason – NYT story disproving Saddam-al Quaida link CIA leak?

[kskiska]

Wednesday's New York Times story disproving Saddam's link to al-Qaida looks like yet another CIA leak designed to embarrass the White House.

Saddam, Osama, and the CIA
When members of the CIA's Iraq Survey Team confided the disappointing result of their weapons hunt to a Washington Post reporter last October, that leak seemed to be a clear sign of the intelligence community's hostility toward the Bush White House. At the time, I predicted continuing trouble from CIA personnel infuriated by White House assaults on their agency and by the "outing" of their colleague Valerie Plame.

Wednesday the administration was embarrassed again -- on the front page of the New York Times -- by a story that disproved the alleged connection between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida. And although reporter James Risen identified the story's sources as "Bush administration officials," this leak looks as if it, too, sprang from the CIA.

(snip)

"The document appears to be a directive, written after he lost power, from Mr. Hussein to leaders of the Iraqi resistance, counseling caution against getting too close to Islamic jihadists and other foreign Arabs coming into occupied Iraq, according to American officials.

"It provides a second piece of evidence challenging the Bush administration contention of close cooperation between Mr. Hussein's government and terrorists from al-Qaida. CIA interrogators have already elicited from the top Qaida officials in custody that, before the American-led invasion, Osama bin Laden had rejected entreaties from some of his lieutenants to work jointly with Mr. Hussein.

more…
http://salon.com/opinion/conason/2004/01/14/cia_leak/index.html

[brainshrub]

1. Do you really think that the CIA hates Bu$h that much?

I don't.

[alittlelark]

2. I do

many of these people are brilliant, thinking, and not influenced by politics. Some of them are also experiencing threats and the like - but respect those who come In Out of the Cold.

[peacetalksforall]

3. Very hard to believe.

Impossible to believe.

The CIA has cooperated with Republican-corporate-banking interests for decades - they do (and have done) the work of Republican-corporate-banking interests.

They are not independent. They don't like little people all around the world, nor in our own country except when we work and pay taxes to fund their secret government.

They bumble and fumble, but have many successes at killing.

They are a reason many people in the world hate us.

Resurrect all the people who have died at their hands and I'll change my mind.

But, we'll recommend you for their PR Dept.

[madrchsod]

5. think godfather

family doesn`t matter when you cross the line.

[Trajan]

10. You havent been reading much .....

The internecine hostility is well known, and widely reported ...

Read Walter Pincus, Dana Priest, Dana Milbank, Seymour Hersch, among others .....

The animosity between the WH Neocons and the careerists in the Pentagon AND CIA has been reported for over 18 months now ....

You havent been reading much, have you ??? ...

[Fovea]

11. The essential question that needs asking

why was it attributed to them

Problematic about who actually leaked it right now, but we know who made the accusation. Perhaps that is worth more examination.

What if the story actually came from the Whitehouse? I think it should at least be considered who might do such a thing.

If it did come from WH officials, it would likely be the current underdog. Powell or Perle could be that mouth, for similar reasons, but different purposes.

[librechik]

14. There are factions within the CIA--it's not monolithic in its politics

I'm certain that there are factions that support the Pukes and Shrub, and factions which disapprove of his policies and do what they can to obstruct the worst damage. It's just not an either/or question.

[tinrobot]

7. Some do...

Particularly when he outs one of their own (Valerie Plame) and have the CIA wrongly take the blame for supplying 'bad' information (yellowcake uranium.) Face it, the CIA has been dumped on a lot by Chimpy's minions in the past year.

Only the top tier of CIA people are politically appointed, the rest are career people who've seen many presidents come and go. They do have an axe to grind.

[oldcoot]

15. They have a very good reason to hate him

The Bush administration outed Valerie Plame. I am sure most CIA employees have no use for anyone who would expose and endanger one of their own people.

[madrchsod]

4. the cia and the military

realize that they have become george bush`s private army. they hate rummy and his band neo fascists for destroying the united states forces. we can not fight another war for years to come and we are in a position of last resort-nuclear war. we don`t have enough bullets for our weapons and our hardware is being destroyed by the sands of iraq. he has lost the army-the boys in the pentagon now know how the german generals felt about hitler-he`s mad and leading our army to ruin

[peacetalksforall]

6. But it's not so bad - everyone is going to be able to get marriage

counseling or a moon job, unless the marriages and jobs are outsourced.

[NJCher]

8. OMG!

I had this instant picture of a pair of fundies getting religious counseling from an Indian help desk!


Cher

[tibbiit]

9. they were sending a sign

to bushies/neocon's.

Sunday was the O'neil interview.
Monday AM the Dept. of Treas set to roll O'neil for theft of sekrets investigation.
Plame was outed in July, and met a stone wall, investigation barely begun.
One day fast track for bush enemys, 6mos, a year or never for the rest.

my 2 cents.
tib

[Snappy]

12. Screwup

The Neo fascists are an arrogant wealthy club. They screwed up when the started messin' with the CIA. Some of these guys are killers. Payback is something they believe in & they are more loyal to their own than to some politicos that won't have power forever.
The CIA has been responsible for overthrowing many democracies. The US Govt. Repubs and Dems don't really believe in that concept. They are mostly Plutocrats. They seek puppet Govts.

[loudsue]

13. Don't you notice how we speak of the CIA in two different ways??

On the one hand, they're patriots-in-the-know at the highest order.

On the other hand, they're assassins, drug dealers, cloak & dagger neocon do-gooders and enablers.

The truth is, I am firmly convinced there are TWO factions within our CIA/FBI.... polarized, like everyone else in the country right now.

There is a strong "mob" element in the CIA. They've been on the bush team since bush sr. was an agent...back during the Kennedy assassination. Same w/ the FBI. There is the faction in these agencies that are nothing short of "thugs".

Then, there is the element that truly believes in our Democracy, and the protection and support of the ability of the U.S. to safely govern ourselves. They may have to wallow in the gutters with some slimey elements to do their jobs at times, but I believe THIS group is truly ethical and patriotic.

The corrupt factions support the bush gang. The patriotic factions support both conservatives and liberals alike...as Americans.

The rift may have widened between the two elements recently, like it has with Dems and repukes. And like conservative Kevin Phillips, who recently wrote that new book "American Dynasty" (about the corrupt bush family), there may even be some of the "bad guys" who are starting to ask themselves "what in the hell are we DOING???"

I'm hoping more of them begin to see the light, and REPORT on it!

:kick: