Though there was never any threat of Niger uranium exploding in Saddam's fictional nuclear arsenal, the Niger uranium story has exploded into a real-live superscandal that has the potential to bring down the Bush administration. That is, if the news will cover it. Remember that nobody covered Watergate except for a pair of enterprising reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post. If not for them, Watergate would be remembered as a third-rate burglary for which some partisan Democrats had attempted to malign one of the most popular and successful Presidents of the 20th century, the same way right-wing revisionists are trying to spin Reagan's open support of terrorism and sale of arms to an enemy nation. Now Washington Post reporters Mike Allen and Dana Priest may have taken the first step towards history repeating itself as it so often does.
Josh Marshall and Eschaton are among those keeping a good heads-up on the situation for these first few days of the new revelations.
For those who missed the story the first time around: Bush claimed many times, including in his State of the Union address, that Iraq was trying to buy uranium from Niger and other African countries for use in a nuclear weapons program. To check the facts, Dick Cheney had the CIA send former Ambassador Joseph Wilson to Niger. Wilson determined within a week that the claimed types of transactions simply could not have happened with the uranium production system in place. Wilson returned and told the CIA of this, who in turn told Cheney's office and National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice -- ten months before Bush made any of these public claims. The accusations regarding the rest of Africa were similarly debunked by others in the CIA.
When Bush did go public with this accusation that he, or at least his staff, knew was false, Wilson was upset enough to publicly disclose his mission and findings. After a few weeks of Wilson continually poking holes in the Bush administration's ever-changing story, someone in the White House started calling news reporters and giving them a hot tip: Wilson's wife is an undercover CIA agent who tracks nuclear weapons materials! Robert Novak, of CNN fame, bit the lure and published her name in one of his written columns.
Let me repeat that for those who haven't yet grasped the severity of what happened. Wilson's wife is an undercover CIA agent whose job was to secure nuclear weapons materials before they end up in the hands of terrorists. Since Novak released her identity, she can't do this as safely anymore. There is now one less person for this job that is vitally important to the United States' security. Further, the White House staff's action shows that the Bush administration includes, at its highest ranks, people who would eagerly sacrifice the United States' security for base revenge against someone who does not follow the party line.
Later, Niger admitted that one of its low-level embassy personnel in Italy had faked some documents that were the source of the claim and sold them to Italian intelligence for pocket cash, and other reports had these documents reach the US by way of the British intelligence services. As proof, a bunch of similar faked documents were released to the media. The same day this hit the newswire, the Republican-run news services announced that they had tracked down the source of the false claim: according to anonymous U.S. intelligence sources, France made it up so that Bush would fall for it and lose public support as the liberal media falsely accuses him of lying. All because, of course, France hates America. No points for guessing which story stayed in the news longer.
So now the latest from the Post: A "senior administration official", which media veteran Josh Marshall says we should parse as "someone in Bush's Cabinet or one of his advisors", has said that two White House officials were behind the release of Wilson's wife's name. The source isn't saying whom on the record, but at least one of them would have to be in a position where they would be able to find out her name and occupation.
For all the talk from the Republicans about how criticizing the administration's actions or refusing to follow Bush's orders is somehow a threat to our national security, the public release of an undercover spy's name constitutes real harm to the nation's security. That's why it's a felony. So where have all these self-annointed defenders of national security been when it comes to condemning Novak's actual harm to national security by making a CIA agent less able to do her job? Almost all the condemnation of Bob Novak has come from the left, and none has come from the proudly conservative set the way they endlessly condemn Daschle, Clinton, et cetera for things they didn't do.
I'd like to see a Las Vegas line on the suspects. Wilson has already publicly fingered Karl Rove, citing tips from media sources who he is not disclosing. People on various websites are also suspecting Andy Card and Scooter Libby, Bush's and Cheney's respective chiefs of staff. I would not be surprised if this gets blamed on Ari Fleischer, who resigned not long after the story broke in July. There are at least five journalists besides Novak who could identify the culprits, and they've been silent these months. Notably, the Washington Post's source denies that Bush was involved in making the phone calls, but Bush should have done some house-cleaning after the story first broke. Since he has not, he is culpable for allowing such crimes to take place under his watch.
The Central Intelligence Ageny has concluded its initial investigation, finding that serious crimes were likely committed. Since the CIA has no means of enforcement -- at least, not any that I want the CIA to get into the habit of using on U.S. soil -- prosecuting the matter is now in the hands of Attorney General John Ashcroft. Given Ashcroft's propensity to see no evil in the most serious abuses of power by a Republican Party led government while concentrating his Department's energies on prosecuting victimless noncrimes like pornography and pipe making, chances are that the investigation is dead as it stands.
That leaves Congress to order an investigation or impeachment hearings. That's the same Congress of which a majority are Bush partisans. There are only about a dozen Republican Congressmen who are actually aware that their job is to act as a buffer against bad ideas from the Executive branch. The rest believe their job is to follow the will of the President just like Saddam Hussein's Congrees or Kim Jong Il's Congress, and many of them are actually on the record saying this. So, it's a fair bet that Congress isn't going to do anything.
That leaves... well, nobody, which is why it is so important that the media follow through with this story. They've ignored so many other scandals which should have individually brought down the administration, it's about time they do their job and let the people know about the things that have been going on in DC.
Posted by Warrior Tang at September 28, 2003 07:32 PM