It was a year ago this month that Seymour Hersh wrote in the New Yorker that the White House (ie: Cheney) was pushing back against the release of a National Intelligence Estimate on Iran that had failed to find any evidence of an ongoing nuclear weapons program. Once again I guess you could say Sy is the polar opposite of ‘the boy who cried wolf’.’
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Wolf Blitzer had him on to discuss it and what to make of the new NIE and the recent claims by the President that he was just informed about it’s contents a week ago.
Hersh: What’s interesting here is the President’s position. As you know today in his news conference he said he only learned about this the other week.
Blitzer: He said he only got the word from Mike McConnell, the National Intelligence Director, last week that there was in fact now a new the National Intelligence Estimate, although last Aug he was told there is some new information - we haven’t vetted it - it’s not yet confirmed - there may be some new information. He only says that he learned about the new NIE last week.
Hersh: Look, it’s a lose-lose for them. Either he did know what was going on at the highest levels - the fight I’m talking about began last year. I was writing about something in November and also you mentioned earlier. They were aware of a big dispute inside the community that is between the White House and the community about this. Now, maybe he didn’t know what was going on at the Vice Presidential level about something that serious. If so, I mean, we pay him to know these things and not to make statements based on information that turns out not to be accurate, or else he is misrepresenting what he knows. I don’t think there is any question this is going to pose a serious credibility problem. I assume people are going to be asking more and more questions about what did he know, when. …
It’s little wonder why Seymour Hersh is so often the target of fierce criticism from Bushco as he’s been a thorn in their side just as he has many an administration before them. Sy has earned his place as one of the US’s greatest investigative reporters/muckrakers ever after his exposing many of the greatest scandals of our time. He broke the My Lai massacre, the torture at Abu Ghraib, and the CIA’s “Family Jewels” that led to the Church hearings, and even Clinton’s bombing of a pharmaceutical factory in Sudan, just to name a few of his more well known.
UPDATE: (Nicole) Marcy has a great NIE timeline…
Filed Under: Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, Intelligence Gathering, Iran, Journalism, The Situation Room/Wolf Blitzer
No Trackbacks To “Sy Hersh: We Pay Bush to Know These Things - What Did He Know When?“
if ever there was a person overpaid,it’s the Preznit.
For those of you who had any doubts that Bush was an incompetent madman, what do you think now?
it’s only going to get worse for Booshco.
I - M - P - E - A - C - H !
We impose sanctions on Iran because they have a non-existant nuclear weapons program???
How does that work?
Geez …. look at that!
A journalist!
Come on. Are you trying to tell me that as President, he was not warned at the earliest time that something as important as Iran’s supposed nuclear weapons program could be incorrect?
If congress fails to impeach, it is further proof they are complicit.
Does he have to rub it in that we’re actually paying the guy?
In a sane country where presidential medals of freedom are given to those who actually deserve them, Sy Hersch would have one.
In an insane country, the defenders of freedom are persecuted.
If you fight for freedom in an insane country, you are a revolutionary.
Even Tweety called Busholini a liar on last night’s edition of “Hardball”!
It is time to succeed, The fed govt couldn’t protect us from influx of immigrants, then they are worthless, and more proof there only interest is to sell millitary to our enemies.
How many people think Wolf Blitzer should be the new White House press secratary?
I agree with all this, but Hello? didn’t we already know Bush et al are a bunch of liars? I mean, after not finding any WMDs several years ago in Iraq, what credibility was there left to question? They all lied then and they are lying now.
The only explanation as to why we are not proceeding directly to impeachment proceedings is we must be in some Tom Tomorrow alternate universe where you get impeached for lying about blowjobs but not for lying about starting one war and trying to start another. Go figure.
So basically bush is either a complete boob who’s kept out of the loop and has no clue about what’s going on around him or he’s a corrupt despot who uses fabricated intelligence to advance his apocalyptic policies.
And impeachment is off the table why????
I am numb. I don’t even get outraged at this Administration, anymore. It is just business as usual.
Yet another game of “LYING or STUPID???????” comes to a thrilling conclusion.
Stupidly lying.
Mr. Hersh has been writing extensively about bush and cheney”s propaganda about Iran for over a year. The President of the United States stood in front of the world and lied. Either that or he stood up in front of the world stared into the cameras and told us he is a uninterested uninformed moron who can’t be bothered to do his freaking job.
Plus I heard on the news this morning that the pres of Iran (too early to look up the spelling of his name) is claiming some sort of victory regarding this. And, as a result of what bush has done it may actually bring the people of Iran to support their president, where before, most of them were against him. He may win reelection because of this fiasco. Only geo bush could do something so damned stupid that it would bring the people of Iran to continue to support a man they really don’t want.
Sy Hersh’s latest: NIE CONCLUDES U.S. HAS SUSPENDED ALL BRAIN ACTIVITIES SINCE 2003.
the elf eared chickenhawk is always ready to deploy other peoples relatives for 15 month deployments based on lies
Why, is it at a time like this, aren’t there dozens of Sy’s out there beating the bushes (no I’m not calling for violence) and finding out what really is going on in this administration?
Time to rip the scab off this thing so our country can begin cleansing and healing.
Sy Hersh > Bob Woodward
Dirty state secrets aren’t fond of Seymour Hersh, but they just can’t seem to manage to stay away from him.
Keep giving them hell Sy!
Why this NIE now?
BushCo LLC has been setting on this info and they could have filtered it to suit their agenda……..after all they do “modify” scientific info to support their sensibilities.
Why are they being honest for a change? What has happened in Iran that would cause them to suddenly NOT see Iran as a “nukular” threat?
Was Israel about to take things into their own hands?
