Reply #190: Yes, I think that Cheney arms dealing, or other Bush Cartel skulduggery...

[Peace Patriot]

...and war profiteering are definite possibilities as motives for outing Plame and BJ, as well as for other Bushite anti-CIA actions. Not to be ruled out at all. And could all be true, with a WMD-planting plot being part of the corruption and skulduggery.

I was struck by the panic and stupidity of the way they outed Plame, and was looking for the reason for their precipitous actions in the week of July 7-14 (top Bushites involved, full court press; contact with at least six journalists, etc., to get her outed and disabled). When I read the Wilson interview about his contact with Condi Rice (her baiting him to publish his article), and realized that they expected the article, it seemed to confirm that their risky, precipitous actions during that week had to have another explanation--something UNexpected. I then stumbled upon the Hutton report item that Tony Blair had been informed, on July 7, that Kelly knew more than he had been whistleblowing about to the BBC (the "uncomfortable things" that Kelly "could say"), and I'd read somewhere else that Blair and Bush were in frequent phone contact during this period. (Bingo!)

I think we may have been misled as to the trigger for the Plame outing. It wasn't the publication of Wilson's article (July 6) but rather this revelation about Kelly (July 7) that caused them to out Plame and BJ the way they did. No doubt they had a number of plans to get rid of this and all honest information gathering at the CIA--of which the Niger forgeries may have been a part. I've speculated that they were baiting Wilson and setting something up--a discrediting of the CIA when the planted weapons were "found." And, bang, into this long term scheme came the news that the Brits chief WMD expert had a piece of this puzzle (evidence of the weapons-planting scheme), and was furthermore whistleblowing to the BBC about their exaggerated intel. And this prompted the flurry of high-risk activity by the Bushites from July 7 to July 14 (and possibly also prompted his death, search of his computers, and outing of BJ on July 22).

Someone upthread mentioned France. I have not thought much about potential foreign actors in this possible event (effort to plant the weapons, foiling of that plot), except for Israel, of course, on the Bushite side. But there are many, many countries and other interests in the world (the UN inspectors, for instance) who knew the Bushites were lying and opposed the Iraq war, and who might have played a role. When you think of the vilification of France by the Bushites, you have to wonder what was the cause of all that. France was singled out (among many opposers). There were also the BJ covert agents and contacts with eyes and ears on WMDs throughout the world. Any number of countries could have had a hand in foiling the Bushite plot. And it was, of course, a matter of world political importance--WMDs in Iraq--not just here or in England, with many countries, including small ones, taking great risks to oppose the Bushites at the UN on the strength of their disbelief in the weapons allegations. The Bushites were bullying and strongarming many countries. Imagine how they would have felt if they had stumbled upon evidence of WMD planting and had a chance to foil it.

The war profiteering corporate news monopolies, and we ourselves, on the left, may be helping the Bush junta promulgate the cover story of Rovian revenge (so easy to believe). It seems to be generally accepted that that was the cause of the Plame outing--and now that it's clear that Cheney/Libby and the WHIG were involved, that motive (revenge for a dissenting article) has been assumed to go higher up, but still the same motive. I question that. I think that their actions indicate a cover up of something far more dangerous to them than an opinion piece.

I'm not sure it was the threat of discovery of this attempted grand deceit (planting WMDs in Iraq). No one can be sure at this point (except those involved who are still alive). I'm just saying, it's a good guess--a really good guess. And I doubt I'm the first to have thought of it. I just got interested in Kelly's death, became intrigued with the coincidence of dates with the Plame outing, was struck by the risks the Bushites took--especially the involvement of so many journalist witnesses to treason--and have tried to connect the dots.

I am willing to be proven wrong--or to have this theory supplanted by a better one.

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Note: The other article (besides the reports on Pentagon whistleblower Nelda Rogers and the "friendly fire" incident) was in the Tehran Times, I believe, and involved an Iraq Governing Council member who saw off loading of covert weapons at Basra--weapons boxes with false Red Cross labels--and suspected an effort to plant WMDs in Iraq. A March 2003 article. I'm having trouble finding it. I thought I'd saved it. It's been cited in forums here at DU.)