Who can tell me what Libby meant by the following?

[clydefrand]

This is taken from Judith Miller's article in NYT. Why would Libby put such a confusing statement in a letter unless it is code for something that only she and he are supposed to know?

Who are the clusters? Badass repukes? Their roots connect? This entire congomeration of thugs remind me of a not-so-neat spider web, but maybe to Libby, they are like the roots of clusters of aspens all interwined??





Mr. Fitzgerald also focused on the letter's closing lines. "Out West, where you vacation, the aspens will already be turning," Mr. Libby wrote. "They turn in clusters, because their roots connect them."

How did I interpret that? Mr. Fitzgerald asked.

In answer, I told the grand jury about my last encounter with Mr. Libby. It came in August 2003, shortly after I attended a conference on national security issues held in Aspen, Colo. After the conference, I traveled to Jackson Hole, Wyo. At a rodeo one afternoon, a man in jeans, a cowboy hat and sunglasses approached me. He asked me how the Aspen conference had gone. I had no idea who he was.

"Judy," he said. "It's Scooter Libby."

[DoYouEverWonder]

1. Funny how Judith changed her story

from the beginning of the article where she claims she had meetings and encounters with Scooter in June and July 2003, to having never met him before in August 2003.

This witch can't even keep the simple stuff straight.

As for what it all means, who the fuck knows when you're dealing with pathological liars?

[clydefrand]

3. Where does it say that she had not met him before Aug. '03?

She says she had her last encounter with Libby then in the article that I read.

[DoYouEverWonder]

9. That's the part that doesn't make sense

In answer, I told the grand jury about my last encounter with Mr. Libby. It came in August 2003, shortly after I attended a conference on national security issues held in Aspen, Colo. After the conference, I traveled to Jackson Hole, Wyo. At a rodeo one afternoon, a man in jeans, a cowboy hat and sunglasses approached me. He asked me how the Aspen conference had gone. I had no idea who he was.

"Judy," he said. "It's Scooter Libby."


She says this was her last encounter with him, but she didn't recognize him because they had never met before? I'm confused.

[Spazito]

10. The way I read it, she is trying to say that because he was wearing

"jeans, a cowboy hat and sunglasses" she didn't recognize him which is still bullshit because she would know his voice regardless due to her meetings and phone calls with him previously. It is the stupidest explanation for the 'aspen' lines in Libby's letter that she could come up with, imo, beyond laughable.

[mzteris]

11. Didn't recognize him because......

** but she didn't recognize him because they had never met before? I'm confused.***

I think she "didn't recognize him" because of the "jeans, cowboy hat, and sunglasses" - plus him being in a TOTALLY unexpected place.

We've all done it, the person we know from starched suits and immaculate dress - we see him in sweats and tousled hair at the hardware store; the woman from aerobics class, we run into her at the store in her power suit and hair all fixed, etc - and you're going - "Who ARE you?" when they say, "hi". . .


I think that's what Judy meant when she said she didn't know who he was.


That said, I think it's pretty obvious now that Libby meant the Aspen conference in his reference..

I wonder who else was at that particular "retreat"? Any lists?

[Why Syzygy]

16. ut oh

Could this mean that he had a "mouthpiece" (rove?) who did Libby's bidding in his name? That would explain why she "never met him".

This is too eerie.

[acmejack]

2. Only Judy knows for sure

And we know she is a woman of tarnished credibility. We won't even go into character...

[orpupilofnature57]

4. Their all Lee Atwaters puppies, he meant covert government, against

us, he meant the apparatus of Nov.22 1963!!!

[Junkdrawer]

5. Libby to Miller: "the Aspens are turning" (Stick to Plan A)...

and if Plan B were needed, it would have been "the Birch are turning".

Miller to Libby: "held in Aspen, Colo." (Testified as ordered)

[Neil Lisst]

6. There are no coincidences, certainly not at Jackson Hole.

His cryptic statement was a message that says "we're in this together, connected at the roots."

He was telling her not to roll on him.

