An Associated Press piece is available at the Guardian and the Washington Post website in different versions suggesting that the Washington Post is self censoring.
The piece by Anne Gearan, AP Diplomatic Writer, is titled ‘Senators May Have Blown Cover of CIA Agent’ and refers to yesterdays hearing of John R. Bolton at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
During the hearing, Senators Lugar and Kerry referred to a National Intelligence Officer by the name Fulton Armstrong. The
Washington Post version (also in print on A10) of the AP piece does not name Mr. Armstrong like AP does, but inserts instead the phrase ‘[the person in question]’.
The full transcripts of the public hearing are available through the New York Times and do include the full name of Mr. Armstrong.
The AP piece itself is dubious. Mr. Armstrong is known to be a National Intelligence Officer working on Latin America issues. In the summarize of a Council of Foreign Relations discussion available here he is referred to as "Fulton Armstrong/National Intelligence Officer for Latin America". More information on his career is available through schema-root.org. There are reports available on Cuban-Exile sites that do mention Bolton and Armstrong in the discussion about alleged, overblown Cuban bio warfare preparations.
Two questions to ask:
– Why is the Associate Press suggesting "Senators May Have Blown Cover of CIA Agent" when a simple Google search turns out that there was no cover to blow on the person in question in the first place?
– Why does the Washington Post believe it has to edit the AP piece and to hide the full name, mentioned in a public hearing, from its readers by printing ‘[the person in question]’?
What is your take?
UPDATE: Jeffrey Lewis, the Arms Control Wonk, has additional bits
Reference:
The Washington Post’s version of the AP piece:
During a hearing on John R. Bolton’s nomination to be ambassador to the United Nations, Bolton and members of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee referred to the analyst as "Mr. Smith." They were discussing one of the officials involved in a dispute over what Democrats said was Bolton’s inappropriate treatment of an intelligence analyst who disagreed with him.
"We referred to this other analyst at the CIA, whom I’ll try and call Mr. Smith here," Bolton said at one point.
But the committee chairman, Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), and Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) mentioned a name that had not previously come up in public accounts of the intelligence flap.
In questioning Bolton, Kerry read from a transcript of closed-door interviews that committee staffers conducted with State Department officials before yesterday’s hearing.
"Did Otto Reich share his belief that [the person in question] should be removed from his position? The answer is yes," Kerry said, characterizing one interview. "Did John Bolton share that view?"
The Guardian version:
During questioning on John R. Bolton’s nomination to be President Bush’s ambassador to the United Nations, Bolton and members of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee referred to "Mr. Smith" as one official among several who were involved in a dispute over what Democrats asserted was Bolton’s inappropriate treatment of an intelligence analyst who disagreed with him.
"We referred to this other analyst at the CIA, whom I’ll try and call Mr. Smith here, I hope I can keep that straight," Bolton said at one point.
Committee Chairman Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., both mentioned a name, Fulton Armstrong, that had not previously come up in public accounts of the intelligence flap.
It is not clear whether Armstrong is the undercover officer, but an exchange between Kerry and Bolton suggests that he may be.
In questioning Bolton, Kerry read from a transcript of closed-door interviews that committee staffers conducted with State Department officials prior to Monday’s hearing.
"Did Otto Reich share his belief that Fulton Armstrong should be removed from his position? The answer is yes," Kerry said, characterizing one interview. "Did John Bolton share that view?"