I’m stumped, help me out Sey Hersh
pissed off patricia @ 19:
Well, add to the list…
1) destroyed our credibility with our NATO allies
2) destroyed our international reputation for taking the moral high ground
3) undermined our own laws and government processes
4) turned the USA into an international renegade with an unprovoked attack against a non threatening nation
5) destroyed our reputation for respecting all laws, inclulding international law
6) turned us into a nation that advocates torture
7) turned us into a nation of murderers of women and children
8) turned the USA into a paranoid nation of spies, busybodies, homophobes, religious extremists and intolerant xenophobes.
9) funded his immoral war on the backs of underprivileged children, poor women, middle class college students, minorities, homeowners and honest working people.
lastly…is directly responsible for the unnecessary deaths of over 3,000 of our fighting men and women.
Dr. Acula @ 10:
Yes… Tweety has been suffering from multiple personality disorder for almost nine months.
pissed off patricia @ 19:
Of course it is a Victory for Iran. The President of the United States along with his boss Cheney have been accussing Iran of being a nuclear threat. The world now knows it was a lie.
The United States was defeated in 2000 when the US Supreme Court stepped in and selected our President and were so embarrassed they had to stipulate that its decision should never be repeated.
We know some of what followed this decision. None of it positive.
When will impeachment come?
So what are the cable news channels talking about this morning? The weather.
I snowed in the northeast in December, imagine that.
The Tampa school teacher who had an affair with one of her students broke her parole by talking to a kid where she worked.
Don’t hear much about the prez lying again to try to get us into yet another war.
Radically Moderate @ 25:
That is easy. The intelligence community released this report over the objections of the Administration.
They are obviously worried.
When will impeachment come?
ummm, I didn’t snow in the northeast, it snowed in the northeast :lol:
pissed off patricia @ 29:
You are much more powerful than i ever imagined. :)
pissed off patricia @ 29:
Actually, ‘Morning Joe’ Scarborough (go figure) basically called Bush a liar for the entire 3 hrs of his show this morning.
We actually pay this criminal idiot?
Is Dennis Kucinich the only one that has the guts to proceed with the impeachment of these crooks? Unfortunately, the answer seems to be yes. These crimes against the American people are far worse than “sex in the Whitehouse”. The checks and balances are there to remedy this mess. We all need to back Dennis Kucinich in his attempts to bring these criminals to justice through impeachment. And we need to back Dennis Kucinich in his attempt to become President and restore honor to the White House.
America needs Dennis Kucinich.
Dennis Kucinich 08 - Americas hope
israels been useing our military for thier own porposes , so if i was one of thoes sailors in the straits of hormuze i think the hair on the back of my neck would be standing up now, since bush has been exposed about his lies on iran they will have to go to the backup plan of destroying one of our ships and killing its crew and blame it on iran, they cant be allowed to dissapoint the war mongers in israel,
Sy Hersh = working brain + working mouth = terrorist sympathizer
Why does Mr. Hersh HATE America so much? I mean, he has to keep thinking, and then speaking the things that any child can see are true. And then the logic, Oh My God, he is a reporter that applies logic to world around him. That’s just down right un-American.
Why don’t you write about something people need to know? Like Brittany Spears, or how the surge is working, or why creationism is more accurate than evolution. But for God’s sake man, stop writing facts about the President. Something that drastic just might get you put into Gitmo or Latvia or Yemen.
xoites defends Constitution @ 30:
My impression too, seems you have some intelligence officials who are not willing to be the fall guys, again, so they pushed it out to cover their own backs.
I derive some comfort from the fact that when history is written about these dark days in the America, that Dick Cheney will be relegated to the footnotes and GWB will get the blame for the atrocities that his administration has comitted in our name. Although DC wields much power now, he is still not the President and as such will not bear the brunt of the blame.
Little comfort now, though. Impeaching them both is still the correct course of action, IMHO.
wonder if senator pat roberts knew anything about this report way back when it was released….
Remember Dennis’ bill to impeach did pass, thanks to the repubs in the House changing their votes to “yes” as they tried to embarrass the dems for even bringing it up. After it passed it, for all means and purposes, got filed in the round file. Has the garbage truck arrived yet? Can we get it out of the round file and talk about it now?
AbbeyHoffmansGhost @ 34:
It doesn’t matter that we pay him anything. Bush would do be President for free in order to be the war profitteer that he is. He’s making much more in blood money than he will ever get in the form of a paycheck from the American people.
My impression too, seems you have some intelligence officials who are not willing to be the fall guys, again, so they pushed it out to cover their own backs.
So a nameless Gov’t cypher is all that stands between us and WWIII: Thermo-new-cular Home Edition … great …
Israel is pissed about the report? WHAT A FUCKING SUPRISE! All those fuckers want is middle east instability so they can expand their borders and Bush is in their pocket.
I am so done with excuses for this asshole’s behavior. He is a spoiled elitist liar with a silver spoon stuck up his ass, protected by enablers all his fucked up life, surrounded by evil Stalin like butt lickers who laugh at his dumb jokes, agree with whatever he says, constantly tell him how great he is. We put this shit in office, so we are accomplices to his MANY crimes.
What can we expect? If we have fixed elections, they are going to be able to fix the facts.
This is way OT, but I just found out I get to go on a one hour cruise Saturday evening on a tall ship. How’s that for something to look forward to? I am so excited I’m about to pop. :)
That’s just the sort of thing that keeps me from going totally fu*king nuts in this time of hell and lies and general crime in our country. Now we know why bush always smiles at all the wrong times when he’s speaking. He’s trying to keep from laughing at us for all the times he has used us to get his way.
Left&Left @ 45:
Please don’t say we put him in office. Five people put him in office all of them members of the Supreme Court.
When will impeachment come?
Left&Left @ 45: