Late Edition: Hoekstra and Harman Denounce Bush Administration for Leaks of Israeli Bombing of Syria
Download | play 
Download | play (h/t BillW)
Wolf Blitzer had on Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-MI02), Ranking Member on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA36), of the House Committee on Homeland Security, to discuss the troubling and selective leaking of classified information coming from the White House about Israel's bomb attack in Northern Syria of alleged nuclear facilities, prompting Hoekstra and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (also a Republican) of a scathing rebuke in the Wall Street Journal (subscription req'd.)
You know when a Republican like Hoekstra is blasting you for leaking information that all is not well in the Republican party...but how pathetic is it that Harman only knew about it from what she read in the media?
Blitzer: Can you tell us, Congressman Hoekstra, if there was evidence that the Syrians were working with North Korea and/or Iran, were actually in the process at that facility of trying to build a nuclear bomb?
Hoekstra: Wolf, I can't get into any of the details that we've been briefed in on. You know, that's why this spot declassification that the administration is going through is so troublesome. They can leak bits and pieces of the program. Those of us who have been briefed on the program, we can't say anything about what we know or when we knew it.
Rats are jumping, Mr. Cheney...
First?
Huzzah!
Why not appoint someone to investigate who was responsible for the leak, and who ordered the leak?
With luck, Bush will be able to pardon those responsible (can he pardon himself?) before his term is up.
Cheers!
"how pathetic is it that Harman only knew about it from what she read in the media?"
Ever seen Team America the puppet movie? In that movie "Intelligence" is an omniscient computer, who gets his information from watching the ABC nightly news.
Life imitating sarcastic art?
The kind representative gets her information from the organization that gets its information from the white house. Nice middleman, media.
Should anyone be surprised by leaks from the White House? There have been constant leaks from this administration. They have leaked information that compromised covert agents. Many of the alleged "National Security threats" we have heard about for years were pre-intelligence leaked only to scare Americans. If there are no consequences for the leaks in this administration, why would we expect them to stop?
The rats may be jumping, but we just don't know how many rats there are and where they are hiding right now and might jump out from.
Yeah! I mean really!
If one of our allies that we give Billions of dollars to every year under the condition that they Buy Billions of dollars of weapons from us every year goeas and bombs another country could you keep it quiet for Christ's sake?
Oops, for Yawieh's sake?
Hoekstra"s going to get a little visit from a few Blackwater "associates".
Linda @ 7:
If enough jump ship, maybe our ship will stop sinking?
Hoekstra needs to "get mad at Bush" as a way to not lose GOP-support. More crocodile tears. This "leak-concern" is phony. If it were a "real leak, that is a bad leak" then the President would have blocked it. No, the President wants this "leak" to occur. I do not believe any assertion that this is a "leak" or a "bad thing" for the President. Bush wants the world to know that Isreal did something. What Isreal really did remains to be examined; in light of their bungling against Hamas, the so-called "attack" needs to be confirmed. There are still questions why the deatils are still moving around.
This sounds like more of the pre-Iraq-invasion stuff. Look at what they're doing, throwing "all the names of the evil ones" in the same sentence. This attack could have been a complete farce, yet out of the blue they've linked Syria, Iran, and North Korea:
Look broadly: Rather than discuss the details of the information -- whether it is true or not -- changing the "focus of the analysis" to the issue of "should the leak have occurred."
I say put the analysis on the original information, then compare it with the updates: Why does the intelligence community have a moving story on what really happened; and why the change from "we're certain it was chemical weapons" to "maybe it was a nuclear program".
I have a gut feeling that all this talk of North Korea giving nuclear secrets to Syria is smoke and mirrors. Surely, there was something going on in Syria that induced the Israelis into bombing, but it might be much less than meets the eye. The Bush regime and right wing Zionists have a mutual interest in promoting the specter of an Arab nation obtaining nuclear capacity. This story achieves that objective. If it were true, why wouldn't they just come out in the open and tell everyone? It would make sense and serve the goal of isolating Syria and raising public fear. The only problem that they would have is that the Bush regime's credibility on intelligence is irreparably damaged. By going the rout of leaking intelligence and having Republican politicians grandstand on the issue, the story gets credibility and wider publicity.
