Stepping way from the computer today and out into the big wide world, we found that we are far from being the only Americans who have some questions about the possibly political motives behind the outing of Elliot Spitzer. So this is not some paranoid, conspiracy theory anymore. Ken Silverman notes that David Vitter got very different treatment for the same "crime." Vitter's name wasn't leaked by the Justice Department, for starters.
Vitter, recall, owned up to his dalliance with a prostitute after Hustler called him to ask for comment before publication. Not that employees of the George W. Bush Justice Department would ever act in a political fashion, of course. But it is curious.
Paul Kiel, writing at Muckraker, wonders, too. And NPR reminds us that the feds are watching everyone's "unusual" bank transactions around the clock, with greater scrutiny for political officials.
The interlocking rumor and speculation mills are now buzzing with theories about whether Adm. Fallon jumped or was pushed from his perch as the top military commander for US military forces across the Middle East (what the Pentagon refers to as 'Central Command'). But there is a big picture that is important to keep in focus. That is, quite simply, that Fallon is leaving because he was apparently too sane for the Bush White House.
Or perhaps it just comes back to a laudatory story about Fallon in Esquire which also dissed Bush, putting the admiral in an unadmirable position. But then there's the Iran factor. Fallon had already made it clear he was against any invasion of Iran.
Contrary to a recent Esquire magazine article that described differences between Fallon and the White House, Gates said, the admiral's departure does not mean that the United States is heading toward war with Iran.
"That's just ridiculous," Gates said.
So it comes down to who you believe. Perhaps a dozen people are left in the world who believe Bush or his administration. Well, right, maybe it's down to three or four by now and they all have to be tied down and hand-fed. But that doesn't stop Secretary of Defense Gates from trying manfully to reframe the situation.
Gates told reporters that Fallon "reached this difficult decision entirely on his own." The Pentagon chief added: "I believe it was the right thing to do, even though I do not believe there are, in fact, significant differences between his views and administration policy."
Gates said that in talks with Fallon, "we have tried between us to put this misperception behind us over a period of months and, frankly, just have not been successful in doing so."
He called Fallon's decision to retire "a cumulative kind of thing" and not "the result of any one article or any one issue."
The story on Fallon in last week's Esquire portrayed him as opposed to President Bush's policy toward Iran, describing the admiral as taking a lonely position against U.S. military action to stop Iran's nuclear program. ... Fallon also reportedly has a difficult relationship with Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose, kiddo...
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