Anyone find it interesting how Woodward has been presaging these stories?

[jpgray]

The title of the PDB, 'Bin Laden Determined to Attack within the United States', was actually revealed in the WP about two years ago in May 2002:

'The top-secret briefing memo presented to President Bush on Aug. 6 carried the headline, “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.,”'

And also his book 'Bush at War' corroborates much of Clarke's information. Now he has a new book which the administration is ostensibly worried about. What is the deal here? Woodward seemed quite the Bush lapdog on every occasion to me, but now I wonder if he's representing something else?

[MnFats]

1. perhaps...wouldn't it be nice....if he returned to the young pit bull..

kind of reporter that he and Carl Berstein were in 1972-74?
That kind of aggressive reporting would find a 'target-rich environment' in D.C. today.

C'Mon Bob, do the kind of reporting that sent legions of my generation to journalism school....until they found out it was hard work for lousy pay."

[jpgray]

3. I think Woodward was there to get Nixon out for someone else

His own party was turning on him at the time.

[MnFats]

5. hmmmm. i don't think so.

i have friends who were more or less on the sidelines when that was going on....i think it was what it was supposed to be...two mid-20s reporters hungry as hell who got their hackles up by stonewalling attempts, and went on 24-hour alert, pounding on doors and poring over records til they found the nuggets they needed.

[jpgray]

7. Woodward had *very* unusual access for a reporter in his twenties

This seems rooted in his time working at the Pentagon, his Yale contacts, and perhaps the links some speculate he had to the CIA.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

22. Not very likely. Read this link on Woodward...

<http://www.webcom.com/ctka/pr196-woodward.html>

Excerpts:

The staunchly conservative Bob Woodward grew up in Wheaton, Illinois. A good student at Yale, he was ultimately one of fifteen seniors "tapped" for one of that university's secret societies, Book and Snake, a cut below the more infamous Skull and Bones, but the top of the second-tier fraternities. Woodward had his first journalistic experience working for the Banner, a Yale publication. In his 1965 yearbook he was referred to as a "Banner mogul." Havill writes,

Certainly, with the CIA encouraged to recruit on the Yale campus, particularly among history majors and secret societies, it is more than reasonable to assume Bob may have been one of those approached by the agency, or by a military intelligence unit, especially after four years of naval ROTC training. Although it would answer a lot of questions that have been raised about Bob Woodward, at this point one can only speculate as to whether he was offered the chance to become a "double-wallet guy," as CIA agents who have two identities are dubbed. It would certainly be understandable if he decided not to adhere to the straight and accepted the submerged patriotic glamour and extra funds that such a relationship would provide. It would also explain the comments of Pulitzer Prize-winning author J. Anthony Lukas, when he wrote in 1989 that Bob Woodward was "temperamentally secretive, loathe to volunteer information about himself," or the Washingtonian's remarks in 1987: "He is secretive about everything." As Esquire magazine put it, summing up in its 1992 article on Bob, "What is he hiding?"

....snip...

"Three days after graduating from Yale, Woodward was sent by the U.S. Navy to Norfolk, Virginia, where he was commissioned as an ensign by none other than U.S. Senator George Smathers from Florida. Bob's assignment was to a very special ship, called a "floating Pentagon," the U.S.S. Wright. The ship was a National Emergency Command Ship-a place where a President and cabinet could preside from in the event of a nuclear war. It had elaborate and sophisticated communications and data processing capabilities. It had a smaller replica of the war room at the Pentagon. It ran under what was called SIOP-Single Integrated Operation Plan. For example, in the event of nuclear war, the Wright was third in line to take full command if the two ahead of it, the Strategic Air Command in Omaha (SAC) and NORAD, were rendered incommunicado. Woodward-straightfacedly-told authors Colodny and Gettlin (Silent Coup) that he guessed he was picked for the ship because he had been a radio ham as a kid.

Aboard the Wright, Woodward had top secret "crypto" clearance-the same clearance researcher Harold Weisberg found had been assigned to Lee Harvey Oswald when he was himself in the Marines. Such clearance in Woodward's case gave him full access to nearly all classified materials and codes on the ship. Woodward also ran the ship's newspaper. Woodward has insisted that possessing a high security clearance is not necessarily indicative of intelligence work.

The Wright carried men from each of the military services, as well as CIA personnel. One of Havill's government sources reported that the CIA would likely have had additional informants on a ship of such sensitivity, adding that "the rivalry between the services was intense."

[keithyboy]

8. Now you must remember who and what Nixon was

Nixon was the consumate anti-Semite. There was never a question that operatives supporting Israel would get Nixon out the first chance they got...and I am glad about it. Bush, on the other hand, is a strong supporter of Israel, thus he gets passes in the US media boardering on almost protecting him. I would not be surprised if Woodward's book was positive for Bush. Otherwise, Bush has served his purpose and he has to go.

[loudsue]

13. Interesting point, Keithyboy...

Worth noting.

