Who Leaked The Rumsfeld Memo?

by mtippett | December 2, 2006 at 11:26 pm | 498 views | add comment | 0 recommendations

protesters rally in New York and around world on war anniversary

So who's missing the point here?

Andrew Sullivan wonders who leaked the Rumsfeld memo. He says:

Here's a mischievous thought. What if the two most recent leaks - the Hadley Memo and the Rumsfeld Memo - came from the same source? What if they were designed to kill any attempt by Bush and Cheney to pretend things are okay, that Maliki is viable, and that a revamped effort can work?

And what if the leaker were a man who just got fired and who's skilled at bureaucratic payback? Just musing.

And yet Seymour Hersh says:

"Other sources close to the Bush family said that the machinations behind Rumsfeldâs resignation and the Gates nomination were complex, and the seeming triumph of the Old Guard may be illusory. The former senior intelligence official, who once worked closely with Gates and with the Presidentâs father, said that Bush and his immediate advisers in the White House understood by mid-October that Rumsfeld would have to resign if the result of the midterm election was a resounding defeat. Rumsfeld was involved in conversations about the timing of his departure with Cheney, Gates, and the President before the election, the former senior intelligence official said. Critics who asked why Rumsfeld wasnât fired earlier, a move that might have given the Republicans a boost, were missing the point."