The View from the Meadow
Observations of the Passing Scene
Political and Social Commentary by Dave Satre
He Didn’t Inhale
Rove Admits CIA Leak
Karl Rove insists that, although he admits leaking CIA undercover officer Valerie Plame’s identity to the media, he is not guilty of a crime because he didn’t say her name. This is all too reminiscent of Clinton’s claim that he didn’t inhale, a statement for which the Republicans and the media mercilessly attacked the then sitting president. They also went after Clinton in a feeding frenzy when he claimed he didn’t have sex with Monica. They’re all very minute technicalities.
It is a felony to knowingly leak the identity of a covert US operative. Rove should do time. He should be removed from his position in the White House and his security clearance should be cancelled.
Rove’s arrogance is symptomatic of the Bush Regime. These people are so corrupted by power that they believe they are above the law --- a mistake notably similar to the attitude that brought down Nixon during the Watergate era. Actually, quite a few of Bush’s main advisors were around during the Nixon presidency and Reagan’s as well. They became so drunk with power that they believed they should be exempted from the law. It was this arrogance that caused them to do something so stupid as to get caught burglarizing the Democratic Party's National Committee offices. Watergate was insignificant compared with what was really going on in the White House and it was ironic that it led to Nixon’s demise. Tricky Dick did the somewhat noble thing --- he went out on his shield to prevent an impeachment that would have exposed the real extent of the Republicans’ covert activities.
These people invented the concept of dirty tricks --- Rove has quite proudly taught classes in the techniques of this practice. Rove believes in intimidation through the use of anger to attack all critics and political opponents.
Rove outted Plame in retaliation for her husband’s New York Times article pointing out the Bush administration’s lies about the Iraq threat in order to gather support for their plans for war. Her husband is Joseph Wilson, a former US ambassador who was sent to Niger to investigate Bush’s claim that Iraq attempted to purchase uranium from the country for the purpose of developing weapons of mass destruction. Bush made this claim in his State of the Union address on Jan 28, 2003, in spite of the fact that the CIA had previously investigated the situation and disproved the claim.
On July 6, 2003, Wilson’s article was published by the Times. On July 7th the Administration admitted the claim was false and should not have been included in the president’s speech. On July 11th Rove attacked Wilson by telling Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper that Wilson’s wife was an undercover CIA operative.
This is a treasonous act and a felony. Rove should do time. Even the White House, when this issue first came to light, promised that if anyone in the administration was responsible for the “leak” they would no longer be part of the administration. Bush has been notably silent on this issue in recent days. GW can’t function without Karl Rove. To believe that Bush is capable of making a decision on his own is downright naïve.
Rove is the man who put Bush in the White House. He took him from a failed businessman, the pampered son of a rich and politically powerful Texas family who had never accomplished anything on his own, to first the Texas capitol and then the White House. He is the man who manipulates the strings, the guy who controls every word Bush says. He is the person who decides the administration’s daily “talking points” (a modern version of the Communists’ “Word of the Day” propaganda technique). He decides campaign issues and orchestrates Bush’s political campaigns as well as attacks on his opponents.
So, will this issue bring Karl Rove down? This is definitely a felony. If Rove is able to continue, untouched, in his present position it will set a precedent for all political power wielders. There will be no law in Washington.
Where are the outcries for Congressional hearings? Where are the demands for impeachment? If this were a Democrat in office the media and the Republicans would be all over this. Can you imagine if this happened in the Clinton White House? What goes around comes around. The shoe is now on the other foot.
Why isn’t columnist Robert Novak, the person who first broke this story, under attack? He said his sources were two unidentified administration officials. Instead, New York Times reporter Judith Miller, who didn’t even write a story about the Plame leak, is doing time. Shades of Martha Stewart. The real heavies in Washington and the business world are walking while the women are imprisoned for comparatively insignificant offenses.
This issue will take a long time, perhaps a few years, to resolve. Long enough so that if Rove is actually convicted Bush will be able to pardon him at the end of his term. Rove will walk away a free and very rich man.
Only in America
By the way, Rove’s real name is Karl Roverer. He is the grandson of Karl Heinz Roverer, the man whose company built Birchenau, a concentration camp in Nazi Germany. He also holds a dual citizenship, the US and Germany, and his diplomatic status would enable him to flee the country. If he were to escape to Switzerland he could not be extradited.
For more information on Karl Rove, read Bush’s Brain by James Moore and Wayne Slater. There is also an excellent documentary, which has the same title, is based on the book and features many reliable authorities. It's available on DVD.
This article is available online: http://viewfromthemeadow.com
Here is a previous article on Rove: http://viewfromthemeadow.com/rovecialeak.html