A new account of the CIA leak scandal rocking the White House suggests top US presidential aides were seriously concerned about a dissident faction inside the US spy agency that appeared to work even behind the back of the CIA director to debunk the notion Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
The first-hand account, delivered yesterday by Judith Miller, a New York Times reporter at the center of the leak story, cast a new light on the byzantine world of Washington politics rife with political intrigue, backstabbing and career-ruining retribution for expressing an opposing view.
Miller spent 58 days in jail earlier this year for refusing to talk to a special prosecutor about her three 2003 interviews with Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, whose name is often mentioned in connection with the illegal leaking to the media of the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame.
Her name was first disclosed in July 2003 by conservative columnist Robert Novak following her husband Joseph Wilson's mission to Niger the previous year, during which the former US ambassador to that African nation tried to verify reports that Iraq was secretly trying to purchase uranium ore there.
After failing to find any evidence of that, Wilson wrote a newspaper article, in which he accused the Bush administration of "exaggerating the Iraqi threat" in order to justify the war.
Miller said the article "appeared to have agitated Mr. Libby," who referred to Wilson as a "clandestine guy."
He added that the CIA "took it upon itself to try and figure out more" about the uranium allegations without informing either the White House or its own director, the journalist recalled.
All in all, Libby was concerned the CIA was engaged in a "perverted war" over the war in Iraq and resorted to "selective leaking" of information to drive its point home, according to the report.
He believed the CIA was "backpedaling on the intelligence leading to war," Miller said.
The Tourism Administration yesterday announced that it would reward repeat international visitors with incentives of up to NT$8,000 to boost inbound tourism. The incentives are available to all international tourists, it said, adding that repeat visitors would be rewarded with NT$5,000 and would receive an additional NT$3,000 if they bring travel companions. The nation received 2,990,657 inbound visitors during the first quarter, marking a 3.8 percent increase from the same period last year, agency data showed. Japanese nationals are among groups visiting Taiwan the most. About 1.48 million Japanese tourists arrived last year, a year-on-year increase of more than 12
66 FIGHTER JETS: The aircraft is likely undergoing preparations for its transfer to Taiwan — a significant step forward in the nation’s modernization program, a lawmaker said The first of Taiwan’s order of F-16V Block 70 aircraft has been sighted in Texas ahead of delivery, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said. Taiwan’s first F-16V Block 70 two-seat aircraft, tail number 6831, was seen flying from Lockheed Martin’s production facility in Greenville, South Carolina, to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth in Texas, Wang wrote on Facebook yesterday. The plane is likely undergoing preparations for its transfer to Taiwan, marking a significant step forward in the Republic of China Air Force’s modernization program, Wang said, citing military analysts. The F-16V Block 70 is a new-build version
‘BRAZEN’: The holiday did not stop China from activities that infringe on Taiwan’s maritime jurisdiction, but the CGA is ready to defend the nation, Kuan Bi-ling said Beijing is intensifying maritime pressure on Taiwan, but the nation will never yield, Ocean Affairs Council Deputy Minister Sung Chen-en (宋承恩) said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) has adopted a “shadowing and monitoring” approach to avoid falling into a Chinese trap to escalate tensions and deepen the conflict, Sung said in an interview published yesterday in the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper). China Coast Guard formations patrolling waters east of Taiwan, as well as official Chinese vessels entering areas around Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) and Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) show Beijing’s attempts to significantly step up
Taiwanese aviator Roger Lin (林睿哲) returned to Taiwan on Saturday after completing a nine-day round-the-world journey in a single-engine aircraft, becoming the first Taiwanese pilot to achieve the feat. Lin departed on June 5 from Los Angeles, California, and continued through Alaska, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal, Jordan, Norway, Iceland and Canada before landing at the Taipei International Airport (Songshan) via Los Angeles and Japan. Lin shared numerous photos and videos of his journey on a Facebook page titled “Pilot Roger’s Around the World Flight,” including a video showing his aircraft flying over the Danjiang Bridge and
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