The root of the Aspen

Scooter Libby's team didn't waste time in taking the offensive Wednesday after Patrick Fitzgerald admitted his earlier filing was a misrepresentation of the facts.

You can read all about it at the usual places, including this one. Right now it looks like Fitzgerald has been caught with his finger in the witch hunt jar, but surely the case will go back and forth. Perhaps next we'll see an indictment of Rove to even the score.

I'm more interested in talking about who's responsible for this whole Plame mess. No, not Bush, he's just a player. The culprit has lately been seen running off at the mouth making political speeches in his war crimes trial. It's our evil friend from Baghdad.

The Bush clan must truly hate the man, and the love has been returned in kind. Anyone who'd commission a picture of their adversary onto the floor of a hotel is surely a man who enjoys holding a grudge.

But before you liberals go calling this evidence of a personal grudge, just remember the snits and fits he caused Clinton and his cabinet members. Matter of fact, he turned the whole danged intelligence establishment on its ear, and those guys don't take kindly to being made fools of. Neither do generals.

It doesn't take a psychic to figure out how much interagency finger pointing must have taken place after it became clear how Saddam snookered everyone by destroying, moving, or never having those dastardly WMDs. It must have been breathtaking. Certainly embarrassing. It was later revealed the regime had several ringers in the employ of the CIA feeding them bogus intel, both within Iraq and elsewhere. One was the notorious Curveball, while others were involved in fakeries related to where Saddam might be spending the night or dining, for example. After such a flop it's not surprising these experts might later leak like the Titanic.

But I ask you, after having caused such worldwide mayhem how can this man continue to live while his adversaries boil in political oil? Surely there are lots of potential hazards present in his secret little jail, like perhaps carelessly placed bars of soap in the shower or maybe some tainted couscous. Yet like Gloria Gaynor he survives, and his supporters keep supporting. Must be teflon. Or something.


edit for spelling/grammar