Russell Tice & Five More Scandals That Need Whistleblowing

Yes, I’m going to use the “whistleblower” cliché in my blog post title. Other words I could have used: snitch, informer, stool pigeon. If you have any other, better suggestions, let me know.

I digress.

Russell Tice (ex-NSA agent and wiretapping whistleblower of New York Times fame) appeared on Countdown with Keith Olbermann last night[1. Rest assured, I put about as much credible weight in Olbermann's show as I do in any other political hack's (he can be/has become a hack, see: worst persons in the world segment). What's unclear is whether Olbermann knowingly hacks to counteract popular conservative shows like the O'Reilly Factor, or, if in his pursuit to counteract conservative blowhards, he became exactly what he hated. The truth may lie somewhere in the middle. On a second side note, I wonder if my true hesitance with Olbermann is that he walks a fine line between extreme seriousness and joke/parody; I'm not sure the two are quite appropriate in one show. At least on the Daily Show or Colbert Report, the rapport is consistent.]. In his interview with Olbermann, Tice claimed that groups of Americans, including reporters and journalists, had been specifically targeted for surveillance and extensively watched by the NSA. Anyway, the actual claims he made are insubstantial to this post, but suffice to say, are quite alarming if they’re true.

What I found interesting about this claim, and what instigated the following list, is that Tice waited, purposely, until the Bush administration was out of office before making this accusation. We can only infer that he waited out of fear of retaliation which isn’t really surprising considering, for instance, the Plame scandal. Whether his claims are credible or not – though I’m personally inclined to think there’s some truth to them – the thought occurred to me after I finished watching the interview: how many more people will come out now that they needn’t fear the hammer of the executive branch?

And so, to satiate my own curiosity, I’ve made a list of five scandals I wouldn’t mind seeing more whistleblowers come out of:

1) The Attorney General Firings: “I don’t recall” still rings in my ears over a year after the Alberto Gonzales hearings. From the bogus lawsuits specifically focused against Democratic candidates to the use of government employees to help get Republicans elected, this is possibly the worst political scandal that came out of the Bush administration. It’s tainted our legal system and left a strong reminder of how far beyond decency unchecked power can stretch.
2) Torture: The Bush administration’s involvement in the approval of torture, and the methods used on detainees, is still under question. What we do know: over 200 people are still being held on foreign land without promise of trial. They’ve been kept there without promise of release and with no fair trial in sight. How strong was the role of the executive branch in this offensive taint on American justice?
3) Pre-Iraq War Intelligence: First it was nuclear weapons, then it was chemical weapons, then it was connections to Al Qaeda. What the fuck?
4) ???: There’s no doubt that the list of scandals coming out of the Bush administration is large, yet, it’s also hard to believe this is the end. The incipient behavior of people like Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, Alberto Gonzales, and a cast of thousands, makes it hard to believe this is the end. A careful look at the last 8 years will surely yield plenty more gems in the passing of time that will inevitably flocculate[2. Webster's word of the day: to aggregate or coalesce into small lumps or loose clusters] to the top of the pot.
5) “Loss” of Executive Branch E-mails: How many of us actually believe someone accidentally pressed the delete button on e-mails belonging to Karl Rove and other administration officials?

Now, surely, I understand President Obama’s reluctance to look back on these issues. I support him in his belief that we must move forward and, on most occasions, forget about past grievances[3. Guantanamo Bay aside. The torture of human beings, no matter who they are, is unacceptable and this humble writer personally finds it offensive and degrading to the American reputation.]. Nevertheless, I find it interesting that, on the day after the exit of the Bush administration, there are already whistleblowers coming out of the woodwork. What do you guys think? Let me know in the comments.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 at 1:00 am and is filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.