So, the blame shifts back to the White House, after a failed attempt to blame the CIA and the Brits.
But, of course, it doesn't end here. It is absurd to think that an aide to Rice had the clout to overrule the opinion of the CIA and the State Dept. The CIA chief had personally intervened, before the State of the Union address, to get that claim out of a previous Bush speech. Powell looked at the evidence, and said, "this is bullshit", and refused to include it in his own speeches.
It's a very short list, of people who can overrule the CIA and State Dept. Has to be the Vice President, or the President.
If the newest fall guy got fired, he'd have no reason to continue to be a Team Player. This is how the Nixon cover-up got dissected; when people realized they were going to be sacrificed, they turned their bosses in. |
