Tuesday, January 13, 2004

Powerline blows former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill's "Secret documents" out of the water in his attack on his former employer.

"But that is not a Pentagon document. It's from the Vice-President's Office. It was part of the Energy Project that was the focus of Dick Cheney's attention before the 9/11 strikes.

"And the document has nothing to do with post-war Iraq. It was part of a study of global oil supplies. Judicial Watch obtained it in a law suit and posted it, along with related documents, on its website at: http://www.judicialwatch.org/071703.c_.shtml.

...

So the "smoking gun" documents that Suskind and O'Neill claim prove that the administration was planning to invade Iraq in March 2001 are part of a package that includes identical documents relating to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Does Paul O'Neill claim the administration was planning on invading them, too? Or, as Mylroie says, was this merely part of the administration's analysis of sources of energy in the 21st century?


Nevertheless, the left is still fuming at the mouth. Next up, they'll start comparing the speed at which Treasury opened an investigation and how long it took Justice to open an investigation in the Wilson affair. Don't listen to them, however, because the CIA opened an investigation immediately after the Novak article appeared in July 2003. It took the Justice Department time to deal with the referral because of questions they asked to the CIA. The same may occur here, but for the time being the comparison is a red herring.

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