The story of how the Bush administration prematurely outed Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan, a double agent working for Pakistan against al-Qaeda, has finally hit cable television news. MSNBC picked up the story on Saturday.
On Sunday at around 12:30 pm, Wolf Blitzer’s show referred to it. New York Senator Charles Schumer criticized the Bush administration for revealing Khan’s name. He noted the annoyance of British Home Minister Blunkett (see below) and Pakistani Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat with the Americans for blowing Khan’s cover. He said Hayat complained that if Khan’s name had not been reveaeled to the New York Times by the Bush administration, he might well have provided information that would have led to the capture of Usamah Bin Laden himself!
Blitzer then revealed that he had discussed the Khan case with US National Security Adviser Condaleeza Rice on background. He reported that she had admitted that the Bush administration had in fact revealed Khan’s name to the press. She said she did not know if Khan was a double agent working for the Pakistani government. (!!!)
There have been a lot of comments on this over at Eschaton and elsewhere, many castigating Bushco’s “(re)election uber alles” mentality for doing so dastardly a deed. The whole mess, beginning with Ridge’s terror alert elevation last Sunday, just leaves me wondering if the internal communications/message apparatus of this Administration is melting down from the pressure of so many screw-ups and so much bad news, and now various factions are just winging it. Just a thought.
Posted by: maxcrat | Aug 8 2004 20:59 utc | 1
this bit shows what a sham all the “war on terra” is. to them it is fair enough to use their glorious warriors as political dime as needed, somehow acknowledging that the investigations are not eally that important.
on a separate but related note, I went to see “fahrenheit 911” today. after seeing this film I dont understand how americans are not beaten up and shot everywhere for how much they have allowed a bunch of thieves and thugs to hijack their country. especially disgusting was the bit near the end with mike moore trying to get congresspeople to sign up their children for the war. people who elect “representants” who scurry away like cockroaches don’t deserve any better.
Posted by: name | Aug 8 2004 21:27 utc | 2
Hopefully someone, somewhere is making this point:
Assume (generously, I grant) that there’s no controversial aspect to this story, no “burned” agent, no political motive. What do we have?
We have a success in the WOT, resulting from a combination of humint, international cooperation and police work, culminating in an arrest. Nary a cluster bomb nor cruise missile, not a member of Rumsfeld’s “transformed military” in sight.
In other words, vindication of the multilateral “law enforcement” model promulgated by progressives, and an implied rebuke of the Neocons’ approach.
Kerry should find a way of driving this point home under the guise of “congratulating” Bush.
Oh, and “Condi admits ignorance”. What a scoop.
Posted by: OkieByAccident | Aug 8 2004 22:38 utc | 3
shoot Oakie,
Hadn’t thought of it that way.
Excellent, blow-em-up-real-good, NOT, point.
Posted by: RossK | Aug 8 2004 22:42 utc | 4
Where you from -name- ? The damn politicos elect themselves, haven’t you heard? The masses have nothing to do with it — OK maybe a little but it ain’t much.
If you were one of them, the “representants” you would scurry away too, as they know and we know that the truth is poison. So they get called cockroaches, but they keep their power, don’t they?
Posted by: rapt | Aug 8 2004 22:47 utc | 5
treason in this circus is just a flesh wound
no, the cruelty & sadism & depravity are now of a much lower order – that much for me is clear
perhaps there are histrical inferences but they are of tamurlaine, of genghis khan or of attilla
there is a majesty even in the worst moments of history – even the cruelest moments but now we have reached into the pit of our baseness, of our shallowness, of our absence of empathy, of our loss of sympathy for the other – we have all fallen into one of dante’s circles of hell where each moment is produced recorded & repeated by the murdochs of this world – where the last drop of our tears can be collected to wet the brows of the weak men who rule us
& i doubt there has been a moment in history where weakness in leadership has been so pronounced – so profoundly evident – they are a cabal of morons unequalled by history’s sad smile
in this shithole of a world we have a castro perhaps but he know he is going & we feel it, there is a chavez or a lulu & perhaps there is mbeki but really this is not the time for leadership – & our enemies bushblairhowardputinchiracschroederannan – these are caricatures of caricatures
they are the hollow men & nothing resonates
there is not an ounce of majesty in our current history – it is nopt shakespearian or marlovian not even a poor jacobean tragedy – it is a pantomine played out by fools
fools who are washing us in the blood of the poor
fools who are washing us in the blood of the other
fools who are washing us in the blood of their own stupidity
they are destroying our future in the rains of their imbecility
history is wiping its ass with us
sadly
still steel
Posted by: remembereringgiap | Aug 8 2004 23:05 utc | 6
Billmon post another great piece.
