Why is Woodward cool to Plamegate? Was Libby a mainstay Woodward source?

[BurtWorm]

Larry Johnson at TPM Cafe thinks so:


http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/10/30/22044/596


A few years back our intrepid investigative reporter Bob Woodward was on the cutting edge of information about the Clinton Administration and China. In the spring of 1998 Bob broke the story that China was trying to influence the U.S. election through carefully placed campaign contributions. Don Lambro of the Washington Times said:

The disclosure is a big breakthrough in the 18-month-old investigation, because for the first time someone has shown a paper trail of illegal campaign money from China to the United States that was intended to influence our elections. This was the story that Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward first broke and that Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson dug into before he was forced to end his hearings in December because of a one-year deadline that recalcitrant Democrats had demanded.

So, which now infamous chief of staff to a Vice President was working as a counsel to a Hill committee that happened to be investigating this story? Gee, does Scooter Libby sound familiar?

With that background let us consider some of Bob's "investigatory" insight into the outing of a clandestine CIA officer. Here's a doozy:

WOODWARD: . . .Now there are a couple of things that I think are true. First of all this began not as somebody launching a smear campaign that it actually -- when the story comes out I'm quite confident we're going to find out that it started kind of as gossip, as chatter and that somebody learned that Joe Wilson's wife had worked at the CIA and helped him get this job going to Niger to see if there was an Iraq/Niger uranium deal.

And, there's a lot of innocent actions in all of this but what has happened this prosecutor, I mean I used to call Mike Isikoff when he worked at the "Washington Post" the junkyard dog. Well this is a junkyard dog prosecutor and he goes everywhere and asks every question and turns over rocks and rocks under rocks and so forth.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Woodward is just afraid this might turn out to be bigger than Watergate.

[still_one]

2. it is bigger than watergate, we went to war because of this deception

unfortunately, the media will push this, it is up to the democrats, perhaps moderate repukes, but most important the people

the people will have their say in 2006, and it will make the media irrelevant which is what they have been for the past 13 years

[funflower]

3. Bob Woodward is about Bob Woodward.

Don't imagine his role in the Watergate investigation was about anything but making a name for himself.

[blm]

4. Why was Woodward cool to IranContra? BCCI? Iraqgate? Enron? He's BFEE

and has been since he was POSITIONED at the WashPost 4 months before Watergate story developed.

The REAL powers wanted Nixon out before his madness ruined the entire GOP for decades to come. And they wanted to put George Bush in power in 1980.

[librechik]

5. Woodward's motives are obvious

A)he is a conservative so he's onboard with the agenda, B) he uses these folks as sources for his bestsellers, which he fears would stop coming if there's a regime change. And C)by many indications he may also be an undercover agent for some branch of MI or CIA, and be protecting whatever agenda they are backing. So far he's just been spouting the straight GOP talking points, so you can draw your own conclusions.

[Chi-Town Exile]

6. Because Woodward is a dick and a whore!

I hate the bastard, he makes me ill. :puke:

[emulatorloo]

7. I have always questioned the Tenet "slam dunk case" from Woodwards Book

I always suspected that the quote was sourced from Libby/Cheney's office to blame the CIA and get themselves off the hook.

[Chiyo-chichi]

8. He also makes no sense.

WOODWARD: . . .Now there are a couple of things that I think are true. First of all this began not as somebody launching a smear campaign that it actually -- when the story comes out I'm quite confident we're going to find out that it started kind of as gossip, as chatter and that somebody learned that Joe Wilson's wife had worked at the CIA and helped him get this job going to Niger to see if there was an Iraq/Niger uranium deal.

He contradicts himself in a single sentence. THAT WAS part of the attempt to discredit/smear Wilson - the implication that he wasn't even sent by the CIA properly - that his wife was instrumental in getting him the assignment - which we know is NOT TRUE.

Would Woodward have us believe that the fact that this "gossip" also ruined her career and had a devastating effect on the Wilson's lives - and gave pause to any others who would contradict the administration - was an unintended consequence?

[tularetom]

9. Squidward is the WP equivalent of Judy Millwhore

An embedded intelligence operative whose job it is to produce propaganda camouflaged as news. I believe this was true even in Watergate days when he was used by the CIA to "reveal" unpleasant info about nixon because they objected to certain policies (relations with China for example).