Wondering@12
Kudos
I made my post before reading yours. Sounds like you have a good grasp on how the game is played. If two of us reached the same conclusion independently, I'd say that we might be on the right track.
And with things like this happening Bush wonders if he is still 'relevant'?!?!?!? No sir, you aren't relevant but you are still destructive. To your party and to the US's reputation. Because of your reckless and ill-planned decision to invade and occupy Iraq (a country that had NOTHING to do with 9/11) all that has happened directly or indirectly since the invasion in 2003 is your FAULT. Yes sir, it's that simple.
And with things like this happening Bush wonders if he is still 'relevant'?!?!?!? No sir, you aren't relevant but you are still destructive. To your party and to the US's reputation. Because of your reckless and ill-planned decision to invade and occupy Iraq (a country that had NOTHING to do with 9/11) all that has happened directly or indirectly since the invasion in 2003 is your FAULT. Yes sir, it's that simple.
Nothing to see here. Move along!
Blackwater pulls out of Iraq
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Iraq/10161929.html
bush/cheney are not above another illegal war and the same deception they used to get into iraq. they are war criminals who should be impeached before they destroy any chance we have to regain peach in the world. then, they should be turned over to the world courts to be tried as war criminals. maybe a good dose of rendition applied to them would be just karma.
Wondering @ 12:
They use camels to travel. How are they going to weaponize a nuclear weapon?
that's just a fucking amazingly stupid remark. we ride horses in this country. how are we going to weaponize a nuclear weapon? you are a joke and must get all your information from the movies and tv. please start reading books with words in them. lol
dadams @ 22:
Note: You didn't answer how the Syrians were going to weaponize their missiles. Same question was not answered in re Iraq. Nice deflection. Didn't work.
On this whole Syrian thing, look at Anonymous comments on this article. Note the following:
1. The story wasn't all that clear when first disclosed; when there's a shifting story/details [can't get theh weapon right -- was it chemical or nuclear] raises questions about the "big planning"?
2. Note also the "time" that the planning was taking -- long before the strike; then contrast those with the pilot's comments onw hat they were involved with. All this time "planning" this attack, but the details aren't clear? Not making sense.
FWIW
I luv that picture of Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) (also a Republican) .
I had forgotten about that. lmao
Thanks Nicole. :)
the leaky faucet junta will do anything to get the mouth-breathers to support another war that no Cheney or Bush will fight
Uh, Syria is a modern nation with an industrial and technological infrastructure, not camel jockeys. It's a racist to assume that Arabs are so backwards as not to be able to develop their own capacities and even nuclear weapons. I just don't think this incident is it. I'm too suspicious about how this was leaked and I trust Hoekstra and Ros-Lehtinen as far as I can throw them. I suspect they are coordinating with the Bush regime in some way.
As I remember the original story, it revolves around an alleged Israeli bombing raid into Syria. The ostensible reason for the sortee was US Intel provided to Israel that there was a nuclear facility under development in Syria, i.e., we goaded Israel into attacking Syria, possibly to provoke a reaction.
Accounts from the Syrian press are that there was an Israeli flyover that provoked an initiation of air defense protocols targeting the invading Israeli flyers. The Israelis apparently flew over an undisclosed location without dropping any ordinance whatsoever. No damage, no loss-of-life, just a flyover. No western media has confirmed the claims of the arab media and no media whatsoever has confirmed that bombs have actually been dropped on a supposed Syrian nuclear facility.
so I just wonder if this is some thinly coded 'dry run' for a possible dual strike on Iran and Syria simultaneously by the US and Israel after some false-flag excuse is generated.
