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5/23/2007
WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?

When the history of these times is written 100 years from now – that is, if the west is vouchsafed such a luxury as surviving that long – historians will view the role of the free press in the western world with a combination of confusion and awe. Confusion because they will look in vain for evidence that many in the media were actually working for the enemies of freedom, so often it seemed they played directly into their hands or seemed to do their bidding. And a feeling of awe that those professing to be so intelligent could act with such towering idiocy and irresponsibility:

The CIA has received secret presidential approval to mount a covert “black” operation to destabilize the Iranian government, current and former officials in the intelligence community tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the subject, say President Bush has signed a “nonlethal presidential finding” that puts into motion a CIA plan that reportedly includes a coordinated campaign of propaganda, disinformation and manipulation of Iran’s currency and international financial transactions.

Of course, the press is not disloyal – at least not according to their lights. But I can’t think of anything that ABC could have published that helps Iran more. Especially since it now appears that, as I have predicted many times (and despite what the hysterical left has been saying for two years about an “imminent” attack on Iran) the Administration has apparently abandoned the military option in favor of turning up the heat on the Iranian regime politically and financially.

Or, at least that was the plan. Enter ABC News and their feelings of entitlement to undermine US policy and all of a sudden, the military option may be back on the table. This begs the question of who or what faction in our intelligence agencies leaked this time? Pro-war advocates? Anti-intervention advocates? Some stray partisans who hate Bush? Some stray partisans doing the President’s bidding? Perhaps those involved in a turf war of some kind in our intelligence agencies?

Take your pick. One is as good as the other. It wouldn’t be the first time for any of those factions in the last 6 years to leak classified information. It’s just that this time, the leaking has arguably made the world a more dangerous place.

If there is one foreign policy issue that enjoys bi-partisan agreement in Washington it is that Iran must be prevented from developing nuclear weapons. Disagreements abound about how to prevent them from doing so. But liberals, conservatives, Republicans, Democrats, and everyone in between recognizes the threat posed to world peace by the fanatics in Iran and that it would be an unmitigated disaster for our interests in the region if they were successful in building a bomb.

I think that this CIA covert plan would have enjoyed broad support among the leadership of both parties on the Hill. It is reasonable in that it attacks Iran economically not to hurt the population but to hit the mullahs where it counts; in their secret bank accounts they are using to fund their weapons program:

Riedel says economic pressure on Iran may be the most effective tool available to the CIA, particularly in going after secret accounts used to fund the nuclear program.

“The kind of dealings that the Iranian Revolution Guards are going to do, in terms of purchasing nuclear and missile components, are likely to be extremely secret, and you’re going to have to work very, very hard to find them, and that’s exactly the kind of thing the CIA’s nonproliferation center and others would be expert at trying to look into,” Riedel said.

Are there risks that go with such a policy? Of course there are. There are risks with any policy we pursue against Iran including doing nothing. Or trying to strengthen regional actors like Saudi Arabia to counterbalance Iranian influence. Or bombing the holy hell out of them. If it is a risk free policy you seek, you won’t find it.

Vali Nasr of the Council on Foreign Relations explains the downside to the CIA’s leaked plan:

Still, some fear that even a nonlethal covert CIA program carries great risks.

“I think everybody in the region knows that there is a proxy war already afoot with the United States supporting anti-Iranian elements in the region as well as opposition groups within Iran,” said Vali Nasr, adjunct senior fellow for Mideast studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

“And this covert action is now being escalated by the new U.S. directive, and that can very quickly lead to Iranian retaliation and a cycle of escalation can follow,” Nasr said.

Nasr posits the absolute worst case scenario including the “cycle of escalation” canard that is usually trotted out by opponents to any strong action taken by the US against a putative enemy. The advantage the professor has in this case is that we’ll never know because most of the plan is for all intents and purposes is dead. If we thought it was hard to ferret out the secret funding mechanisms for the Iranian bomb program before, how impossible do you think it’s going to be now that the Iranians are aware of what we intend to do?

ABC’s excuse will be that if they didn’t publish, someone else would have done so. Of this I have no doubt, although what that says about the press in general in this country is not flattering. The fault lies with the leakers in this case. And the fact that the Administration has done so little over the last 6 years to investigate and punish those who reveal some of the most important secrets in government only encourages further transgressions. When unelected bureaucrats take it upon themselves to destroy policies they disagree with either for political purposes or, as may be possible in this case, in order for another policy option to move to the top of the pile, trust between those elected to make policy and those charged with giving our leaders accurate information and intelligent options to implement that policy breaks down.