All I know is the Bushies are really trying to make an impression because he is lossing this election. He better have a convention that blows everyone away because his ass is toast.
He can come up with all the terra shit he wants. Larry Sabato (go to Common Dreams) believes Bushie is fucked. This guy is the best predictor of elections I’ve seen. By, By, Bushie, By By.
All the terror alerts and all the abortion and gay bullshit isn’t saving his ass. After they lied about the reason for the Irag war, and it’s widespread published, well, people just don’t put up with that shit.
By, By Bushie, By, By.
Posted by: jdp | Aug 9 2004 1:52 utc | 7
It feels like they are systematically sabotaging anti-AlQaeda related action on all levels.
AP: Superiors Hindered Terror Prosecutors
Behind the scenes of the first major terror trial after Sept. 11, frontline prosecutors complained bitterly they had not received needed help from the Justice Department and were prevented from introducing some of their most dramatic evidence in the courtroom, internal memos show.
As a result, jurors in the trial of four men accused of operating a terror cell in Detroit never heard testimony from an Osama bin Laden lieutenant or saw video footage of European operatives casing U.S. landmarks. Prosecutors believed both would have connected the defendants to al-Qaida.
Posted by: b | Aug 9 2004 7:01 utc | 8
Bernhard: you know well that one of the main suspects from the Hamburg cell, alleged to be AQ and a buddy of Mohammed Atta – and arguably one the court had little doubt he was actually involved in some troubled shit – had to be released because the US wouldn’t provide enough evidences to actually make a decent accusation. The guy was laughing all the way out of the courthouse.
Okie: the Pakistanis apparently did a good job without depleted uranium and MOABs. Coincidentally, the French, British, Spanish, Germans and Italians are quite good at using these “softer” methods to go after their own partly home-grown terrorists. I mean, Chirac is a complete crooked loon most of the time but he was quite right when pointing that some other countries, notably in Europe, had better ways to go after Al-Qaeda than invading Iraq. *sigh*
If there’s another terror attack anywhere, I hope that people will lay cast of the blame to Bushco, because this criminal outing may well have allowed the terrorists to go on with their plans. Were I Blair, I would be pissed off, and if there’s any attack in UK before the election, I would publicly go after Ridge, Rice, Bush and co.
Posted by: CluelessJoe | Aug 9 2004 10:04 utc | 9
Not sure why they aired it last night on CSPAN because I just happened to turn it on, but it was comforting to see a rebroadcast of Richard Nixon’s televised resignation. I’d like to think that it’s part of a symbolic attempt to prime perceptions and prompt the removal of the current criminal squatting in the oval office. If he and his thugs want to sabotage investigation into “al Qaeda”, let them do it on their own dime from within a prison cell. The real question is what excuse will Kerry give for pardoning Bush et al?
Posted by: b real | Aug 9 2004 16:40 utc | 10
@CluelessJoe
Blair (the lying fucker) is relaxing on the beach while his troops are being attacked.
Posted by: Cloned Poster | Aug 9 2004 19:36 utc | 11
Pakistan annoyed with US for using pretend Pakistani ‘target’ in pretend ‘terrorism’ case – tell US that it should staff its own fantasies with US ‘victims’
Pakistan objects to Albany ‘sting’ case using an alleged Pakistani victim
Posted by: Nemo | Aug 9 2004 23:26 utc | 12