The arrogance of the neo-con astounds me. It's worth reading the letters written by their troika, Feith -Perle- Wolfowitz, to understand a part of why Scooter is off to jail. (Available at Smoking Gun, h/t memeorandum) These three were the principle engineers of our entry into a war in Iraq that 61% of Americans thinks was a mistake to enter. All three helped build the Potemkin Village that enabled Bush to sell the war initially. More simply, these are world class liars. And now they have the temerity to write letters praising the honesty of Scooter.
Perle implies that the jury's verdict was incorrect. He was
"unable to reconcile the man [he knows] with the crime for which he has been convicted."
If I were the Judge, I'd find Feith's letter insulting. He felt the need to point out that Scooter is a man with a
"kind disposition.. toward people on the personal level. Scooter is a pleasant and considerate colleague. He speaks to people courteously and treats them gently and well. This is one of his outstanding traits."
As always, Wolfowitz takes the cake. As an example of "Mr. Libby's service to individuals:, he cites his:
"effort to persuade a newspaper not to publish information that would have endangered the life of a covert CIA agent working overseas,. Late into the evening, long after most had left the matter to be dealt with the next day, Mr Libby worked to collect the information that was needed to persuade the editor not to run the story. His assistant Jenny Mayfield told me that was when she realized she was working for a very special person - as indeed she was."
This is amazing on many levels. Wolfowitz's letter, like Feith's, is utterly patronizing to the Judge. At times you feel like you are reading a report card for a kindergarten student "Scooter plays well with others. He is special." The fact that Wolfowitz chooses an example in which Libby worked to protect a CIA agent's identity when the case was about Scooter's obstructing justice in the leaking of a CIA's agent's identity is an example of chutzpah at the highest. (And I'm not even going to go into how odd it is to praise Libby for staying late in the evening to protect the life of an agent, and that everyone else apparently went home!)
As the judge's decision shows, these three, along with guys like Rumsfeld and John Bolton, were not, in the end, of any real service to their friend Scooter. This is hardly surprising. Their concept of service to the nation is warped as well. In the end, Potemkin was not of real service to the Tsar either. Like a later adviser to a Tsar, Rasputin, this troika of Feith-Perle Wolfowitz at times seem indestructible.. As badly as things seem to be going for the neo-cons now, they'll be back.
(With Thanks to memeorandum and FiredogLake's great Live Blogging)
Comments