As the Bush administration gets its feet under the desk for a second term, it appears to be payback time for those who opposed the war in Iraq. Our Washington Correspondent reports on an everyday scandal in the Beltway
Members of the Republican Party are circling their political wagons around the Bush White House to protect it from an impending Left wing assault by. Democrats and Liberals, who have gone on the warpath over the possibility that presidential guru Karl Rove might have leaked sensitive information to a news columnist, blowing the cover of a CIA agent in the process.
Rove, whose official title is deputy White House chief of staff, is in fact far more than his title would let on. Rove is often called the brains behind President Bush.
It is believed Rove may be the “Deep Throat” of our times. Some have accused him of being the “source” who leaked the word on the Valerie Plame affair, and in so doing, blowing her cover as a covert operative. For the record, Mrs. Plame who was an undercover agent with the CIA is also the wife of former State Department official Joseph C. Wilson. Also for the record it is a criminal offense to knowingly reveal the name of a covert undercover agent.
The story making the rounds of the nation’s capital during the last few weeks is that in trying to discredit Wilson, Rove revealed Plame’s name to a newspaper columnist. Wilson, a critic of the U.S. invasion of Iraq had been tasked with finding out if former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had purchased uranium from the West African country of Niger –- which he could have then used to make fuel for his alleged nuclear weapons. That, of course, is assuming Saddam had nuclear weapon in the first place.
Wilson, after flying to Niger in 2000 to investigate the matter, found no proof of uranium sales to Iraq. His report irked the Bush White House, then trying to make a case over Saddam Hussein’s allegedly being in possession of weapons of mass destruction – a case upon which the Bush administration was building the justification of the invasion of Iraq and imposing regime change in Baghdad.
Now press reports hint that Rove, who is credited with winning the 2004 presidential election for Bush, spilled the beans on Plame to get back at Wilson. An investigation is ongoing.
When asked about the investigation, the White House, however, preferred to skirt the issue, choosing to remain quiet over the matter of Rove’s unmasking of Plame.
When prodded by reporters if he had discussed the matter with Rove, and if Rove’s conduct might have been improper, the president refused to comment, saying only that there was an ongoing criminal investigation.
“I will be more than happy to comment on this matter once this investigation is complete,” said President Bush.
Meanwhile members of the Democrat Party have stepped up the pressure on the White House, demanding that Bush fire his trusted adviser, or in the very least, that Rove has his security clearance revoked pending the outcome of the investigation. However, no one in Washington truly believes Bush is likely to distance himself from Rove.
Instead, Republicans have turned to do what Republicans tend to do when they come under fire. Believing that the best defense is offense, they immediately went on the offensive, coming out all guns blazing. Among the first things they did was to turn the blame around and try to place it on Ambassador Wilson, questioning his credibility.
But there is a gap in the circled wagons. Not all Republicans are happy with the idea of Rove not playing ball the way he should have, and several senior members of the Republican Party have opted to remain on the sidelines, at least for now.
This is a story that will not go away. Quite the contrary, it will gather momentum and grow legs of its own. Milked for all its worth by the Democrats and Liberals, happy to have something they can throw at Bush.
Ultimately, Bush is safe. If things get too hot, Rove will be asked to fall on his ceremonial sword for the greater good of the neo-conservative agenda.
What does it mean? Rove and his friends will show up all over the Sunday morning talk shows, while his detractors and their friends will be on competing channels, each giving their views of events. Rove will have his additional 15 minutes of fame, or maybe of infamy, as he tries to explain the outcome of the investigation. If found guilty he will most likely refute the charges, blaming instead the “vast left-wing conspiracy.” If exonerated, he will probable say he never doubted in the American system of justice.
The president will praise Rove for his outstanding intelligence, his unfaltering dedication and his great work, and it will be back to business as usual in Washington, DC, where the media will move on to the next scandal. And there is always another good one around the corner in this town.
