September 28, 2006
We've been...monitoring, this latest media furor over the leaked, the declassified, the misreported, and the manufactured outrage by Democrats over the National Intelligence Estimate. And really, we're not quite sure why this document rates such a fuss. It's outdated, vague, and quite a boring read. In fact, we'd really rather join in the chorus of the few blogs that are outraged over the paltry state of our intelligence agencies. If this is the best they can come up with, we're in pretty bad shape.
Then again it does say "estimate" in the title, and it is rather noncommital, which is perhaps why it makes such good leaking material.
So once again, predictably, it seems that traitors inside our government have taken it upon themselves to selectively leak this classified information to the press, in an effort to create headlines and news reports to undermine the war and the Bush administration. Of course the press are eager to do so, as they're beside themselves with glee at the thought of a Democratic Senate and House come the fall. But one can expect little else from the same people who seem to value Pulitzers over national security. Really, isn't it just natural for our own intelligence agents to run covert operations on the American public? - as long as it hurts the Bush administration that is. Unlike what Reuters and CBS got caught up in, at least these people are pushing portions of a document that's real.
Of course what no one in the media establishment, and quite possibly the intelligence community, did expect was that the President had the guts to fight back, releasing all of the NIE conclusions so that the public could read everything, without the selectiveness of a partisan operative or a gatekeeper press. Such integrity was sure to be punished though, and sure enough the press slapped back with selective reporting, as they seem to have it in their heads that nobody will actually read the conclusions, or check into who is writing the wire articles.
So they presented the bleakest picture possible - without reporting that one of the key assessments was that Iraq is in fact the center of the jihadis' war against the West. That if they lose in Iraq, their defeat will decimate their standing, their allure, and quite possibly their will to go on.
We assess that the Iraq jihad is shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders and operatives; perceived jihadist success there would inspire more fighters to continue the struggle elsewhere.Of course, this is coming from the same people who thought Iraq had WMD, who thought the Soviet Union was here to stay, and that nothing was wrong on the morning of 9-11.The Iraq conflict has become the “cause celebre” for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of US involvement in the Muslim world and cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement. Should jihadists leaving Iraq perceive themselves, and be perceived, to have failed, we judge fewer fighters will be inspired to carry on the fight.
We're not assigning blame, by the way, we're really just wondering why the press thinks it's suddenly okay to take their word as gospel?
But, in any case, assuming the estimate is mostly correct, upon hearing that the enemy is ready and willing to fight back, the press panics. Which is sad really, because we're not quite sure what they're going to do when somebody informs them that the enemy actually wants to win too. And what they refuse to realize, is that the danger Islamists pose goes well beyond any solution that incorporates offering up Bush and conservativism for sacrifice at the international alter. Which, unfortunately, is pretty much all Democrats have come up with to date.
Of course, Democrats, blind to anything but winning, decided to carry on the work of the leakers and get another favorable headline out of the press. They demanded that the President release the entire NIE, knowing full well of course that he would not. But then again, if he did, then Democrats would have been able to criticize him for endangering field agents, revealing strategy and methods, and possibly endangering allies. Of course the President wouldn't do something so careless, and so he refused. Thus, provoking the next headline: "White House refuses to release full NIE"
And so here we are, with Democrats reveling in achieving new heights of hypocrisy. Illegal leaks, crafted for maximum political gain are fine, as long as it hurts the President. But releasing the full conclusion in order to combat the illegal information campaign these rogue operatives are running, and getting as much of the information to the public as possible, they won't stand for it. Better to jumpstart their own headlines using false pretenses, with the penalty of endangering Americans to hold Bush at bay, in order to remain on top politically.
It's sad really, because as we noted, the most newsworthy item isn't even so much the conclusions about the war - it's the paltry state of our intelligence organizations. And unfortunately, if politicians and partisans keep hijacking these organizations for political gain, it's only going to get worse.
There was an article, we cannot find the link, written months ago on the tail end of the federal investigations into the leaks about the CIA prisons. In it the author warned about the threshold for secrets. Our allies and our enemies are watching this sordid display. And it can only go on so long before everyone concludes the United States cannot be trusted, be it our word or with secrets. And when that happens we truly will be alone in the world, because our allies will conclude (rightly, unfortunately for us) that their interests and their security are better placed elsewhere.
It's unfortunate that Democrats, partisan operatives and journalists are so bent on political aims that they can't understand what their behavior is going to cost us in the long run.
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