Cheney melt down story...No wonder bushies are surrounded by Yes Men!

[Rose Siding]

from Kevin Drum's blog

SHOOTING THE MESSENGER....Justin Logan excerpts an interesting piece today by Philip Giraldi in the print edition of The American Conservative. Giraldi claims that when the CIA's Counter Terrorism Center provided Dick Cheney with a special briefing on Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's prewar ties with Saddam Hussein last month, Cheney was a wee bit unhappy with their conclusions:

The CTC concluded that Saddam Hussein had not materially supported Zarqawi before the U.S.-led invasion and that Zarqawi's infrastructure in Iraq before the war was confined to the northern no-fly zones of Kurdistan, beyond Baghdad's reach. Cheney reacted with fury, screaming at the briefer that CIA was trying to get John Kerry elected by contradicting the president's stance that Saddam had supported terrorism and therefore needed to be overthrown. The hapless briefer was shaken by the vice president's outburst, and the incident was reported back to Goss, who indicated that he was reluctant to confront the vice president's staff regarding it.

I don't know who Giraldi's source for this was, but it's a sadly familiar MO for this administration: shoot the messenger, refuse to believe anything you don't want to believe, and treat everything first and foremost as an excuse for partisan bludgeoning, not as a serious problem that requires serious analysis and a serious solution.

You can't excise a cancer if you spend your time screaming at the lab because the biopsy report isn't what you expected. Why would anyone think that Bush and Cheney can successfully fight terrorism if they willfully refuse to understand the true nature of the threat?

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/

[RC]

1. "Why would anyone think that Bush and Cheney

can successfully fight terrorism if they willfully refuse to understand the true nature of the threat?"

bu$h & cheney are the terrorists.
Without them and the BFEE the Twin Towers would still be standing. The stock market would still be up and I'd have much more of a retirement nest egg. The U.S. would be prospering, not in hock to China for trillons of $$$
And we would have much more research into alternate energy for when the oil runs out.

[NEOBuckeye]

2. Cheney will really blow his top on Nov 2 when Kerry wins.

[mark11727]

32. charging...charging....CLEAR! (boomp)...

[Love Bug]

41. you is bad!

:evilgrin:

[cliss]

3. How'd you like to have this guy for a boss?

Well, it's probably safe to say that Dick Cheney is under a bit of stress. I think Cheney's had a tough year. Reality didn't pan out to be what he insisted it was. He worked really hard at it, too! The Iraqis just aren't cooperating with his little vision of "democracy".

A few months ago, Cheney told Leahy to go F himself. This is not a man on top of his game.

I believe Cheney has fought a vicious battle in the Rot-publican party, just to survive. I think there were lots of people wanting to dump him for somebody better, like Senator Smith from Oregon. There are lots of more suitable people than this fathead.

So he's struggling right now. You can tell. He just looks stressed, angry, hateful, scowling with that weird droop on his mouth.

He's shown no confidence, exuberance, charm or wit like the Dynamic Duo. He's just a dud.

[jimshoes]

8. Well...

They said it would be untidy. They didn't expect fubar.

[Maccagirl]

4. If "The American Conservative" is printing this

Why the hell isn't anyone else?

[mzmolly]

5. It's up to US to get these stories out guys.

BLAST IT! :hi:

[Rose Siding]

7. Kevin's blog links the story from another blog...

It's only in the print edition, but there's a longer snip of the article which you can get to through the link I provided.

[countmyvote4real]

10. I no longer rely on mainstream media for anything

other than parroting spin. Mainstream news is just too much hype and way too late.

For example: DU had posts to the real story (and I don’t mean Smudge) about the missing explosives this weekend. This Cheney story is from an unnamed source, so it’s less likely to get any play unless it’s in the form of “some people say…” The outfits that masquerade that tactic as journalism are even less likely to cover this unless they feel that they have to defend their pResidential benefactor.

And that’s why I get my news links from DU.

I don’t know where else I would blast it.

And yet this Cheney/CIA episode is VERY telling. All "blue" people will understand the pattern. Some "red" people might find it interesting. And "yellow" people should be forced to write a paper about how it compells them to vote "red" or "blue."

[yellowcanine]

20. American Conservative = Pat Buchanan's magazine. He doesn't like

this war or Dick Cheney though for some reason I believe he has said he is voting for the chimpster.

[LittleClarkie]

45. For the conservative Supreme Court Justices

Bush will appoint he said.

[Steelangel]

6. Honest....

I think they're trying to lose on purpose...

[Rose Siding]

9. It's interesting to note that Goss wouldn't stand up for the briefer

And they said he wouldn't be political. ROFL

[Homerr]

31. Not only political, but Goss is a wuss.

If he can't stand up to the VP or POTUS then what the hell is he doing there? Can't be putting personalities before the US of A.

[Skinner]

11. This is no surprise.

Once again, it shows how the Bush Administration doesn't really care about reality.

[IceOwl]

13. Reality is bad for business.

[newyawker99]

36. Hi IceOwl!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[IceOwl]

38. Hi

hihi :)

[NewYorkerfromMass]

26. Well, the reality based community

is not for them. Only La la land seems to cut it.

[obreaslan]

12. This just in...

Crash-cart probably had 4 more heart-attacks right after this exchange. :mad: :grr: :nuke:

Election night will probably do him in.....

[Stuckinthebush]

14. Can Kerry fire Porter Goss?

He is bad news. How would you like to have a boss who was reluctant to confront the administration on a crazy outburst like Cheney's? You'd feel like you were flapping in the wind. I don't know if he can, but Kerry should get rid of Goss as fast as he can.

