RSSUsing PayPal
If You are Blocked from Ahmad Chalabi's Event -- Try Judith Miller for $375
Share / Recommend - Comment - Print - Tuesday, Nov 08 2005, 10:06PM
CLOSE 
SOCIAL WEBSITES
http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&url=http://twn.riverlab.com/archives/2005/11/if_you_are_bloc/&title=If You are Blocked from Ahmad Chalabi's Event -- Try Judith Miller for $375&topic=political_opinion" target="_blank">Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Facebook
Newsvine
Stumble UponEMAIL THIS ARTICLE
Arianna Huffington reports that Judy Miller is doing a gig in New York tomorrow evening (Wednesday) that will run guests $375.00 a head.
Bill Clinton charged $15,000 to enter the Clinton Global Initiative -- so tough to compare -- but at least the Clinton Foundation devoted the money to worthy global causes -- for the needy.
But the big news tomorrow is Ahmad Chalabi and the many folks gathering in front of the American Enterprise Institute to greet him.
It's all happening at 2 p.m. at 1150 17th Street, NW.
All I can urge is to make this trip a miserable one for him -- something that he will regret for some time. I'm sure he'll offer his trademark sneer at those Americans who are invoking their democratic privilege to tell him exactly what they think of his pre-war duplicity.
For those who aren't Chalabi fanatics, the word from many I know in the CIA is that Chalabi was the person who tipped off Saddam Hussein before a coup attempt against the Iraqi leader. The CIA had cut Chalabi out of the action -- because of misinformation that Chalabi had allegedly passed on and irresponsible management of sensitive information. For that, Chalabi tipped off Hussein.
Whether you are pro-war or anti-war in the Iraq case, Chalabi worked against American intelligence authorities. That is why the CIA and State Department hate him so deeply. Douglas Feith helped set him up. Others empowered him. I'll never forget the day I had lunch with him at the offices of the New Republic in an editorial meeting organized by Marty Peretz.
He was slick in all the bad ways, compelling -- but his obsession with power was clear, and it was not obvious to me that this guy had a respect for the tug-and-pull of real democratic discourse. He seemed like a mafia boss.
From Arianna on Chalabi and Miller:
Tomorrow will be a red letter day for fans of discredited neocon idols. In the afternoon, Ahmad Chalabi will be in Washington, giving a speech at the American Enterprise Institute. And in the evening, Judy Miller will be in New York, taking part in a panel discussion on reporters’ privilege at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers (7th Ave and 53rd St.), being sponsored by the Media Law Resource Center.Tickets are $375, which includes dinner.
Still time to book seats on the D.C./NY Shuttle!
Miller's fellow panelists include Time's Matt Cooper, Jim Taricani, a TV reporter who served four months of home arrest for refusing to reveal a source, and Rep. Mike Pence, co-sponsor of a bill that would create a federal shield law.
The panel was originally going to be moderated by Diane Sawyer -- and, as late as today, she was still listed on the MLRC's website. But according to the organization, due to a "last-minute cancellation", the panel will now be moderated by Nightline co-anchor Terry Moran.
So a "last-minute cancellation" caused Sawyer to cancel? Don't you hate when that happens?
Maybe it's just as well. It was hard to imagine Sawyer putting her journalistic credentials at risk to moderate a panel that included Judy Miller not as a target of derision and scorn but as an esteemed member of the fourth estate blabbering on about the need for a federal shield law that wouldn't have protected her anyway even if one had been in place.
Just got some other interesting news in.
Will be back shortly. While folks are spending big bucks on Judy Miller's "revelations" about her experience, I'm spending big bucks (well, sort of) blogging over the Atlantic Ocean on a Lufthansa flight. (Thanks for the financial support for those contributing to the blog!)
More soon.
-- Steve Clemons
P.S. Here is another nice note from Arianna about DPM Chalabi's visit with some suggestions to visit the FBI, Congress, and Arlington National Cemetary to do some confessing of sins. . .
« Previous Article - What about Arresting Ahmad Chalabi on the Street Tomorrow at 2 p.m.? Just an Idea» Next Article - New Yorkers: Arrest Ahmad Chalabi on Friday?
Only $375 to meet with Judy Kneepads... such a deal! You get a vest and two pair of pants! I'll take a dozen tickets. Is she going to blow Chalabi?
What would cause Diane Sawyer to suddenly become non available as moderator of the Judy Miller show?
