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> "Contrast Washington’s animosity against Snowden with the pardon that Bush gave to Dick Cheney aide, Libby, who took the fall for his boss for blowing the cov

> "Contrast Washington’s animosity against Snowden with the pardon that Bush gave to Dick Cheney aide, Libby, who took the fall for his boss for blowing the cover, a felony, on a covert CIA operative, the spouse of a former government official who exposed the Bush/Cheney/neocon lies about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction." Political newbie here. Could anyone with an idea of who Paul Craig Roberts is [1], and what his political bias is, comment on this claim? I.e. is it possible/fair to compare the two events M. Roberts does compare? Is today's Washington (under Obama) so much uglier and more aggressive towards whistle-blowers than previous governments, or more of the same? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Craig_Roberts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Craig_Roberts

crusso 13y ago
Further, he has his facts totally wrong. The real leaker turned out to be Colin Powell's subordinate, Dick Armitage. Colin Powell knowingly let Scooter Libby take the fall and GO TO JAIL over what Armitage had done. And now Powell does the talk show circuits and tries to come off as some kind of moral authority. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/colin-powells-cheap-shot/2011/03/29/gIQA2Q0smJ_blog.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/colin-po... Libby was innocent. >> Edit: Thread is dead, but your response is totally off. Libby had no clue as to what was going on when he was questioned. At worst, he misremembered (thought it was Tim Russert) where he had heard about Plame and the incident and then was prosecuted for it. There is no evidence that Powell and Armitage let Bush/Cheney/Libby know about what Armitage had leaked.
- tptacek 13y ago
  Libby was not innocent. He was an active participant in the leak. And when questioned about his role, he deliberately lied about his involvement. Perhaps Armitage also deserved to be prosecuted, but that doesn't make Libby blameless.
cstross 13y ago
Looks like he started out on the right, especially economically (see the background on Reaganomics) but since the end of the cold war the Overton Window has shifted so far that he's now on the civil-libertarian end of the spectrum, which is often referred to disparagingly as "liberal" in American politics. (Non-American here ...)
- crusso 13y ago
  Shifted? With the implication that there's been some sort of Right-shift in the US that leaves this guy in the middle or in civil-libertarian space? Pick a topic: drug legalization, gay marriage, social program spending, state intervention in private commerce, public health care. Look at the goals of the Left in the US and the goals of the Right in the US over the past 30 years. Clearly the Left has made all of the policy and public mindshare advances. Even military spending is relatively flat and purpose of the military has gone from some hard right fight against communism to a squishier press for democracy.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
  - blahbl4hblah 13y ago
    libertarianism is nonsense.

crusso 13y ago

Further, he has his facts totally wrong. The real leaker turned out to be Colin Powell's subordinate, Dick Armitage. Colin Powell knowingly let Scooter Libby take the fall and GO TO JAIL over what Armitage had done. And now Powell does the talk show circuits and tries to come off as some kind of moral authority. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/colin-powells-cheap-shot/2011/03/29/gIQA2Q0smJ_blog.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/colin-po... Libby was innocent. >> Edit: Thread is dead, but your response is totally off. Libby had no clue as to what was going on when he was questioned. At worst, he misremembered (thought it was Tim Russert) where he had heard about Plame and the incident and then was prosecuted for it. There is no evidence that Powell and Armitage let Bush/Cheney/Libby know about what Armitage had leaked.

tptacek 13y ago
Libby was not innocent. He was an active participant in the leak. And when questioned about his role, he deliberately lied about his involvement. Perhaps Armitage also deserved to be prosecuted, but that doesn't make Libby blameless.

cstross 13y ago

Looks like he started out on the right, especially economically (see the background on Reaganomics) but since the end of the cold war the Overton Window has shifted so far that he's now on the civil-libertarian end of the spectrum, which is often referred to disparagingly as "liberal" in American politics. (Non-American here ...)

crusso 13y ago
Shifted? With the implication that there's been some sort of Right-shift in the US that leaves this guy in the middle or in civil-libertarian space? Pick a topic: drug legalization, gay marriage, social program spending, state intervention in private commerce, public health care. Look at the goals of the Left in the US and the goals of the Right in the US over the past 30 years. Clearly the Left has made all of the policy and public mindshare advances. Even military spending is relatively flat and purpose of the military has gone from some hard right fight against communism to a squishier press for democracy.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
- blahbl4hblah 13y ago
  libertarianism is nonsense.