It's unlike the Bushies to just sit still and wait for Fitzgerald to pop

[Bucky]

Why are they so silent on this Rove business? What are they planning? They are NEVER without an ace up the sleeve. We were watching Florida, they hit us with Ohio. We were watching the "security mom" vote, they hit us with the Swift Boat Vets for Bush Truth. We were watching for WMDs, they switched justifications faster than my dad switches tv channels with a remote control. We were denouncing the chaos of the war, they hit us with the Senate Nuclear Option.

Always, always something. So what are their options for getting Bush's brain off the hook. Batoning down the hatches and waiting for the storm to pass is not their style. Other than new distractions, what do you think they're game plan is?

[Goldmund]

1. They had 2 years to prepare --

-- and then their talking points fell, one by one, like a house of cards.

That's not "like them" either, is it?

[spuddonna]

2. Something I was thinking...

If Fitzy has an 'accident', what would happen to the investigation?

[whosinpower]

3. It will all be a moot point very soon

Here is your distraction.....a catastrophic terror attack on US soil - during Bush vacation - sometime in August. September 11/2005 - US bombs Iran.

The sheep will all fall over themselves to follow their leader.

It is a wild card prediction BTW - I have no sources other than my imaginative brain.

[wli]

14. actually not quite true

The nuclear terrorism exercise scheduled for August, numerous hints of "multiple simultaneous mass-casualty attacks," the "get ready for martial law," and other "hints" dropped in the media to condition people for the affair are signs of the intention. There are other hints of bad intentions, which appear to be why people are blowing whistles.

I think the reason why Fitzgerald's been dredged up and sicced on Bush is because he's not adequately served and now is no longer serving his corporate masters and is trying to run off in lunatic directions (along with reports of Bush's deteriorating mental stability).

[whosinpower]

15. There is a nuclear terrorism exercise scheduled in August?

Really? I just threw out that timeline in jest - perhaps I read something and my unconcsious mind threw it together, but I do not recall reading anything like that - only the Cheney thing about attacking Iran should a catastrophic attack occur on US soil.

You think Bush is being attacked because he isn't serving his corporate masters well enough and that is why they dredged up Fitzgerald? Interesting POV.....

So my question would be - what do the corporate masters want from Bush that they are not getting?

[wli]

18. here it is

The nuclear terrorism exercise I heard of was in South Carolina IIRC and "sometime in August" with no specific date. If the pattern repeats itself, there should be several simultaneously.

Bush's corporate masters wanted to successfully set up oil operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he's failed utterly at that. (Others wanted the opium business in Afghanistan restored, and he's succeeded there.) Since Iraq and Afghanistan are going nowhere, he's probably trying to vindicate himself by capturing Iran, while the corporate masters would rather cut him off. Or that's where my guesswork leads (the evidence here is rather scanty, it's more like an impression).

There is actually some contrary evidence: generally the "corporate masters" are entrenched in dollars and are just too big to shift to Euros without disrupting the balance of currency to their detriment. The Iranian Oil Bourse is threatening to pull a Saddam-style oil-for-Euros affair they can't tolerate without huge losses, so they may actually be behind him on Iran or possibly divided (probably a Euro/asset -based capital flight vs. "double or nothing" internal division amongst the corporate types). Internal divisions would explain MSM flip flops between anti-Bush and covering for Bush.

[whosinpower]

22. Worrying information indeed

Thanks for the info. I was just spouting off the top of my head.

But, the more I think about it, the more I think an attack on Iran is inevitable. Bush is lining his ducks up in a row.

With Iran's influence on Iraq and their willingness(?) to switch currencies Bush will have little choice but to escalate the game. That is his pattern after all.

[wli]

23. that depends

There's a lot of financial riskiness surrounding destructive maneuvers, apart from the usual arms sales profits. Similarly, mass capital flight threatens to devalue holdings by affecting exchange rates and so on.

It seems more that the super-rich are in a bind due to BushCo's failures than that anything is going as planned. Booting Bush out of office and getting someone competent to invade Iran would make sense for them, but it doesn't appear (to me) that Bush is playing along. On the other hand, it does appear that Bush has some substantial position (e.g. the BFEE is a major player in the coalition of the super-rich) and can fend off attempts to dislodge him at least temporarily. So I think it's a matter of whether he'll go even crazier and nuke us and Iran in the interim than whether he can truly stop the attempt to dislodge him that Fitzgerald represents.

This is all pretty sketchy high-level inference. The kind of things Tom Flocco had (not to imply he in particular is correct) where various things were documented step-by-step (but even he has some poorly-documented stretches) are really needed to figure it out. Basically people need to get their standards of citation up and try piecing things together out of well-documented material, then going over it to get some consensus on the valid inferences derivable from it and so on. I expect we'll either get nuked or the scare will blow over first.

[Mnemosyne]

16. Can you find the link on that or

some more info. Forgot to bookmark when posted, now I can't find it.

Thanks if you can.

[wli]

19. I saw the nuclear terrorism exercise info here on DU

But I don't have search capabilities to dredge it up.