I can easily picture Diane and Mike Nichols at breakfast this morning with Mike looking up and saying, "Dear....do you REALLY think this is a good use of your time?"
give yourself some rest, steve... i've taken that flight many times and, as you know, morning comes awfully early... FRA isn't a great place anyway and walking around half-dazed from lack of sleep doesn't help...
profmarcus -- thanks for the good advice. we are about to land...and have been working on the chalabi gathering from up here. also have some folks who will be inside the CFR meeting on Friday in New York. I'm going to stumble around Frankfurt for one hour -- then fly to Prague and have a couple of meetings, see a castle I think, and then head to Berlin in the evening. Sleep will be great -- but only after I hear a bit more about Chalabi meeting.
But what interesting and good news in New Jersey and Virginia.
Best,
Steve
Steve --
[Thanks so much for all you do. Haven't been able to comment here much lately, but I ALWAYS make sure to read your posts. Lately your passion about rescuing our republic has been very inspiring indeed!]
The bit about Chalabi as mafia boss rings so true -- although lately I've been thinking of the GOP-neocon-cultists in power more as a crime family than an administration anyway.
As an aside, if I'm remembering past video of Our Con-Man in Iraq correctly, doesn't Ahmad also have a weird, rigid, stick-up-the-butt type of gait, similar to Dubya's? My condolences that you actually had to share a meal with him. Being in the presence of concentrated evil is enervating.
To a degree, I disagree. I don't think Chalabi conned BushCo on WMDs. I think he delivered exactly what he was paid to do, lie about WMd's in a convincing way. The con men/women who harmed America's interests are right at the top of our government. I know we broke into his place and did a search, etc. but that was just to make it appear that Chalabi fooled us, but the fact is that he is now in charge of Iraq's oil, the only thing BushCo cares about. Nothing's coooled off between Chalabi and BushCo, quite the contrary. He's our guy to sign the oil leases. Why do you think he's meeting with Condi? It's not to get his hand slapped.
As for comparisions to the Mafia, I think the Mafia has far more honor for theives, than the Neocons. They are criminals, but not hypoctrites. If you do busniess with them, you're a criminal too, but they don't claim their greed is for God and country, they don't kill as indiscriminately, no unintended consequences or collateral damage, and waaaaay less bullshit.
Frankly, I think it would be an improvement if the Mafia were running things rather than that gang that don't seem to shoot straight or do anything else straight. It's all sham, show and shill and shiv. You know if the Mafia had to catch Bin Laden, it would have happened long ago.
Bush and Cheny don't have what it takes to be Mafia. Yes, Chalabi should be arrested, but so too should Bush and Cheney.
.....You know if the Mafia had to catch Bin Laden, it would have happened long ago.
Bush and Cheny don't have what it takes to be Mafia. Yes, Chalabi should be arrested, but so too should Bush and Cheney.
Posted by Kathleen
Actually, the mafia would have done with Bin Laden EXACTLY what the neocons did, with two major differences.
One, any "boogie man" that the Mafia presented to us would have been REAL, and two, we would have FOUND the body.
POA: Explain to me how one can be EXACTLY like something and simultaneously different. I'm curious.
My point is, they aren't really looking, or worse. I still want to know when Bin Laden got off the US payroll. We funded the creation of the Taliban in Afghanstan, the 9/11 bombers all entered the US through the US Embassy in Riyad, Saudi Arabia, went directly to Pensicola where they learned to fly, then highjacked 4 goddamned planes from US cities with no military jets intercepting them and crash into the WTC, Pentagon and the field in PA.
Meanwhile, the many relatives of the person responsible for this, who were in the US on 9/11 and most likely to know where OBL was, are flown out of the range of an investigation, back to Riyad. Our response was to round up a sundry bunch of Arabs and Muslims and spirit them off to various offshore prisons, to torture info they didn't have out of them. What's wrong with that picture?
Busholini likes to say we have to fight the terrorists where they live so we don't have to fight them at home. Well, he must have put the equivalent of Brownie in charge of that one because we were off the mark by a couple of countries.
POA: Explain to me how one can be EXACTLY like something and simultaneously different. I'm curious.
......
Posted by Kathleen
Dead is dead. That was my point.("Actually, the mafia would have done with Bin Laden EXACTLY what the neocons did...") Killed him, in other words.
Personally, I believe Bin Laden was killed BEFORE the WTC attack. But even if not, what would be the sense of Bush removing the spectre of an all powerful and evil boogie man???? Even if he was killed in a cave in Afghanistan, as some believe, why would Bush announce it? Hasn't the looming threat Bin Laden represents been an E-Ticket for Bush and his keepers???
I don't believe that Bin Laden was killed because Bushco are too thick with the Bin Ladens in business, but I do think he's been a perfect boogie man to scare the easilly herded folks. I think like Brownie, Bin Laden stayed on the US payroll. I'd rather be wrong.
Reader Comments (10) - post a comment