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September 26, 2006
Bush to Release Part of Inteligence Assessment (Updated)
Update: The "Declassified Key Judgments of the National Intelligence Estimate, Trends in Global Terrorism: Implications for the United States. dated April 2006 " has been released.
Original Post
President Bush has just acted appropriately and decisively to the recent leaks reported by the NYT and WaPo (more commentary here) about the recently issued National Intelligence Estimate that to some, seemed to say that terrorism has increased because of Iraq (at least to the Democratic leadership wishing to make political hay out of it).
However, as we see from an AP report, those wishing to make political hay out of the NIE are about to be disappointed:
President Bush on Tuesday said it is naive and a mistake to think that the war with Iraq has worsened terrorism, disputing a national intelligence assessment by his own administration. He said he was declassifying part of the report."Some people have guessed what's in the report and concluded that going into Iraq was a mistake. I strongly disagree," Bush said.
He asserted that portions of the classified report that had been leaked were done so for political purposes, referring to the Nov. 7 midterm elections.
Bush announced that he was ordering parts of the report declassified during a White House news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Portions of the document that have been leaked suggest that the threat of terrorism has grown worse since the Sept. 11 terror attacks and the war in Afghanistan, due in part to the war in Iraq.
Democrats have used the report to bolster their criticism of Bush's Iraq policy. The administration has claimed only part of the report was leaked and does not tell the full story.
Both the chairman and the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee have urged the White House to release the material.
Using a portion of the report to attack his Iraq policy and suggest it has fanned more terrorism is "naive," Bush said.
"I think it's a mistake for people to believe that going on the offense against people that want to do harm to the American people makes us less safe," he said.
Bush said he had directed National Intelligence Director John Negroponte to declassify those parts of the report that don't compromise national security.
National Intelligence Director John Negroponte acknowledged Monday that the jihad in Iraq is shaping a new generation of terrorist operatives, but rejected characterizations stemming from a leaked intelligence estimate that the United States is at a greater risk of attack than it was in September 2001.Rather, he said, the high-level assessment from the nation's top analysts doesn't "really talk about" an increased threat inside the U.S. border.
"We are certainly more vigilant. We are better prepared," said Negroponte. "We are safer. The threat to the homeland itself has -- if anything -- been reduced since 9/11."
As Sister Toldjah says of the leaks, its "a shame in this country that in a time of war, the MSM and their Democrat pals work so hard to undermine that war with illegal leaks to the point that the WH feels it has to declassify items that really should remain classified for national security concerns in order to refute the leakers? Pathetic."
And that is precisely the best way to describe the leakers, the MSM, and their Democratic allies - "pathetic".
But what really pisses me off, is that those pathetic, political agenda first - "nation last" - leakers, the MSM, and their Democratic allies, are putting American lives at risk - and especialy our sons and daughters fighting or us in Iraq and Afghanistan, my own son included. Their "political agenda first" animus suggest to our enemy that we can be divided and conquered, that we are easy prey to political hackery, and that Americans will not stay in this fight - and win.
Hugh Hewitt sums up the political situation and likely affect of the Dems'/MSM political hackery with:
The mask is fully off: The major newsrooms are just extensions of the radical left, and the news they collectively produce reflects their bias. Not only do these warrens of Deaniacs not report the reality of the war or the political situation, they cannot even see that reality. Thus did Jonathan vigorously defend The New York Times' Bill Keller against the charge that Keller is a lefty. Do large numbers of people not on the left or in the guild really believe that? Of course not. Common sense tells Americans that the New York Times and its leadership are not to be trusted.Which, of course, is indeed the most likely result.
But the Democrats do trust the MSMers, and take the New York Times as gospel even as the fever swamp sings the praises of Olbermann et al. Meanwhile the center and the right shake their heads and go off to vote Republican, certain that the empowerment of the lunatic fringe and their world view will mean certain retreat and defeat in the war.
Political Pit Bull has the video.
Flopping Aces says, "So let me see.....fanatics inside Islam didn't hate us as much prior to the Iraqi invasion? Ok then, please explain 9/11 itself. Why were we attacked with such viciousness and violence if there really wasnt that much radicalism?"
Michelle Malkin has background.
Very related "must read": More Leaks, Please
Cross posted from Hyscience
Posted by Richard at September 26, 2006 3:16 PM
