Once again, a gem courtesy of Fark… an actual headline from the AP that needs no further comment:
Intelligence Probe Would Be Risky for Bush
Meanwhile, it seems that the president has reluctantly gone ahead and agreed to an investigation into the vaunted WMD claims.
By joining the effort to create the commission rather than allowing Congress to develop its framework on its own, Bush will likely have more leverage to keep the focus on the CIA and other intelligence organizations rather than on the White House. Democrats have asserted that Bush exaggerated the intelligence on Iraq to justify going war, a theory that was boosted by recent allegations from former Treasury secretary Paul H. O’Neill that Bush had been contemplating the ouster of Hussein long before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Politically, the decision to back an independent probe contains substantial risks for Bush. It means the White House will have to surrender some control over the timing of the investigation, raising the possibility that such a panel could release information about the intelligence failures before the Nov. 2 elections.
Part of me is elated at seeing evidence that the Bush juggernaut is starting to lose its steam; but the realistic part of me is quite sure that no matter what happens, this administration will find a way to spin it or get around it.
