Bush, Nixon, Kennedy and the CIA

[John Simkin]

Judith Millar is now out of prison after naming Lewis Libby, Dick Cheyney’s chief of staff, as her source on Valerie Plame. Another journalist, Matt Copper has named his source (Karl Rove) whereas Robert Novak, Tim Russert and Walter Pincuss have done deals that so far has not brought the names of their sources into the open.

Millar has not received much sympathy from other American journalists. After a ruling by the Supreme Court in 1972, reporters have no intrinsic right to keep their sources secret. Millar, Novak, Copper, Russert and Pincuss are all seen as Republican friendly journalists and all played a key role in spreading lies about WMD in Iraq. Probably no other journalist published as many stories as Miller did in the run-up to the Iraq War about Saddam Hussein’s alleged weapons of mass destruction. Miller seemed to have extra-ordinary access to administration and Iraqi exile sources, documents and defectors.

However, Bush made the same mistake as Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy. You don’t take on the CIA. If you do, you are bound to lose.

[Ron Ecker]

Bush made the same mistake as Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy. You don’t take on the CIA. If you do, you are bound to lose.

The interesting thing is that Bush the Elder knows this good and well, being a former CIA director himself, a CIA asset for years before that, and the head of one of the two great American crime families that have taken turns occupying the White House for the last 17 years (with Bush the Elder controlling it for 8 years before that under Reagan). Surely this patriarch advises his imbecilic son and his handlers. I guess they just don't listen.

[Guest Stephen Turner]

Bush made the same mistake as Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy. You don’t take on the CIA. If you do, you are bound to lose.

The interesting thing is that Bush the Elder knows this good and well, being a former CIA director himself, a CIA asset for years before that, and the head of one of the two great American crime families that have taken turns occupying the White House for the last 17 years (with Bush the Elder controlling it for 8 years before that under Reagan). Surely this patriarch advises his imbecilic son and his handlers. I guess they just don't listen.

My guess is that the Messianic complex has well and truely kicked in for this addministration. The good news is that this usually heralds the begining of the end. Bush should phone up fellow right wing nutter/demi-god Thatcher and ask her about the poll tax riots, they do say its never to late to learn.