With all the hubbub Democrats have been making about the supposed "outing" of a supposedly "covert" CIA operative, you would think that they cared deeply when leaks from or about our nation's most important intelligence service occur.
Unfortunately, their silence at several other more serious events shows what their true intentions are.
Where was the Democrats' outrage and demand for investigations when the New York Times exposed Aero Contractors, a purportedly civilian air charter service, as a covert CIA operation? Not only was that operation legitimately covert, but the exposure ruined years of work and millions of dollars worth of investments in developing our nation's intelligence abilities.
Right now, it should be obvious that our nation's intelligence services are, by and large, inadequate, and everything should be done to improve them, rather than further reduce their ability to detect and inform us about threats.
This is a legitimate issue of national security, yet there was no outcry, no special prosecutor appointed to find out what reporters knew and when they knew it and no shutting down of Congress when Democrats didn't get the indictments they wanted.
On Nov. 2, the Washington Post broke a story about secret and covert prisons where the CIA has been keeping some of its most important captured al-Qaeda members. These prisons have at times been located "in eight countries, including Thailand, Afghanistan and several democracies in Eastern Europe, as well as a small center at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba."
Now, I will not ask you to agree or disagree with the existence of these prisons. They are a part of the CIA's ongoing effort in the War on Terror, and whether or not a single person condones the CIA's methods, we should all agree that this was a legitimate exposure of a genuine covert operation. This information has been used by al Jazeera as propaganda to stir up further hatred against the United States. In a very real way, this report has directly benefited those who want to harm America.
Ah, but no outrage from Democrats - that's reserved for when the Bush administration tries to correct a known liar, Joe Wilson, by pointing out facts about his decidedly not-covert wife's role in his mission to Niger.
So, why are legitimate leaks of classified information glossed over?
It's because they are designed to do political damage to President Bush.
Each of these leaks was perpetrated by CIA officials who disagree with the administration and are more than willing to use their classified knowledge to bring it down - and Democrats seem perfectly willing to allow leaks of secret information, as long as it harms their political adversaries.
The next time you're in the voting booth, remember which party is more than willing to allow our nation's intelligence service men and women to be put at risk for political gain. Remember which party puts partisan point-scoring above legitimate national security issues.
If Democrats want to be taken seriously on national security issues - issues which arguably cost them the past presidential election - they might want to try to work up a little outrage when actual crimes have been perpetrated, rather than trying to create a crime out of whole cloth.
Write to Tim at redbaronstrikesagain@gmail.com
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