Thursday, January 29, 2004
Mr. Kay's Truth-Telling (washingtonpost.com)
Mr. Kay's Truth-Telling (washingtonpost.com): "The partisanship and demagoguery that have overtaken the discussion of Iraq's missing weapons mean that investigations of the intelligence failure by the Bush administration or Congress are unlikely to be thorough or credible. The only proper approach to the problem, suggested yesterday by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and quickly seconded by Mr. Kay, is an independent inquiry. The president and Congress should agree on the appointment of an expert, nonpartisan commission with full secrecy clearance and subpoena power to examine why the intelligence on Iraq proved wrong and to report on how such failures can be prevented in the future. 'It's not a political issue,' Mr. Kay told National Public Radio. 'It's an issue of the capabilities of one's intelligence service to collect valid, truthful information.'"
The only problem with such a plan is that if it doesn't go off perfectly it will turn into a partisan slug-fest. And, even if the report was released without a fight in committee, if Bush was blamed (along with the CIA, of course) but Congress wasn't, or even if both were blamed since Bush is one man whereas Congress is a gaggle, it would be twisted into points by the other side. Of course, there is a chance that it could exonerate Bush like Hutton did for Blair. I don't foresee such a plan getting anywhere beyond the editorial pages and stump speeches.
The only problem with such a plan is that if it doesn't go off perfectly it will turn into a partisan slug-fest. And, even if the report was released without a fight in committee, if Bush was blamed (along with the CIA, of course) but Congress wasn't, or even if both were blamed since Bush is one man whereas Congress is a gaggle, it would be twisted into points by the other side. Of course, there is a chance that it could exonerate Bush like Hutton did for Blair. I don't foresee such a plan getting anywhere beyond the editorial pages and stump speeches.
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