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Post by Galvin on Jul 26, 2004 21:25:17 GMT -7
The facts that Mr. Berger's security transgressions occurred last year as he prepared his testimony for the 9/11 Commision and that the hearings concerning it occurred over 10 months ago in September 2003 are not in question, they are a matter of fact. The fact that they are just happening to surface just prior to the opening of the Democratic National Convention is also a bit of sychronicity so perfect as to warrant suspicion that the story of it has not just coincidentally come to light at this time.
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Post by MrRepublican on Jul 27, 2004 3:37:17 GMT -7
I believe that this is the same time that the report was released (before the DNC convention).
Curious timing? I find it curious that the democrats on the 9-11 commission (who already knew that Berger had stuffed these documents down his pants and in his socks) never questioned him about his motivation to do so when he DID testify. This would have given Bill Clinton's NSA an opportunity to explain his theft of these documents before the commission and before the report was released. The timing of this obvious attempt to conceal what the former NSA did is extremely curious.
It appears to me that even though these clowns have been out of office for 3 1/2 years, the Clinton File-gate saga continues on.
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Post by Galvin on Jul 27, 2004 4:44:17 GMT -7
"I find it curious that the democrats on the 9-11 commission (who already knew that Berger had stuffed these documents down his pants and in his socks) never questioned him about his motivation to do so when he DID testify."
Even curiouser is that the republicans on the committee didn't find it necessary to question his motivations either.
What I also find amazing about all this hoopla is the fact that Sandy Berger is no longer a member of any administration, is not running for public office, has admitted his guilt in taking the documents, knew he had no access to the originals of the documents and therefore could not have been bent on destroying them to "conceal what the NSA had done", and is yet being held up as having some sort of sinister motive in taking them home. Shall we once again convene another blue ribbon investigative committee, appoint a special prosecutor, and again waste millions of the taxpayers money to prove what we already know?
Why don't we get back to doing what is important for this country instead of attempting to extract the last drop of political oil out of what is essentially a non-event? And I don't buy that this only came to light because of the release of the report. If it has been known by the members of the committee since last year and is actually as important an event that some of the right wing talk show hosts would have us believe then you can bet you last dollar it would have been used to the max to beat up on Clinton (And, of course, Kerry) from the very get-go. As it is, it has been held back to be released only now because its only political value is as a minor distractor and those trying to inflate its importance are perfectly aware of that fact.
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Post by Grug - American Neanderthal on Jul 27, 2004 4:58:35 GMT -7
Heh, I don't find it that curious if one were to look at the political purpose of the 9-11 commision, it wasn't to find fault with past leadership, it was to see if it could find a issue for the up coming election. Seems to have fell short.
This Berger "non event" is just another in the long line of supposed "non events" from the previous admin, and I keep hearing how somehow the Bush admin is the most secretive and to be feared for usurption of power in history? Not hardly. If I had to condemn it on anything, it would be the continuation of "politics, as usual".
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Post by Cablemender on Jul 27, 2004 13:11:28 GMT -7
What I also find amazing about all this hoopla is the fact that Sandy Berger is no longer a member of any administration, is not running for public office, has admitted his guilt in taking the documents, knew he had no access to the originals of the documents and therefore could not have been bent on destroying them to "conceal what the NSA had done", and is yet being held up as having some sort of sinister motive in taking them home. Shall we once again convene another blue ribbon investigative committee, appoint a special prosecutor, and again waste millions of the taxpayers money to prove what we already know?
Why don't we get back to doing what is important for this country instead of attempting to extract the last drop of political oil out of what is essentially a non-event? No, we shouldn't appoint a special prosecutor, we should use the existing Justice Department resources to charge and prosecute him and put him in jail. That's what would happen if you or I did it. Do you think he's above the law because Clinton made judgement errors and got his reputation kicked out of him? According to the news reports of eyewitnesses to Berger's venture, he took notes from ORIGINAL documents, not copies. I've also been to the NARA center and the one time I got to examine an original document (a letter written during Lincoln's presidency) I had to wear gloves in case I accidentally touched it. Now I've worked in nuclear power plants and I believe NARA has far stricter controls than handling nuclear waste. I had a staffer on one side of the table, the letter was placed on a plastic sheet on a table, and I was on the other side of the table. I had a time limit, but I can't remember now if it was 3 or 5 minutes, something like that. NO writing instument was allowed in the room, so I had to dictate my notes into a cassette recorder. So something about this whole thing stinks. Either he had access to originals and NARA let him run free, or he was dumb enough to steal copies. Either way, he stole them, and I haven't heard anything about who might possibly have seen them if he didn't destroy them, which he only "thinks" he did.. possibly. It would have been pretty lame for him to deny taking them, since his admission came after a search warrant was executed at his home and some of the documents were discovered and retrieved. That has never been a good defense for anyone else, and shouldn't for Berger. Just think, this is the guy who RAN national security for years, and he can't keep his own notes from NARA documents. He should be charged and given a public trial like everyone else. Maybe a couple of these would cut down the free handouts of classified documents by "high government officials."
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Post by MrRepublican on Jul 27, 2004 13:56:25 GMT -7
Apparently when it comes to democrats stealing classified documents, the liberals feel that they are above the law. The fact of the matter is that Berger did it, and that Berger is a democrat.
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