[WoodrowFan]

18. he sure can

The DCI serves until the President says go.

[milkyway]

21. ...and he will. Yesterday's NY Times said Kerry will replace Goss.

[Roland99]

15. How *DARE* they think for themselves!!

How *DARE* they not follow the party line! Damn Communists trying to get Kerry elected! Shoot the traitors!!

[cubsfan forever]

16. Yes, reality bites

doesn't if, Dick? Well, he won't have to suffer much longer,; after Nov 2 he can relax and go F*** himself.

Professor 2

[KharmaTrain]

17. I Repeat Zarqawi was in KURDISTAN....

This lie is a wingnut gift that keeps giving. No amount of facts seem to destroy this meme, since it's a major thread that holds the sham of the Iraq invasion together in the wingnut tent.

Prior to our invasion, Zarqawi had his camp well inside Kurdistan...the US PROTECTED area of the north of Iraq...within Saddam's No-Fly Zone and one that could have easily been bombed, raided or just surveilled at any time prior to the invasion.

It's come out that not only did this regime know Zarqawi was there and being PROTECTED by the Kurdistan Army (our ertswhile allies) and they also were a buffer and or a go-between if there was any contact with Hussein and definitely with any outside Al Queda.

Now, if this CIA really was doing it's job, why isn't Crashcart trying to find out whose playing middlemen to Al Queda and Zarquawi today...all he'd have to do is call his friends Bandar Bush and Ahmed Chalabi.

[Roland99]

19. I have now updated my website with this new information

This is damning information. This administration is self-destructing around its lies!!

[spooked911]

22. Man, would I LOVE to see Cheney go berzerk...

... the guy is preternaturally calm on TV, and seeing him go bananas like this would be the best medicine possible for people unsure about the evil that is Bush-Cheney.

[Sequoia]

35. On Nov 3 he'll tell America to go F themselves since Kerry won!

Yup, his bald round head will get red and explode.

[Neecy]

23. Fang is starting to panic

He knows that a Kerry administration will uncover his many dirty dealings, and his fat ass might be in the slammer when all is said and done.

And I look forward to that day, when this criminal stands before the bar of justice.

[rachael7]

43. Can the shrub pardon himself before he's ousted?

I wouldn't put it past him.

R

[JPace]

24. Careful Cheney!

remember that weak weak heart of yours...

Tic toc..tic toc..tic..toc..tic....toc ......tic............Uh Oh!

[Rob H.]

25. Goss is a coward

The hapless briefer was shaken by the vice president's outburst, and the incident was reported back to Goss, who indicated that he was reluctant to confront the vice president's staff regarding it.

Yeah. Just what we need--an intelligence official too cowed to stand up to the Administration and confront them with those inconvenient...what do you call them?...facts.

It's bad enough that the media (with a few notable exceptions) wets its pants from fear in anticipation of asking ShrubCo questions that might make Bush look even a little bit bad, but Goss won't even stand up for his own people. :mad:

[spooked911]

27. Good point.

Goss appears to be a worthless toady. And that's clearly NOT what we need for a CIA director.

[Jivenwail]

33. That is exactly how Maureen Dowd described

Goss when she was on Bill Maher's show a while back - she called Goss "Cheney's toady".

[IceOwl]

39. Oh, give him a break.

It's a tough decision - do the right thing or keep your job. Keeping your job is the better thing to do, obviously. Doing the right thing is for wimps.

[pdx_prog]

28. It just gets better and better....

Crash cart is going to implode before the week is out!

[wicket]

29. Oh, this is beautiful

:D

[Homerr]

30. Cheney puts self-preservation before America, whodathunk?

[RaleighNCDUer]

34. Isn't that what we've been saying since day one?

Long before we knew who Zarqawi was, we heard of terrorist training camps in the Kurdish controlled region, where Saddam couldn't get to them. They Islamist terrorists were AQ connected, and were outlawed by the secular Baathist regime.

It's about time this started getting some play.

[The Doctor.]

37. Easy answer

"You can't excise a cancer if you spend your time screaming at the lab because the biopsy report isn't what you expected. Why would anyone think that Bush and Cheney can successfully fight terrorism if they willfully refuse to understand the true nature of the threat?"

Answer - they don't care about the 'threat', it's been and will continue to be too helpful for them.

Cheney must have forgot Evil Overlord lesson #32.

http://www.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html

[Nordic]

40. too bad he musta had his nitroglycerin with him

I'd like to see Cheney blow a gasket if you know what I"m saying

[Roland99]

42. Anyone picking up on how the right is spinning this?

[AirAmFan]

44. Did Bush and Blair even WANT a real coalition? Smaller shares of oil

reserves in Iraq would have gone to the US and to Britain had France, Germany, Italy, and other petroleum-thirsty countries with large armies gotten involved. The way things turned out, a few demilitarized countries each sent a token force to Iraq, allowing Bush and Blair to CLAIM a coalition, but not have to share the spoils of invasion with them

This development makes me wonder exactly what was discussed between Bush and Blair so many months before the US invasion. Did their conversation hark back to nineteenth century imperialism, when Great Powers sat around a table to divide up Africa and other undeveloped places rich in natural resources?

And, how many on the still-secret list of attendees at Cheney's "Energy Task Force" knew the planned invasion schedule? Or did the very idea of invading Iraq result from brainstorming about "energy security" in the Dick Cheney-Ken Lay-led group?

The British press just may be able to put enough pressure on Blair to force him into eventual admission of details quite embarrassing to US Republicans.