[TexasBushwhacker]

18. Bush supports the idea of "The Rapture"

Read "Forcing God's Hand" by Grace Halsell. Our continued support of Israel has NOTHING to do with "liking" Jews.

[RamboLiberal]

20. A little tidbit Drudge has out tonight

<snip>

But Hewitt tells NYT Bill Carter he was not aware Clarke's book was even owned by Hewitt's very own company.

Hewitt said he did not know Clarke's publisher FREE PRESS was part of SIMON & SCHUSTER.

"Who the heck was Free Press?" Hewitt explains.

The Woodward interview is already taped and it will "make big news," Hewitt predicted.

He has scheduled it at special length, two sections of the program, the same amount of time given to Clarke's book.

http://www.drudgereport.com/rc9.htm

[nostamj]

2. "Woodward seemed quite the Bush lapdog"

again, the bushies show NO sense of history.

pop quiz: what political party did the subject of "All The President's Men" belong to?

i think Woodward played the bushies for FOOLS. wrote his "Bush At War" but... well, didn't actually use ALL of his notes...

eat feces and expire bushies

[jpgray]

10. Some doubt has now been cast on the accuracy of 'All the President's Men'

But in any cse the Bushes and Nixon have not always been the best of friends.

I'll be very interested in this book, however. And especially I will be interested in the kind of coverage it receives.

[worldgonekrazy]

21. I remember when "Bush at War" came out, the WH was pissed

I remember reading a few stories that the White House was mad at Woodward for publishing the book as he did, and that they were supposedly "worried" about some of the stuff in the book. At the time I remember thinking "like what?! Its practically a Bush love affair," but now I see that Woody played them like the fools they are. RWings bought this book, Independents bought this book, and now they have in their hands information corroborating most of what Clarke says. He fooled them into thinking he was publishing their propaganda when it was actually the ground work for something much different.

[reprehensor]

4. Do it, Bob.

Et tu, Bob?

BOB WOODWARD'S SECRET PLAN TO SAVE THE COUNTRY: For years Bob Woodward has looked to the journalistic community like a professional shill--buying incredible access to top officials with the implicit promise of hagiographic treatment in his prose. But it turns out that Woodward was a step ahead of us all along--executing a long-planned strategy of maximizing his influence over American politics, at which point he would cash in his chits for the sake of the republic. What I have in mind here is Woodward's forthcoming book on the war on terror, which will apparently be highly critical of George W. Bush at a time when Bush can least afford it. Here's how Lloyd Grove sums it up today:

I hear that "Plan of Attack," supersleuth Bob Woodward's still-secret study of President Bush's war on terrorism, will be very bad for the Bush reelection campaign - which is still reeling from gun-toting former terrorism chief Richard A. Clarke's critique of Bush, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and other administration figures in "Against All Enemies."

Woodward's book, to be released next month, will receive not only a multipart series in The Washington Post, but also the Mike Wallace treatment on "60 Minutes" April 18 - when I am absolutely confident that the common corporate ownership of CBS and Woodward's publisher, Simon & Schuster, will be mentioned.

Wow. Maybe all those Commanders and Maestros and Bush-at-Wars were worth it after all...

http://www.tnr.com/etc.mhtml?pid=1514

[truizm]

6. 10 days from now

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/074325547X/qid=1081634420/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/002-0382965-4153616?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

[eleny]

14. Interesting that people who "bought this book" also...

bought the other books that speak negatively about the administration. Hannity's book isn't in that Amazon list nor the other admin-ass kissing books. So, it could be that Woodward is dishing up a doozy.

[jpgray]

15. I can't wait to see the coverage

The coverage of Clarke's book was very interesting, and I don't doubt the coverage of Woodward's book will be equally interesting.

[calimary]

17. One thing worth noting:

The Clarke book is a runaway best-seller. It's kinda long so some readers may be taking their time to get through it. But it's MUCHO credible.

And I should add - we have yet to hear of anybody buying up the Clarke book in bulk to have a book-burning, have we? It's being purchased because people are wanting to READ it.

[Eurobabe]

9. not sure but I am preordering the book now

just finished worse than watergate, need a new read.

[Stephanie]

11. Aren't there rumors that Woodward is CIA?

If he is, and if the CIA has turned against the incompetent, extremist, dangerous Bushites, then...

[jpgray]

12. All speculation, near as I can tell (nt)

[CaptainMidnight]

16. WOODWARD WAS/IS A SPOOK

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

Look it up.

Was employed by the Right Wing and the intelligence agencies to bring Nixon down. Nixon wanted out of Vietnam. THEY didn't want that.

Naval Intel got Woodward the job at the Wash Post.

Captain Mike

[Beam Me Up]

19. um hmm

go cap'n mike ;) :hi:

[Media_Lies_Daily]

23. Maybe you ought to read my Post #22.

[Beam Me Up]

24. Thanks

Was not being sarcastic. I'm in agreement.

BMU