Demoralizing the CIA

Matthew Cole. Remember that name. He is the freelance reporter hired by ABC news for a story about the CIA interrogations at Gitmo. In this story, Cole names two top advisors and pastes their photos, full name, and business location for all to see. I will not mention those names nor provide a link to Cole’s story because I think his actions have placed these two men and their families in grave danger. But I will mention that Cole has a book soon to be released about the CIA – no doubt providing motivation to drum up as much controversy as he can, to hell with the consequences. This was not a report, it was a hit-piece.

Cole is also known for a freelance story written shortly after 9/11 on the difficult treatment Muslims had to endure in the US after the attacks. I can’t find any story he wrote on the suffering of the victims of those attacks.

I will also link to this story by ABC news in July 2008 detailing the so-called impeachable offenses of the Bush administration, including the supposed “outing” of non-covert CIA worker Valerie Plame. This is just to add a little context to the hit-piece. After all, Plame was just a pencil pusher behind a desk, the two guys Cole just outed were involved in classified actions. Cole just passed some vital information to our al qaeda enemies, all in the name of trumpeting his book, furthering his pathetic career, and slandering the Bush administration. These two men played an integral role in keeping us safe post-9/11. Today, they are in danger because of the actions of a reckless reporter and a reckless news agency. And we are all in danger because of the actions of the Dem majority who seem intent on dismantling and demoralizing the CIA.
Rest assured, we will hear much more on this story. Matthew Cole has no doubt committed journalistic malpractice. I am disgusted by people like him who have infected the US media. They can’t muster an actual thought-provoking question for the President, yet they don’t hesitate to imperil two CIA advisors who were involved in dangerous activity. They curse these men while weeping for Kalid Shiekh Muhammed and the “torture” he had to endure. Cole needs to spend some face time with families who lost loved-ones in the World Trade Center. Or maybe he should hang out with the special forces in Afghanistan and Pakistan who place their lives on the line every day to keep reckless journalists free. Or maybe he should watch the beheading videos that al qaeda loves to publicize, or talk to Daniel Pearle’s family about the “inhumane treatment” of Gitmo detainees. I am sickened by people like him. Sickened.

On the heels of the CIA memo release, the Dems have begun to dismantle the very framework that kept us safe. Make no mistake, the CIA is currently demoralized, with many of our frontline agents looking over their shoulder wondering if Congress is going to drag them into a hearing. They feel betrayed. So much so that Chairman of Intelligence Committee, Silvestre Reyes, felt compelled to write this letter to the CIA to try to smooth things over. To echo the words of Jed Babbin, note the subtle hint that he won’t prosecute any CIA agent for “authorized” actions. Or that he wants to move the CIA/Congress interactions from “mere notification to real discussion”. In other words, none of this is Congress’s fault because they were only notified without any real discussion of the matter, so you can’t blame Pelosi for not stopping it when she was told. And nothing can further demoralize the CIA than the prospect of more Congressional oversight interfering with their already dangerous jobs, except maybe a hit-piece outing two of their top advisors.

Scooter Libby was sent to jail for doing much less than what Cole did. ABC news and Matthew Cole must be held accountable. This is outrageous.

By the way, here is a list of some of ABC’s top advertisers – just in case you wanted to know: Target, SC Johnson, AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Ethan Allen, ING. And don’t forget, ABC is owned by DISNEY.