I am so preoccupied with reading Imperial Hubris, written by an “anonymous” current employee of the CIA, that I’ve 
suppressed my urge to write another one of those “I told you so” columns. I can’t say I’m happy John Kerry lived up (or down) to my worst expectations, but to all those Anybody But Bush types out there who wrote me outraged letters after my week-long bashing of the Democratic nominee: here’s your answer. Oh, and here is Bush’s answer, which seems to me fairly devastating.
I can’t say I’m surprised at anything other than the enormous speed with which my pessimism was proved fully justified; still, it is beyond tragic to watch this election year unfold without either of the major presidential candidates questioning the illogic of the U.S. occupying Iraq and Afghanistan.
On the other hand, there’s some good news: the Plame scandal has surfaced again, like a monster whale coming up for air, shaking the ship of state and foreshadowing what promises to be the most politicized court case since the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. It looks like matters are coming to a head, with a certain top member of Vice President Dick Cheney’s staff in the Special Counsel’s crosshairs, and there are tantalizing hints that the indictments, when they come, will involve more than just the crime of outing a CIA agent, as Susan Schmidt and Carol Leonnig of the Washington Post report:
“Fitzgerald has shown a continuing interest in Libby, witnesses have said, but it now appears that his reasons may be more complex than was first apparent.”
A number of journalists are being subpoenaed, and while we’re waiting for the other shoe to drop another scandal is taking shape in Iraq – where Ahmed Chalabi and his nephrew, Salem, are under investigation for murder and counterfeiting. Is the thief of Baghdad getting his final come-uppance?
I, for one, don’t believe that Chalabi senior or his nephew will return to Iraq, where a nice comfy jail cell awaits them, but would much prefer exile, where they can be touted by their neocon promoters (and business partners) as having been “betrayed” by the U.S. But this story, too, is still developing, and needs to cook on the back burner a little while longer.
We’re also getting into the dog days of summer, and even I have to take a break now and then: so pardon me if I take Imperial Hubris out to the park for a good long read. I’ll be back at the usual stand on Friday.
