Monday, April 17, 2006
Hitchens on Joe Wilson
Old lefty, but clear eyed on our current anti-Jihad war, Christopher Hitchens calls former ambassador Joe Wilson both clueless and a liar. I agree. I've said so even recently.
Hitchens, who can speak for 30 minutes on why Mother Theresa (or the current Dalai Lama) were bad people, had pegged Joe Wilson as a liar 20 months ago.
Here are the current money quotes:
...in February 1999, Saddam Hussein dispatched his former envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, and former delegate to non-proliferation conferences at the United Nations, to Niger.
[...]
Wilson...first denied that the CIA had anything to do with selecting him for the Niger mission and later claimed that he had exposed a forgery that wasn't disclosed until after he returned—that the mind reels at having to reread his conceited book. However, dear reader, on your behalf I was prepared to do it. The closest Wilson ever comes to a notional Iraq-Niger contact is at second hand, when one of his government sources tells of an approach, through a Niger businessman, to meet an Iraqi official at a conference of the Organization of African Unity in Algiers in 1999. Looking back on this event, his source now thinks that he recognizes the Iraqi as Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf. Wilson likes this story enough to tell it twice (on Pages 28 and 424 of his book). And it's a jolly good story, too, since Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf is more widely known as "Baghdad Bob," the information minister who furnished some low comic relief during the last days of the regime in 2003. Relieved laughter all around. Nothing to worry about after all. As Wilson asks with triumphant sarcasm: "Was that the smoking gun that could supposedly have become a mushroom cloud?"
Take that permanent smirk off your face, Ambassador (and the look of martyrdom as well, while you are at it). It seems that your contacts in the Niger Ministry of Mines—the ones that your wife told the CIA made you such a good choice for the trip—didn't rate you highly enough to tell you about the Zahawie visit.
Hitchens, who can speak for 30 minutes on why Mother Theresa (or the current Dalai Lama) were bad people, had pegged Joe Wilson as a liar 20 months ago.
Here are the current money quotes:
...in February 1999, Saddam Hussein dispatched his former envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, and former delegate to non-proliferation conferences at the United Nations, to Niger.
[...]
Wilson...first denied that the CIA had anything to do with selecting him for the Niger mission and later claimed that he had exposed a forgery that wasn't disclosed until after he returned—that the mind reels at having to reread his conceited book. However, dear reader, on your behalf I was prepared to do it. The closest Wilson ever comes to a notional Iraq-Niger contact is at second hand, when one of his government sources tells of an approach, through a Niger businessman, to meet an Iraqi official at a conference of the Organization of African Unity in Algiers in 1999. Looking back on this event, his source now thinks that he recognizes the Iraqi as Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf. Wilson likes this story enough to tell it twice (on Pages 28 and 424 of his book). And it's a jolly good story, too, since Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf is more widely known as "Baghdad Bob," the information minister who furnished some low comic relief during the last days of the regime in 2003. Relieved laughter all around. Nothing to worry about after all. As Wilson asks with triumphant sarcasm: "Was that the smoking gun that could supposedly have become a mushroom cloud?"
Take that permanent smirk off your face, Ambassador (and the look of martyrdom as well, while you are at it). It seems that your contacts in the Niger Ministry of Mines—the ones that your wife told the CIA made you such a good choice for the trip—didn't rate you highly enough to tell you about the Zahawie visit.
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 6:23 PM 
Comments:
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Look Roger, people in this administration acted like schmucks w/ respect to Wilson and Plame. Under most circumstances, acting like a schmuck is not illegal, but people tend not to think well of schmucks. Neither you, nor anyone elese can put the tooothpaste back in the tube. Rather than denigrate the object of the administrations cheap shots, can we just move on?
# posted by 
: 10:41 AM
: 10:41 AM
I couldn't disagree more. Joe Wilson gets proposed for a job he had no business doing. He muffs it but reports to the CIA in a way that validates their decision about Iraq's intentions vis a vis Niger (Iraqis actually may have bought yellow cake from the Congo (or so say the Brits)) Then he writes an op ed that lies about his findings. The op ed implies that he went at the request of the VP. He then lies about who sent him--the same she who is not to be named-- and then the huge whopping lie that he saw documents that he could not have seen and when the Empire Strikes Back with the truth you and your ilk call it cheap shot and schmuckery. No sale, man. They should have just held a press conference and exposed each and every one of Wilson's lies but they could not leave his wife out of it as, despite his lies about it, she got him the job. Wilson is the schmuck and a liar and we can prove it (and have) with just a little googling. It's ony important because the Dems have used it like a club for years. And you ask if we can move on. What have they finished using it to beat the President and Carl Rove about the head. Sheesh.
I actually think I can help here.
Roger,
Wilson has proven to be a liar and a shmuck.
However, the administration's handling of the situation was, let's just say, less than professional? Can we agree on that?
No one is going to jail over it, unless they foolishly perjured themselves in which case they deserve what they get.
As far as the original story, I agree with Tony, let's move on... because this thing opened up a can of worms for the administration. It has exposed their M.O. Whether or not the "Plame Affair" was illegal or not, the questionable tactics of the administration in dealing with it has Johnny on their tail.
Now it is time to get some popcorn, kick up my feet, and enjoy the show.
Couldn't have happened to a nicer group of people.
Roger,
Wilson has proven to be a liar and a shmuck.
However, the administration's handling of the situation was, let's just say, less than professional? Can we agree on that?
No one is going to jail over it, unless they foolishly perjured themselves in which case they deserve what they get.
As far as the original story, I agree with Tony, let's move on... because this thing opened up a can of worms for the administration. It has exposed their M.O. Whether or not the "Plame Affair" was illegal or not, the questionable tactics of the administration in dealing with it has Johnny on their tail.
Now it is time to get some popcorn, kick up my feet, and enjoy the show.
Couldn't have happened to a nicer group of people.
I'm only agreeing that the administration should have been direct rather than use the media the way the media prefers to be used and that they never should have waffled on the 16 words. I'm doing more on Wilson soon though and I doubt I'll be complimentary (although I was in one post long ago).
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