Anyone can see the dysfunction in our intelligence agencies, the pettiness, the partisanship, the casual disregard for the rule of law. Is there any plan or program that would never be leaked under these conditions?

Not unless the perpetrators are identified and either drummed out of the service or arrested, prosecuted, and jailed for violating their oaths of secrecy and the law.

By: Rick Moran at 6:20 am
19 Responses to “WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?”
  1. 1
    Juan Paxety Said:
    7:35 am 

    I spent 15-years in the news business. I’ll bet that the possibility of harm to US interests never entered the heads of the folks at ABC. They were only interested in pushing an interest grabbing story that no one else had. Remember that the only agenda news people have is building their own personal resumes.

  2. 2
    gregdn Said:
    8:11 am 

    Don’t discount the idea that this was a purposeful leak on the part of the Administration.
    At any rate, this might explain why Iran has charged that American woman with spying.

  3. 3
    jpe Said:
    8:29 am 

    You really think this wasn’t intentionally leaked? Your lack of cynicism is charming in its way.

  4. 4
    Report: Bush okays covert action against Iran at Conservative Times--Republican GOP news source. Pinged With:
    8:41 am 

    [...] • And if, as seems more likely, the Administration did not authorize the leak, why did ABC report that its sources “spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the subject”? Wouldn’t it have been more accurate to say the sources sought anonymity to avoid termination or prosecution or both for revealing classified information? [...]

  5. 5
    Frank Martin Said:
    8:55 am 

    I think whats shocking to the press is for them to find a CIA operation thats involved with bringing down a government besides the US government.

  6. 6
    ed Said:
    9:39 am 

    Spot on. I think the Bush White House is a disaster on all counts, but the amount of leaking in the CIA points to loose cannons with their own political agendas. They are not elected, nor are they appointed to have a political agenda. Such disloyalty amounts to treason and perpetrators should be treated accordingly.

  7. 7
    Doug Purdie Said:
    9:58 am 

    I think the consequences of this leak are overblown. The Mad Mullahs are mad, but they’re not stupid. I had assumed the US was already using covert means to undermine the Iranian government. If the Mullahs did not already assume the same, then they were stupid. This news is old news.

  8. 8
    Bill Arnold Said:
    12:21 pm 

    You really think this wasn’t intentionally leaked? Your lack of cynicism is charming in its way.
    Positing that it was intentionally leaked by or at the orders of the leadership of the administration, what would the motive for such a leak be? I’m struggling to find a motive that makes sense.

  9. 9
    grognard Said:
    1:20 pm 

    First off considering the long relationship Iran has had with the CIA this only confirms what they already “know” about what the US is up to. I have no doubt that every suspicious incident or any anti government activity was thought to be a CIA plot in their fevered minds. As far as who leaked for what reason, after Valerie there is no fear of retribution, especially if you have a powerful protector like Cheney on your side. I do like the response that the person doing the leaking might be castigated for doing so but it is the liberal media that are the “traitors”. I guess if you have an “R” after your name you can commit no wrong, you can only be accused of exercising bad judgment.

  10. 10
    Drongo Said:
    1:51 pm 

    I must confess, I had assumed that this was already going on, along with some support for terrorist groups within Iran. I would have been surprised (though not that surprised given past performance) to have found out that this sort of thing wasn’t going on.

    While I’m in two minds as to whether the public interest in knowing what your government is doing outweighs the obvious security issues with publishing in this case, I doubt very much that the Iranians watched ABC and thought “By Allah’s Beard! The Americans don’t like our nuclear program and they are working to undermine us! Why did we not know about this?”

    Enemies they may be, downright stupid they aren’t.

  11. 11
    tHePeOPle Said:
    2:53 pm 

    Why can’t we just get on with destroying Iran and ridding the world of evil for good? What they really need is a democratically elected government, like the one they used to have before we… oh, right. Either way, the main stream media needs to grow a set of red white and blue balls and start loving America. All they’ve managed to do so far is act as a (engorged) tool for the administr… oh, right.

  12. 12
    Andy Said:
    4:19 pm 

    Everyone seems to assume the CIA is the intelligence community. It is one small part of it and this leak could have come from a variety of agencies, not just the CIA.

    Frankly, I don’t think the anti-Bush faction of the IC that were most likely responsible for previous leaks is responsible for this one since it would be counter-productive to their alleged goals. More likely, imo, is that it’s from individuals who did not like the fact that covert action was put ahead of military confrontation. If covert action gets torpedoed then a military solution to Iran becomes more likely.

