Imagine what those contradictors would think about any country that interfered with America and its government like our CIA and neocons do in foreign governments. It really is do as I say, not do as I do. Our unbelievable arrogance is sickening to behold. Those who have led our foreign policy and decisions are the real traitors to our ideals and supposed belief in democracy. The fact that the M$M still gives them a major voice shows how far the M$M has fallen. David Gregory wouldn't recognize the fourth estate role of the M$M if it was tattooed on his forehead and someone gave him a mirror. He'd be too busy admiring his face and counting his money to even notice. And if by chance he noticed, he would think it was more real estate to buy.

Lessons for the U.S. As Iran Unravels

Time, By Robin Wright Monday, Jun. 22, 2009 (see sig)

Who would have thought that Iran, a country that has been the nemesis of the past five American Presidents, might actually become a model for what Washington wants to see happen politically in the Middle East?

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1906109,00.html?xid=newsletter-daily

The answer Ms. Wright is all those who actually know and understand Iran, many of whom commented on UT today. Those who are amazed are those who instead of evaluating facts or doing any real research only care about supporting an ideological/political position or a stenographer reporter like you.

“Editors and our research teams are constantly reviewing our online content to ensure we bring readers the most value when they are on our Web site while balancing the need to make the most of our resources. Regrettably, this means that sometimes features must be eliminated, and this time it was the blog that Dan Froomkin freelanced” to The Post’s Web site.

The bold faced words mean Dan was always an outsider. In the Ombudsman explanation note these bold faced words.

When it began, the column was called “White house Briefing.” But the name was changed after concerns by some at The Post newspaper that readers might believe Froomkin was a White House reporter, working alongside those offering objective news reporters.

Froomkin probably spoke the truth and criticized the insiders once too often.

Post Axes Froomkin's "White House Watch" (see sig)

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ombudsman-blog/2009/06/post_axes_froomkins_white_hous.html#more

I'll miss Dan until he lands somewhere else or decides to take another path. Not all the pundits left are RWAs. I have a lot of respect for Eugene Robinson, E.J. Dionne jr. , Fareed Zakaria, and sometimes Michael Kinsley. Take a look at the full list and see who else remains as a voice to counter all the RWA propaganda. Not many and one very important one was axed.

Joel Achenbach

Anne Applebaum

David S. Broder

Jonathan Capehart

Richard Cohen

Jackson Diehl

E.J. Dionne Jr.

Marc Fisher

Dan Froomkin

Michael Gerson

Fred Hiatt

Jim Hoagland

David Ignatius

Robert Kagan

Al Kamen

Colbert I. King

Michael Kinsley

Charles Krauthammer

William Kristol

Sebastian Mallaby

Ruth Marcus

Harold Meyerson

Dana Milbank

Courtland Milloy

Kathleen Parker

Steven Pearlstein

Eugene Robinson

Robert J. Samuelson

George F. Will

Fareed Zakaria

By Peter Finn and Julie Tate Washington Post Staff Writers, Tuesday, June 16, 2009 (see sig)

An al-Qaeda associate captured by the CIA and subjected to harsh interrogation techniques said his jailers later told him they had mistakenly thought he was the No. 3 man in the organization's hierarchy and a partner of Osama bin Laden, according to newly released excerpts from a 2007 hearing.

"They told me, 'Sorry, we discover that you are not Number 3, not a partner, not even a fighter,' " said Abu Zubaida, speaking in broken English, according to the new transcript of a Combatant Status Review Tribunal held at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

President George W. Bush described Abu Zubaida in 2002 as "al-Qaeda's chief of operations." Intelligence, military and law enforcement sources told The Washington Post this year that officials later concluded he was a Pakistan-based "fixer" for radical Islamist ideologues, but not a formal member of al-Qaeda, much less one of its leaders.

Abu Zubaida, a nom de guerre for Zayn al-Abidin Muhammed Hussein, told the 2007 panel of military officers at the detention facility in Cuba that "doctors told me that I nearly died four times" and that he endured "months of suffering and torture" on the false premise that he was an al-Qaeda leader.

Abu Zubaida, 38, was subjected 83 times to waterboarding, a technique that leads victims to believe they are drowning and that has been widely condemned as torture. The Palestinian was held at a secret CIA facility after his capture in Pakistan in March 2002.

The Abu Zubaida transcript, and those of five other "high-value detainees," including Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request and lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union. Versions of the transcripts were released by the Pentagon in 2007.

[…]

Although little new information was released in the hearing transcript for Majid Khan, an alleged associate of Mohammed and a former resident of Baltimore, the extent of the redactions is more apparent in the latest document. When referring to his treatment at CIA "black site" prisons, the Pakistani's transcript is blacked out for eight consecutive pages. In the version released earlier, this entire section was marked by a single word: "REDACTED."

Similar redactions appear in other transcripts released yesterday. The ACLU said the continued level of redaction was unacceptable and vowed to return to court to press for unexpurgated transcripts.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/15/AR2009061503045.html