The Scum at the Top
Commentary on the Rats in Washington
Slime and Defend
By Paul Krugman
The New York Times
© October 3, 2003
On July 14, Robert Novak published the now-famous column in
which he identified Valerie Plame, the wife of former Ambassador
Joseph Wilson, as a C.I.A. "operative on weapons of mass
destruction," and said "two senior administration officials"
had told him that she was responsible for her husband's mission
to Niger. On that mission, Mr. Wilson concluded - correctly -
that reports of Iraqi efforts to buy uranium were bogus.
An outraged President Bush immediately demanded the names of
those responsible for exposing Ms. Plame. He repeated his father's
statement that "those who betray the trust by exposing the names
of our sources" are "the most insidious of traitors." There are
limits to politics, Mr. Bush declared; Mr. Wilson's decision to
go public about his mission had embarrassed him, but that was
no excuse for actions that were both felonious and unpatriotic.
Everything in the previous paragraph is, of course, false. It's
what should have happened, but didn't. Mr. Bush took no action
after the Novak column. Before we get bogged down in the details -
which is what the administration hopes will happen - let's be
clear: we already know what the president knew, and when he knew
it. Mr. Bush knew, 11 weeks ago, that some of his senior aides
had done something utterly inexcusable. But as long as the media
were willing to let the story lie - which, with a few honorable
exceptions, like David Corn at The Nation and Knut Royce and
Timothy Phelps at Newsday, they were - he didn't think this
outrage required any action.
And now that the C.I.A. has demanded a Justice Department inquiry,
the White House's strategy isn't just to stonewall, Nixon-style;
as one Republican Congressional aide told The New York Times, it
will "slime and defend."
The right-wing media slime machine, which tries to assassinate
the character of anyone who opposes the right's goals - hey, I
know all about it - has already swung into action. For example,
The Wall Street Journal's editorial page calls Mr. Wilson an
"open opponent of the U.S. war on terror." We've grown accustomed
to this sort of slur - and they accuse liberals of lacking
civility? - but let's take a minute to walk through it.
Mr. Wilson never opposed the "war on terror" - he opposed the war
in Iraq precisely because it had no obvious relevance to the
campaign against terror. He feared that invading a country with
no role in 9/11, and no meaningful Al Qaeda links, would divert
resources from the pursuit of those who actually attacked America.
Many patriots in the military and the intelligence community
agreed with him then; even more agree now.
Unlike the self-described patriots now running America, Mr.
Wilson has taken personal risks for the sake of his country.
In the months before the first gulf war, he stayed on in Baghdad,
helping to rescue hundreds of Americans who might otherwise have
been held as hostages. The first President Bush lauded him as a
"truly inspiring diplomat" who exhibited "courageous leadership."
In any case, Mr. Wilson's views and character are irrelevant.
Someone high in the administration committed a felony and, in
the view of the elder Mr. Bush, treason. End of story.
The hypocrisy here is breathtaking. Republicans have repeatedly
impugned their opponents' patriotism. Last year Tom DeLay, the
House majority leader, said Democrats "don't want to protect the
American people. . . . They will do anything, spend all the time
and resources they can, to avoid confronting evil."
But the true test of patriotism isn't whether you are willing to
wave the flag, or agree with whatever the president says. It's
whether you are willing to take risks and make sacrifices,
including political sacrifices, for the sake of your country.
This episode is a test for Mr. Bush and his inner circle: a true
patriot wouldn't hesitate about doing the right thing in the
Plame affair, whatever the political costs.
Mr. Bush is failing that test.
----------
Correction: Many people, including Paul Bremer in recent testimony
and myself in my Sept. 30 column, have linked Churchill's remark
about the "most unsordid act" to the Marshall Plan. In fact,
Churchill was referring to an earlier program, Lend-Lease. But
one suspects that he wouldn't have minded the confusion.
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January 13, 2007