[Mnemosyne]

25. I did a search and it didn't come up, that's why I asked.

Found it here though, if you track these incidents as I am doing (just watching):

http://www.northcom.mil/index.cfm?fuseaction=news.showstory&storyid=C9BFBBAC-F3CA-BD2E-008C7B34AFE33114

Let's pray it is just an exercise. Don't need any more coincidences. Can't find any dates. :grr:

:hi:

[wli]

28. thanks, I could use the reference myself

[Robbien]

4. They are putting Sen. Roberts out to investigate Fitzgerald's investigatio

In the Reuter's article today they had a throwaway line in there that said

the Senate committee would also review the probe of special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, who has been investigating the Plame case for nearly two years.

Having a Senate committee investigate an ongoing investigation is crazy. Not to be trusted.

[Tesla]

6. This is so scary

Now they will go after Fitzgerald, It's almost amazing he has made it this long.....

[jimshoes]

7. Well, at least Simple Scottie can continue

stonewalling even after he hands down indictments since there will still be an ongoing investigation of the investigation.

[wishlist]

9. This Senate review is highly suspicious since Roberts smeared Wilson

I am very concerned about Sen. Roberts' one-sided Repub hearings that are almost certain to result in some kind of "official" conclusions designed to undermine Fitzgerald's case or sway public opinion to minimize the likelihood or impact of indictments. Hopefully, Fitz is far enough along to be able to issue indictments before these hearings get very far along.

[ThoughtCriminal]

5. They have a few aces

1. Pardons are a weapon of choice for the Bush Family. Once the pardons go out, the investigation goes cold. There's a political price, but consider the alternative for them.
2. They can count on the Supreme Court's Republican majority to completely ignore precedent, the law and the Constitution to protect Bush. They can safely obstruct justice, withold evidence, appeal any unfavorable lower court rulings. Once Roberts is in, any uncertainty is gone.
3. Republican Congress can block or delay any investigation or impeachment.

Only thing they really have to fear is losing control in 2006.

[jojo54]

8. IMHO

I think that they couldn't/can't stop this investigation is what's caught them by surprise. As we post these threads, they are busy bees, spinning more lies to cover the lies.

[Demeter]

10. What Choice Do they Have?

Assassination at this stage of the game would be too blatant, as would any manufactured scandal, sexual or otherwise. They haven't been able to find any real dirt, either, or we surely would have heard it by now. No, the boys from Denial thought it would all evaporate in a desert of neglect. I doubt they even thought about bribes. They were having too much fun with their armies and profiteering and baiting the liberals to pay attention to their flank. And Rove just pissed off the wrong people, finally.

[tulsakatz]

11. game plan

what's their game plan? It always seems to be arrogance. They always act like they're above the law.........as if the laws they make are for everyone else, not for them!

If you recall, during Watergate, Nixon had a similar style. True, he wasn't the criminal these guys are but I don't think Nixon ever thought he would have to resign because of Watergate. That is, until the very end. Remember him saying "I am not a crook!"

[emulatorloo]

12. They have sent out the Flying Monkey Brigade

Mehlman, Delay, this Senator Roberts Person, John Fund from the Wall Street Journal Opinion Page, David Brooks, etc etc etc. I guess McCain has suited up too.

They are hardly quiet. They are replaying Karl's original hit "Get Wilson! And His Wife is Fair Game."

But I don't think it is going to help them.

[RDANGELO]

13. They must not be getting any info out of the grand Jury

They seemed to be caught flat footed by the leaks and the Cooper statements. It must be driving them nuts.

[Vinca]

17. Two words: presidential pardon.

Keeping in mind King George assumes he's one of the untouchables.

[Disturbed]

20. Maybe they are so arrogant that they relied on the SC..

to allow Cooper and Miller not to testify?

Their reliance on the ignorance &/or gullibilty of most Amerikans worked well for them but the SC caught them by surprise.

[htuttle]

21. The Bush administration has been caught flat-footed time and time again

In fact, the only times where they seem to have had a plan to deal with something are when they stirred up an issue in the first place.

Think about it: When Iraq turned out to not have WMD, they had NOTHIN! They knew there was no WMD, they just assumed it wouldn't matter after their glorious victory. And in some measure, it didn't matter -- Bush still got a second term in the White House.

Fact is, the 'ace up their sleeve' they've had all this time has been nothing but a compliant corporate press. Without it, they're toast.

[OKJackson]

24. The Bush administration is finished

They have no more back up plans, both wars are fubar and the economy is about to be fubared.

Bush will be impecahed.

[Stinky The Clown]

26. They're caught flat footed, pure and simple ......

They reached into their pocket for another gun to fire and came up with nothing but a soft dick.

They have nothing. They've never had anything. All their plans are hardly secret. In 2000, every pundit on the air was saying Florida, Florida, Florida .... and **we** looked elsewhere. Similarly in 04, every pundit on the air was saying Ohio, Ohio, Ohio ...... and **we** looked elsewhere.

The Swift Liars weer out and about while Kerry was still in dead last in the primaries. And **we** looked elsewhere.

They said there were WMD in Iraq. We screamed about it. They screamed louder. And so ... **we** looked elsewhere.

The fact is, they pull off audacious shit and we have no spoine to return with a frontal attack. We're too busy 'speaking facts and nuance'. We try to finesse shit. They clobber it.

It isn't that we don't know .... its that we don't know what to do about it.

By the way ... the 'we' in this post ..... it ain't you and it ain't me ...... its the leaders of our party and those that lead our leaders.

And that brings us to today .............

Where we're beyond clueless.

Fitzgerald isn't.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

27. Well, they hit us with both FLA AND OH.