With these reports, the msm helps bushco gauge the presumed level of outrage at growing the war on two more fronts and to inure people to yet another front in the 'endless war-on-a-concept'.
not to worry, though, they won't waste a dime on the children they expect to grow up and become cannon fodder.
casper46 @ 9:
A visit? Hoekstra is probably getting a cut of all of the Blackwater cash--Erik Prince is originally from Hoekstra's district. They deserve each other...rats indeed.
Well selected leaks combined with a series of no comments is a great way to start a rumor. Let the neocon pundits fill in whatever details they want, so that what was really warehouse full of junk becomes a nuclear facility in the minds of the public. Maybe it was a nuclear facility, there needs to be a lot more evidence before they use it as justification for attacking anyone else.
Hoekstra and Harman couldn't say what it was, but it's seems like they could say what it wasn't.
the bushies show time and again that they will leak anything that they find to be pollitcally expedient...no matter who it puts at risk
there are criminals in the white house
and we have to sit back and wait till the next election????
horseshit
impeach now
Nah, she is just pretending that she has information that the rest of us don't. In truth she has no clue what is going on, either. They played this trick over and over regarding Iraq. The whole thing is complete bs. Olmert needed to bomb somebody to get his poll numbers up (he was doing worse than Bush the last time I looked) and the old exestential threat is what keeps Kadima/Likud in power. The Syrians were completely puzzled why this building got bombed.
Syria's economy is in tatters. The last thing they can afford is a nuclear enrichment program.
What a joke. Hoestra can't tell us anything but he can imply a lot. If U.S. intel was so weak about Iraq then why should we believe them now? Or, if the Bushies were willing to cook the intel books and fear monger to justify invading Iraq, why should we believe them now? The only question: why bomb Syria and not Iran? Maybe it's a little message to discourage Syria from bitching when someone attacks Iran.
This is something I read called "America's War for Global Domination"
by Michel Chossudovsky 12/15/03
The Next Phase of the War
"The Bush administration has already identified Syria as the next stage of "the road map to war". The bombing of presumed 'terrorist bases' in Syria by the Israeli Air Force in October was intended to provide a justification for subsequent pre-emptive military interventions. Ariel Sharon launched the attacks with the approval of Donald Rumsfeld. (See Gordon Thomas, Global Outlook, No. 6, Winter 2004)
This planned extension of the war into Syria has serious implications. It means that Israel becomes a major military actor in the US-led war, as well as an 'official' member of the Anglo-American coalition.
The Pentagon views 'territorial control' over Syria, which constitutes a land bridge between Israel and occupied Iraq, as 'strategic' from a military and economic standpoint. It also constitutes a means of controlling the Iraqi border and curbing the flow of volunteer fighters, who are traveling to Baghdad to join the Iraqi resistance movement.
This enlargement of the theater of war is consistent with Ariel Sharon's plan to build a 'Greater Israel' "on the ruins of Palestinian nationalism". While Israel seeks to extend its territorial domain towards the Euphrates River, with designated areas of Jewish settlement in the Syrian heartland, Palestinians are imprisoned in Gaza and the West Bank behind an 'Apartheid Wall'."
Brings to mind last week when Bush chuckled as he mentioned world war III. Sounds like the man who barely has a mind for checkers is trying to play chess again now with Iran, Syria, and North Korea.
I wonder since China is bankrolling our current war and since China and Russia both rely heavily on Iran and Syria for oil, plus North Korea is China's mutant baby, how can WWIII possibly happen. I mean would the Bush Administration pit Americans against the largest standing army and our best buddy, lead-laden trade partner, China?
If anyone is buying this load of crap, then you haven't learned much the last 6 years. This story served two purposes.
1. Create cover for Israeli bombing of Syrian military installations. No nuke or chemical labs involved. These were just normal military installations that Israel doesn't want around when they get ready to invade with the US.
