Powerful Kristof Complements Krugman!!!

[chiburb]

Snip:

After I wrote a month ago about the Niger uranium hoax in the State of the Union address, a senior White House official chided me gently and explained that there was more to the story that I didn't know.

Yup. And now it's coming out.

Based on conversations with people in the intelligence community, this picture is emerging: the White House, eager to spice up the State of the Union address, recklessly resurrected the discredited Niger tidbit. The Central Intelligence Agency objected, and then it and the National Security Council negotiated a new wording, attributing it all to the Brits. It felt less dishonest pinning the falsehood on the cousins.

What troubles me is not that single episode, but the broader pattern of dishonesty and delusion that helped get us into the Iraq mess — and that created the false expectations undermining our occupation today. Some in the administration are trying to make George Tenet the scapegoat for the affair. But Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, a group of retired spooks, issued an open letter to President Bush yesterday reflecting the view of many in the intel community that the central culprit is Vice President Dick Cheney. The open letter called for Mr. Cheney's resignation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/15/opinion/15KRIS.html

[Maeve]

1. I sent them both e-thanks

It's the pattern of deception that matters and both note that!

[sangh0]

2. The new catch-phrase seems to be

"a pattern of corruption/deception"

[JHB]

4. "Embroidering key assertions"...

in the words of the WP's Dana Milbank last October.

[chiburb]

3. Bump for those just getting in... n/t

.

[gratuitous]

5. ABC News was focused on Crash Cart last night, too

Terry Moran, sitting in for Peter Jennings last night, intoned many sharp sentences about Cheney's efforts to "spice up" (Kristof's words) the State of the Whatever You Call It (Chimpy's words) speech, and showed footage from the speech, lingering on the image of Cheney sitting behind and above Chimpy as he prepared to "speak" (my word).

Is Cheney in trouble?

[RichM]

6. There is a big difference between these 2 guys. The fact that Kristof

is jumping in testifies to the changed atmosphere. Kristof is not particularly brave most of the time. He has only challenged the administration at times & on points where he feels very, very secure. He has not infrequently kissed up to the Bushies, garnishing his columns with phrases like "To the president's credit," or "The president has rightly stated that..."

Krugman, OTOH, has NEVER been less than flat-out 100% heroic. He has told the undiluted truth about Bush from Day One, & has never retreated an inch from that standard.

The significant thing, then, is that the far more timid & self-protective Kristof is joining in. It shows that aggressive criticism of the cabal is becoming more acceptable & safer.

[priller]

8. I agree

In fact, in my email to Krugman today, I said, "Deceit is the hallmark of this administration. You've been pointing that out for a long time; now, finally, other journalists are joining you." And it's not just the intelligence that was "cooked". Their economic assessments are similarly phony.

[Quahog]

7. What really strikes me about both columns

I have been really concerned about the fact that the anti-Bush forces seem to be focusing too intently on the "16 words." So I was very relieved to see both Kristof and Krugman talking about the "big picture." Because it's not just about the Niger yellowcake reference in the SOTU address. It's about the aluminum tubes, and about the tens of thousands of tons of nerve agents and bio weapons and mustard gas, and the drone aircraft poised to dump all of this stuff on the American heartland.

The Niger lie is illustrative of a much larger pattern of deceit, and I think the more we see in the media about the quantity and frequency of lies leading up to the invasion, the worse things will look for the chimp.

[Mairead]

9. Meaning

[Bandit]

10. "It all depends on the meaning of intelligence" ~~Ain't that the truth

I think they feel they have intelligence if they are able to fool a bunch of Americans. I'm afraid their standards are ridiculously low.