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Ear to the Ground

Government Accused of Censorship

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Posted on Dec 19, 2006
redacted document
slate.com

The National Security Council has blocked publication of an article critical of the Bush administration’s Iran policy, claiming that it contains classified information. The piece was written by two former government Mideast experts, who have accused the NSC of playing politics: “They don’t want us to say how many opportunities this administration has missed to put relations with Iran on a better track.”

New York Times:

Officials said they still believed that it would be possible to reach an agreement with the authors, Flynt L. Leverett and Hillary Mann, on a publishable version of the article. They are career Mideast analysts who say they left the government after becoming disenchanted with administration policies.

They married in 2003.

Mr. Leverett, who had worked at the Central Intelligence Agency and the N.S.C. until 2003, and Ms. Mann, who worked at the State Department and the security council until 2004, said they were sure that political considerations were involved.

“There is no plausible claim that this is confidential stuff,” Mr. Leverett said in an interview. “There’s no detail in these paragraphs that has not already been written about by me and other officials.”

They said the draft article called for a new diplomatic approach to relations with Iran and pointed out that the United States had worked fruitfully with Iran after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and in the Afghanistan conflict in 2002.

The authors said the administration did not want that history emphasized when it is resisting pressure to renew contacts with Iran.

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By Rodney Matthews, December 19, 2006 at 3:17 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

We have no freedom of the press under this president. If we don’t knoe the truth ,then we’ll have to believe the lies. Bush is looking more like Putin everyday!

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By vet240, December 19, 2006 at 1:29 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Of course, not having the complete article in front of me, I can’t judge the validity of the claims by the NSC regarding their claim that disclosure would comprimise the need for secrecy.

Having said that, I do believe there are too many “Intelligence” orginizations in the U.S. There are I believe a total of at least sixteen. Each with it’s own agenda. I sometimes believe some of these agencies put their own priorities ahead of the priorities of the American Government. There was a time when I would have said Humbug to the idea that a group of individuals might sell out the country for their advantage, but that idea died during Vietnam.

What is needed here? The people need to take back the Government from the corporate interest groups. Then we need to take back control of the inter-governmental agencies through rigorous over-sight.

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By rae2, December 19, 2006 at 11:15 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

This isn’t news.

Of COURSE our governments censor EVERYTHING they publish. It’s part of the game known as “Half-Truth is Good Enough.” They lie & mislead. We know it. We lie & cheat. They know it.

And life goes on as if everything is peachy-keen.

Almost all of us are conniving hypocrites wandering around making like our own shit don’t stink. Ain’t it enough to make you puke?

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By mite, December 19, 2006 at 10:42 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Long live the movie “V”. People should not be afraid of government-government should fear the people.

Article III section.3 Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on The Testimony of two Witnessses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court. U.S. Constitution 1791

Have we the citizens of this Republic ever asked after reading the above in this document; why government demands access to all our information (our lives) but we are denied access to government information under NSC, CIA, and Congresses excuses under different classifications. Have we not been declared war upon us?

I ask you what about the North American Union, NAFTA, International Highway from Mexico through U.S. into Canada. http://www.spp.gov http://www.cfr.org http://www.worldnetdaily.com http://www.americanpolicy.org

What about the passage and signed into law of the Patriot Acts, Military Commissions Act and the 1000’s of Executive Orders and signing statements the Presidents have signed into law bypassing Congress since 1913.

Is this not TREASON- any action that stems to destroy our Constitution, Bill of Rights, and our sovereignty as a nation. I say it is.

If we read the Patriot Act and compare it to Hitlers `Enabling Act’ 1933 we find the same actions of Treason. Is there not also a law on the books that addresses the action to over throw our government- there is. These individuals; U.N., CFR, Trilateral-Commission, Federal Reserve-IRS, and Bilderberg’s, Bush, Cheney, and others want a New World Order and the total destruction of the U.S.

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By rowdyruffian, December 19, 2006 at 10:24 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

they should put their article on the web and tell bush to get fucked.

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By Unsurprised, December 19, 2006 at 8:12 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

This is yet another indication that—as insane as it sounds, and even after all the neocons’ spectacular disasters—the Bush administration is STILL determined to please the Israel lobby by dragging us into a military assault on Iran.

God help us all.

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By rabblerowzer, December 19, 2006 at 7:07 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Bush’s tax-cut liberation of America’s plutocracy, and his little wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have damn near bankrupted the country. What if this megalomaniac’s Napoleonic delusions of grander result in a Big War?

Half a trillion dollars has disappeared down the war-profiteering Military Industrial Complex rat-hole, and we’re losing! Not to worry though, he’s planning to attack Iran to steal their oil to recoup our losses. If we don’t lose that is.

Hey, it’s not his money, it’s ours. George W. Bush has made a career out of losing other people’s money while he came out smelling like a rose. His “base” will back him up to the end because win, lose or draw, war is the goose that lays the golden eggs for our plutocracy.

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By LibertyWatch, December 19, 2006 at 6:40 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

The truth is the enemy of an administration built upon lies, deceit and falsehoods. At this point nothing stated by the Whitehouse is trustworthy and anything stated by the Republican cadre is most likely false as well and the narrowly owned, commercial media are being manipulated by greed to support the lies and fail to research and report the facts.

This current government is only interested in the wealthy and oil. . . the rest of us must go through our daily struggles with hubris upon our backs from the Bush administration.

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