2. Plant the completely unsubstantiated story that Syria is trying to become a nuclear state. Step two is to tie them to Iran and make up the rest of the story about how Iran is going to supply fissionable material to Syria and then Syria is going to make nukes with it. 100% complete horse crap.
These are the preliminary steps leading up to a US/Israeli invasion of Syria and Iran. The US is only too happy to help Israel create this false pretext for all out middle eastern war. Look for a false-flag operation to happen sometime at the end of Nov. beginning of Dec. That's the best time to convince the idiots in Bible-ville USA that the Mooslims hate your freedoms and want to steal Xmas.
Wow. This is the second thing Jane Harmon has done right. I'm impressed.
First she stated that the Administration intentionally lied about an immediate threat to get many Congressmen to vote for that disgusting FISA expansion that completely violates the Constitution, now she's calling the Administration on it's lame secrecy B.S. when it comes to a PAST attack by a foreign government on another foreign government.
And good on Pete Hoesktra too. Good to see one Republican who isn't a TOTAL rightwing stooge. Of course, unless he puts his VOTES where his mouth is, his protestations about "responsible oversight" will savor but of shallow wit.
The people have a right to know. Enough with this vague "boogieman behind the couch sneaking up on you" crap.
Tell us what the real deal is so we can fairly evaluate it. If it's insignificant, say so, if you think it's a danger, then THIS TIME you damn well better be able to back it up, but stop with the lame scare tactics. Nobody's buying anymore.
This is the Home of the BRAVE, biatch.
When will all the braindead Reslugs wake up and also see they are only being used by this criminal regime.
bubba @ 34:
there has been no confirmation of anything nukular in syria. who would provide $300Million to build a reactor in syria? there has also been no confirmation of a single bomb being dropped. this is a rumor of a false-flag operation. "no confirmation"! yeah, right.
Well I wouldn't be too hasty to believe this. This is like trying to make the Nuclear story legitimate.
Here is an outline; "How dare you reveal secret information about having pre-empted a nuclear threat."
Sounds a lot better than; "How dare you use tactical nukes via Israel and pretend it was a nuclear threat."
I don't know which is true -- but it might be a case of "praising with faint criticism." These BushCo Neo-NeoCons are tricky.
JustSickOfIt @ 37:
>> Hey, we think alike! Every time I see some "silver lining" I need to remind myself to BE MORE CYNICAL. If this lady were on the side of good, she would have switched parties years ago.
I guess Darth Cheney has taken the second step in this little charade now by accusing Iran of being directly responsible for killing Americans. Of course, he's probably talking about selling arms or training militias, but the implication is that Iranian combatants are in Iraq, shooting at, and killing Americans. The drumbeat for war with Iran is getting louder, and the whole case is being built on rumor, innuendo and guilt by association.
5by5 @ 38:
Please don't be misled; Pete Hoekstra is indeed a TOTAL rightwing stooge. He represents the second district in Michigan, home to the former Prince Corporation (you know, Erik Prince of Blackwater, whose sister is married into the family of one of the Amway founders; her husband spent $22 MILLION trying to become governor last year). Hoekstra votes with the Republican leadership 92% of the time. His last big national coverage occurred when he and his good buddy Rick Santorum held news conferences showing proof of WMD in Iraq (turned out to be chemical weapons the US had sold Saddam in the 80's, which were so degraded that they were less dangerous than household cleaning products). If Mr. Hoekstra is trying to show his independence from Bush/Cheney, it will have more to do with dissatisfaction building in his district, where joblessness is a serious concern (at least for the increasing number of people who find themselves jobless and/or taking pay cuts to hang on to a job).
I'm just saying: don't ever trust Pete Hoekstra.
Is anyone surprised by the behavior of the criminal Bush regime?...The entire Bush gang has no shame.
Doesn't it bother anyone that Israel can apparently bomb whatever it wants, and the only problem is that some info about it was leaked? My god, these people would make the Don blush.
Comments are closed on this entry