WMD insurance

The Libby verdict may come this week, and I'm making myself a number one candidate for shutdown day by focusing on the doggone thing to such an unhealthy level. Can't help it--to me it's a microcosm of the entire Iraq war debate.

By the way, as I type this breaking news has come in--the art history expert and the one juror who was seen as a contrarian was removed from the jury for allegedly coming in contact with news media blather. More here and here.

A Libby conviction (on any counts) will likely be spun into a Bush/Cheney conviction by the usual suspects, giving credence to the age-old Bush lied meme and lathering up the friendlies now running Congress.

The elite media knows this investigation was always more about the NIE, which is what most on the left believe and they're driving this boat. Their blindness to fact is obvious, Richard Armitage being the biggest clue, but remember, any "Bush critic" is forgiven.

In the real world, Joe Wilson's trip was probably just a simple insurance policy for the CIA. Libby said as much to Miller,

"I recall that Mr. Libby was displeased with what he described as 'selective leaking' by the CIA," Miller wrote. "He told me that the agency was engaged in a 'hedging strategy' to protect itself in case no weapons were found in Iraq."

Consider it crazed wingnut speculation if you like, but for argument's sake let's say someone down in the bowels knew the documents were fake on the front end. The Senate Intelligence Committee accused Joe Wilson of misrepresenting the truth for making it seem he knew this before the trip--even before the Government had officially received them. Whoops. That's essentially why he was kicked off the Kerry campaign. Under that premise rational minds might scratch their heads about the exact purpose of the trip.

Remember, Joe Wilson was a cable TV analyst during the run-up to the Iraq invasion and several times speculated there might be WMD programs even though he'd already traveled to Niger a year earlier. Even after the offending State of the Union he continued to say in speeches that Saddam might possess active weapons programs. He knew Saddam.

Maybe the reason we saw no "what I didn't find" op-eds before the war was because he wasn't sure. For instance, had we found an acre-sized cavern of VX gas or even that proverbial sugar bag of anthrax William Cohen warned us about there would have been no need for such a story.

Only when it became obvious we weren't going to find stockpiles did he decide to go public. He knew the finger-pointing was about to start--what better way to get out ahead of it by taking the offensive? Recall Armitage told Woodward, "1:21 knew with yellowcake, the CIA is not going to be hurt by this".