[Why Syzygy]

7. This is freaky

A "conference on national security issues"? WTF was she there?
Indoctrination? Did she write an article about this "conference"?

Do you have a link?

[mzteris]

14. Aspen institute conferences Aug 2003

In Search of An American Grand Strategy for the Middle East (August 2003)

The Aspen Strategy Group summer workshop in Aspen, Colorado brought together ASG members, regional experts, and several administration officials to discuss the contours and complications of American grand strategy in the Middle East. The group tackled reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Arab-Israeli conflict, region-wide economic modernization, democratization and security, while examining the necessity for a generational commitment to the region. The papers commissioned for the session have been released in a monograph along with a synopsis of the discussion written by ASG director, Kurt Campbell.

Members: Aspen Strategy Group (note - these are members NOW, and not necessarily inclusive of those who were members in 2003....)

http://www.aspeninstitute.org/site/c.huLWJeMRKpH/b.612047/k.1222/Aspen_Strategy_Group.htm



Crossing the Atlantic, Session II of the Aspen Atlantic Group (August 2003)

The second workshop in the Aspen Atlantic Group series centered on specific areas of transatlantic collaboration, including homeland security, Middle East peace, and humanitarian intervention. Members of the Aspen Atlantic Group present at this session in Aspen included Robin Cook, Britains former foreign secretary and current Member of Parliament, and Ismail Cem, former Turkish foreign minister and current president of the New Turkey Party. This workshop also featured a young leader component, and the rising generation of transatlantic experts, of which several representatives were present, infused dynamism and new ideas to the dialogue. While in Aspen, several former foreign ministers released a joint statement giving suggestions to the governments of North America and Europe on how to work together and with the strengths of the United Nations in rebuilding Iraq.




Name: Crossing the Atlantic, A Report from the Aspen Atlantic Group 2003 Workshops
Product Code: 0-89843-395-9
Description: This report presents an executive summary of the Aspen Atlantic Group’s 2003 deliberations. Download PDF.
Product Detail: Author: Aspen Atlantic Group

This report presents an executive summary of the Aspen Atlantic Group’s 2003 deliberations. It includes a forward from former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, remarks by former NATO head Klaus Naumann, and several papers commissioned for the meetings. The authors tackle such issues as the current transatlantic security architecture, the gap between American and European threat perceptions, transatlantic cooperation in the Middle East, and the possibilities for invigorating NATO and other international organizations vital to the health of transatlantic relationship. 2004
Price: $30.00

[Spazito]

8. I found this little tidbit at the end of her article to be the most

laughable in an article that was pathetic in it's totality. She is trying to claim that she did not recognize him OR his voice after having had previous meetings and phone conversations with him in order to 'explain away' the 'aspen' lines in the letter. I have NO doubt the GJ found it equally laughable.

The only grain of truth contained in her response was that she attended the national security conference and then went on to Jackson Hole, Wyoming where, by coincidence I am sure, lol, Cheney lives.

This woman had a job but it wasn't as a journalist, it was as a mole to plant stories as needed by WHIG, imo.

[georgia10]

12. Judy met with Cheney?

that's what I think

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/10/16/1032/1720

As for the Aspen Conference, we knew about that code for a while now.

[mzteris]

15. That whole Cheney angle..........

is looking very interesting.

I wonder if "Scooter" is willing to take the fall for him.

[clydefrand]

13. the aspens are turning

to 'clumps of gold' - payments coming if she keeps quiet?

[Neil Lisst]

17. Perhaps they hooked up in Jackson Hole

Back that Aspen up!!

[Radio-Active]

18. That was a weak explanation

for the "aspens are turning". She would've done better to tell the grand jury that she didn't understand what he meant.

So she ran into him at Aspen - how the fuck does that explain "the aspens are turning"?

And she ends her article on that note - very odd!

By giving a flimsy explanation for what this means, it would seem she does understand what the coded message meant, and this explanation is her cover.

[Cats Against Frist]

19. This story just gets weirder and fucking weirder

Scooter Libby approaches Judith Miller at some random rodeo, and "they turn in clusters because their roots connect them."

Does David Lynch write this stuff?