Is O'Neill our Ellsberg?

[kayell]

Remember the huge volume of documents that Ellsberg had? Remember how no one thought that anyone would be able to chew through the whole mess? Remember the Pentagon Papers hitting the best seller list? Which newspaper will have the guts to run with the evidence this time? Is this finally, FINALLY the beginning of the end for the BFEE? We've all had our hopes raised and dashed so many times, but maybe this is finally what the public and media needs to get attention paid to all the other horrors, the piece of the puzzle that makes everything else fit together.

It's time, it's past time, but I just have to keep hoping. :bounce:

[Mikimouse]

1. I remember it well...

I think that many of us here probably do. There was always something suspicious about Nixon, but no one could ever nail it down. The same applies to *. The only thing I hope for is the image of him standing in the exact spot where Nixon stood, so long ago, doing the same thing, but losing his temper while doing so, just to reinforce what an ass he is.

[TomNickell]

2. LBJ & McNamara...

Pentagon papers were studies from the LBJ period which showed that Vietnam was unwinnable. But they went ahead anyway.

Probably too much to hope this material has the same effect. But maybe.

[kayell]

3. Just no one pardon * like they did Nixon

this pResident needs to see some prosecution for his crimes. Not to mention Cheney and the rest of the gang.

The press is far more controlled than it was then, but once 60 Minutes airs, it seems that this will be hard to sweep under the carpet.

[Gman]

5. Hopefully we'll extradict Cheney to France sometime early next year

to stand trial for his Halliburton crimes.

[Maddy McCall]

15. Oh what a sweeeeeet comeupance!--Irony at its best! n/t

[madrchsod]

4. no

there`s no publication or television network that will do anything other than lip service. times were different back then,if a reporter saw blood and had a story it would be published or aired ,not anymore. news is filtered thru the soap -seller dept and the NRC talking points. what more could you expect in a fascist state?

[kayell]

6. I hope that we are not quite that far gone

The warning signs that we are at least well on our way to a fascist state are there, but have we already sunk all the way to where the situation is irredeemable? The media reaction to this story may give me the answer. I still hope it is the answer we all need.

[Catfish]

10. I think you are correct.

O'Neill will be forgotten within 2 weeks. The structure of the media is much different now, more concentrated and operating in a corporate structure. Just look at "reporters" now, not very bright, not very curious, just media "personalities".

[Philostopher]

13. Sadly, I find myself agreeing with you.

With the sorry state of U.S. reporting, there are no 'true journalists' left. As I've said before, there's been a fire sale in the Fourth Estate, and everything is gone.

Even if somebody with some scruples and a taste for blood decided to run with this (or any other story that would have relegated anybody in the Bu$h administration to the slag heap back in the 1970s) and tried to become this generation's Woodward and/or Bernstein, some eager Bu$hite would just dig up information about how the journalist smoked dope in high school, gave the football coach a blow job, or something equally irrelevant to use to discredit the reporter (because they can't discredit the story) or else maybe the 'white knight' would be found in the median of the road, sitting on an idling white charger, with a pike s/he didn't buy rammed through his or her heart.

Getting the big story on government corruption no longer makes a journalist's career. Now, if somebody came out with a photo of Michael Jackson diddling a pre-pubescent kid, that would make him or her an award-winning journalist in today's America. But government corruption? Who cares -- that's too complicated. Pass the Doritos, 'Entertainment Tonight' is on!

[Catfish]

17. agree and it's very disheartening.

I don't know why I'm so cynical and negative today. I've found the O'Neill disclosures to be what we all really knew anyway but it's good to have it out in the open. However, I don't really think it will matter to many people or will even be remembered. I so hope I'm wrong.

[kentuck]

7. Good question, kayell...

We will have to wait and see just exactly how much info Mr O'Neil possesses and how much he is willing to tell. If he has 19,000 pages, they should be very worried...and from their attacks on him already, they appear very worried indeed.

[havocmom]

8. double edged sword

If they get worried enough and boxed into a corner, look out. These tyrants will not go peacefully like Nixon did.

MIHOP big time when they get desperate enough.

These are not democratically elected servants of the people. They are villains who wage war on innocents using innocents to line their own pockets. They are are responsible for the deaths of thousands for no noble cause. That makes them murderers already.

Send in the SWAT team and bring them to justice, but they are not going down without exhausting every resource, and they have a lot of resources.

[Catfish]

11. They will want to make an example of O'Neill

to discourage anyone else who might consider revealing their secrets.

[Maddy McCall]

16. Yes...I agree

We don't know how this is going to play out. I think it is great that it broke on Friday...it will gain explosive momentum over this weekend and publishers and producers will HAVE to respond to the sixty minutes expose with their own exposes next week if they are to hold onto any credibility with the public.

It has legs and will travel.

[proud patriot]

9. possibly and Just wait til Richard Clark has his say

I'm very optimistic , It's in my nature .

[Catfish]

12. Democratic Presidential Candidates

Have any of them commented on what O'Neill has revealed?

[Unknown Known]

14. Ellsberg had also been a True Believer at one time

Totally believed in "saving SE Asia from Communism" BS. Worked at Rand - pretty conservative. But after he realized the Pentagon was in the business of lying about the numbers and winning - I guess he woke up finally.