Libby was anything but a ‘loyal soldier’

February 24, 2007

I can appreciate the fact that Scooter Libby’s conservative friends don’t mind his outrageous conduct, and are even willing to help raise money for his legal defense, but there should at least be limits on how ridiculous they’re willing to be with their praise for a man who was forced to resign in disgrace.

Mary Matalin, for example, sent a fundraising letter on behalf of Libby’s Legal Defense Trust in which she tells the reader, “This loyal soldier in the War on Terror doesn’t have to go at it alone.”

“Loyal”? “Soldier”? Please. Thankfully, Nico set the record straight.

Scooter Libby knowingly exposed the cover of a CIA operative. He did it to exact political revenge on Joseph Wilson, who had revealed that intelligence was “twisted to exaggerate the Iraqi threat.” The damage from the leak was serious enough to warrant a CIA investigation. Arthur Brown, a CIA division chief who retired in 1995, described Libby’s action as the “moral equivalent to exposing forward deployed military units.”

Libby is no “soldier,” let alone a “loyal soldier.” A different label for him was offered by President George H. W. Bush: “I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious of traitors.”

Matalin is clearly no longer capable of shame, but this fundraising pitch should be humiliating. If Libby is a “loyal soldier in the War on Terror,” Dick Cheney is a competent public official with a healthy respect for the limits of our constitutional system of government.

Perhaps they’re only referring to him as a “soldier” so he can be given the military punishment of death by firing squad. I suppose that’s too much to hope for. Still, it strikes me that there has never before been such a culture of unreality in America, where bizarre statements such as Libby’s status – and his alleged dogged pursuit of the “war on terrah” – resonate as absolute truth to some. What can they think of those who don’t believe, or the fact that the unbelievers constitute a solid majority?

  • Perhaps she meant the War For Terror. We’ll never know how many people died because they had contact with Plame and this “Loyal Soldier” blew her cover. Not to mention other agents that might have been compromised.

    Can you say Traitor boys n’ girls? I knew you could.

    Now how about Angry Company Cowboy with a Glock?
    Gooood.

  • Matalin’s ““This loyal soldier in the War on Terror doesn’t have to go at it alone.” reads kinda funny to me. “to go at it” is like an enthusiastic hyper approach to doing something. If she had wanted the connotation to be of a lonely soldier she should have said, “doesn’t have to go it alone” without the ‘at’. Actually her original version does describe the rat-bastard’s despicable actiivities. Libby is a traitor as is his boss.

    Saw The Departed last night. I liked the picture of the rat on the balcony in the final scene.

  • Look at the person Matalin quit her job at CNN to go to work for. Should any of us be surprised by her behavior? Some of us, who kind of liked her, hoped she would have disavowed her affiliation to the Republic-thugs years ago, once it became apparent what their true agenda was. Once she seemed to have some integrity, now she just looks stupid.

  • “…described Libby’s action as the “moral equivalent to exposing forward deployed military units.”

    Why blame Libby for this? Do you think he did this on his own? Wasn’t he following the instructions of the VP?

    The odds of Libby being found guilty are about 80%. I hope that is true. I think it will be a hung jury. Libby just needs to hold out for less than 2 years before he gets his pardon.

  • Actually, you got your quote a little mangled toward the middle, orion. It should read, “when a white man finds an oasis in the desert that is already doing pretty well under black men, he takes it, then congratulates himself on having liberated the black men”. It’s reassuring to know not everybody in America is terrified of the Muslims – here’s at least one who is terrified of black people. And what does any of this have to do with Libby or Matalin? Why don’t you start up your own blog? Call it something catchy, like…I’m scared shitless of the darkies taking over, something like that. Then you and your followers can stay on topic and talk about stuff you like, all at the same time!! Here’s a tip, though: keep it on the down low. Those white hoods are pretty conspicuous.

  • Perhaps Matalin refers to him as a “loyal soldier” because he took his orders from “General” Cheney? And then loyally covered up for his “commanding officer”?

  • Ahh, my friends, you see. it is a matter of perspective. Eastasia has always been at war with Oceana.

  • Maitalin nevers deviates from the GOP or the White House talking points. I watched her talk about how many brigades of Iraqi’s were up and taking command and fully trained right after the Generals in Iraq said they were incapable of performing. She makes my head seize up and I know I am going to vomit! How did they brain wash her so totally?

  • Maybe it was my “inner Frenchman” at work, but when I read that phrase about being a loyal soldier I thought of it in the Jesus’ General context of little soldier being the part of the male anatomy immediately above and connected to the other part of the male anatomy whose mention is now banned by right wing librarians everywhere that goes by the Latin name of scrotum. If you don’t know what this means click onto the General and get the context. It’s quite amusing and you won’t look at that reference to Libby again without cracking up.

    But maybe the soldier reference, in the Repubican idiom, has more to do with Libby taking a bullet, or diving on the grenade if you will, for the greater good. They must be getting ready to bury the bastard with honors at Arlington if Cheney and Rove both go unscathed from the trial.

  • Libby and Cheney OUTED BREWSTER JENNINGS.

    • How long can the Shitehouse get YOU bloggers to continue their fiction that this is about Valerie Plame?

    The entire brassplate company, all of its offices, shuttered as a result of this act of calumny.

    • Instead of covering up the scope of the act, WE SHOULD BE DEMANDING TO KNOW THE RESULTS OF THE CIA DAMAGE REPORT, which has been kept from the Congress SFAIK and the people far too long.

    How many agents outed? How much precious HUMINT blown away, and in how many cases literally?

    They don’t have to tell us, but the Congress has the right to know, and the prosecution of the larger crime has to be DEMANDED, by us and they.

    Please, please, widen the scope and REFUSE to focus on the V. Wilson, because that is the small end of the damage they intentionally did to our national security.

  • Paul in LA,
    Let’s instead work our way up the ladder and shine a light on all the “refuse” that “lies” at the top… Afterall, it is difficult to start climbing a ladder from the uppermost rung from your grasp.

  • What a smear to REAL soldiers dying and maimed in “the decider’s” war to call that worm, libby, a soldier.

    ALL of the fascist criminals in the White House, Pentagon, State Dept, etc need to be tried, convicted and executed for the nightmare they’ve executed on this country and the world.
    The decider should go last so he can watch the rest of them go before him.

    Google videos:
    9/11 Press for Truth
    9/11 Mysteries
    Freedom to Fascism
    Loose Change 2nd Edition

  • “Let’s instead work our way up the ladder and shine a light on all the “refuse” that “lies” at the top”

    G’head. MY COMPLAINT IS WITH THE BLOGS WHO CONTINUE TO UNREPORT THE STORY, AND INSTEAD MIME THE LYING (and trivial) FOCUS OF THE MAJOR MEDIA.

    This is a clear example of a well-established FALSE FOCUS.

    You call yourself BLOG? Take your snooze pills, carpet — you’re MISSING THE STORY!

  • Sorry, I meant UNDERREPORT the story.

    Couldn’t hear myself for shouting.

    C’mon, carpetbag, you CAN fit the whole story in your luggage.

  • “… information and testimony revealed during the course of the Libby Trial indicates that it wasn’t Wilson’s op-ed piece that set the off the chain of events leading to their disclosure of the CIA WMD analyst and her covert network. The Bush administration began its campaign to discredit Valerie Plame/Wilson at least a month prior to the release of her husband’s article.

    http://www.bradblog.com tonight

    • Comments are closed.