  13. 13
    NavyHelo Said:
    4:36 pm 

    Well, having worked with Iranian Naval Officers, it occurs to me that they do not have to watch our media to divine what is in their best interest, nor that what our government is doing is not in their best interests. One might even suspect that their intelligence about our plans against Iran is more accurate than our knowledge about what Iran intends to do to counter US influence in the ME.

    Just one of the differences between a Democracy and a Theocratic Dictatorship!

  14. 14
    Fight4TheRight Said:
    5:52 pm 

    Since ABC seems very eager to be on the cutting edge and wants to broadcast revolutionary new details before ANYONE else in the MSM, here’s two earth-shattering “hot news tips” for ABC:

    1. The U.S. Military is fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq!

    2. There is no civil war in Iraq!

    Now, I just need to make sure I watch for these stories tomorrow morning with Diane Sawyer!

  15. 15
    Macsmind - Conservative Commentary and Common Sense Trackbacked With:
    7:32 pm 

    Blogswarm to have Brian Ross fired from ABC

    I called for it earlier today. As of 6pm I had over 200 emails in response mostly demanding that ABC fire Brian Ross and Richard Esposito for reporting the story that has placed in service ops lives in danger (yes, this true), and endangered our Natio…

  16. 16
    doriangrey Said:
    7:36 pm 

    I e-mailed this message to my congressman and my senator as well as to both the president and the vice president. I strongly urge all readers here to do likewise.

    As a registered voter I am demanding that you instigate a criminal investigation into the ABC leaking of covert action authorized by the current administration against Iran.

    http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/05/bush_authorizes.html#comment-70457046

    Both the actions of the anonymous sources and those of ABC in publishing this story clearly rise to the level of treason and US constitutional law requires that it be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

  17. 17
    NixGuy.com » Iran Destabilized Pinged With:
    6:30 am 

    [...] Also see RWN and RW Nuthouse who says: When the history of these times is written 100 years from now – that is, if the west is vouchsafed such a luxury as surviving that long – historians will view the role of the free press in the western world with a combination of confusion and awe. Confusion because they will look in vain for evidence that many in the media were actually working for the enemies of freedom, so often it seemed they played directly into their hands or seemed to do their bidding. And a feeling of awe that those professing to be so intelligent could act with such towering idiocy and irresponsibility: Filed under: Military, Iran by — Dave @ 7:04 am [...]

  18. 18
    debunker-of-neocon-lies Said:
    12:37 pm 

    Al Queda in Iraq is about 2% of the insurgency.I guess Shia killing Sunnis somehow isn’t a civi war? Go sell that bunk somewhere else fight4theright, here people are informed,not neo-con kool-aid drinkers like you.I believe Bush insiders “leaked” this info, not exactly sure why but who can figure out the keystone cops that make up the bushies.Bush has made Irans influence grow by invading Iraq,Iran knows were tied down there, thats why their so cocky.Bush will go down in history in the same light as Nixon hubris and arrogance.

  19. 19
    S Knabt Said:
    2:23 pm 

    “It is reasonable in that it attacks Iran economically not to hurt the population but to hit the mullahs where it counts…”

    Rick, your statement makes no sense in the context of the story you quote which clearly states one of the purposes of the CIA’s covert operation was “manipulation of Iran’s currency.” Unless it’s your contention only the mullahs spend Iranian currency.

    This reminds of a BBC special I saw a while back talking about the neocon movement. Founded by Leo Strauss, at its foundation, is the notion of building a modern mythology for America to rally around.

    Back during the early years of the Reagan administration, some officials wanted to push Reagan away from his belief the Soviets held similar interests of all people and could be reasonably bargained with. A book – I forget its title – was very popular at the time linking the Soviets to most of the world’s terrorists. They sold that thesis to William Casey, director of the CIA, who sold it to Reagan.

    The irony is most of the facts linking the Soviets and the terrorists were sourced back to CIA black ops disinformation. Even when Casey was confronted with the truth he preferred the lies.

    So your argument – as with the neocons back then – is lying for a good cause is okay. Hey, in the case with Reagan it led to an arms race which helped topple the Soviets, clearly a good thing.

    But it could put US negotiators (or their surrogates) in a position of sitting across the table from the Iranians only to have them throw all this back into our faces.

    How like is a CIA campaign of propaganda, lies, and currency manipulation likely to have the desired result of them giving up nuclear ambitions? How much more likely is it to have the exact opposite effect by increasing their paranoia and desperation?

    The story was likely leaked by government officials horrified by the stupidity of the plan. Given the track record of the incompetent Bush administration who can blame them?

    Lets hope the ABC story forces something smart out of the Bushies though I’m not at all optimistic.

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