Bush Administration Blows Security on Spy Effort Into Al Queda

You know, if this happened during the Clinton administration, the right wing would be all up in arms, 24/7, with Limbaugh and Fox going nuts.

But since it was their bumbling hero Bush, they're not saying anything.

Here's what happened: a private security outfit, called SITE, infiltrated Al Queda's e-network and managed to acquire very early a copy of Bin Laden's latest video. SITE then offered to share the video with the White House, but of course asked that it be kept secret so that SITE infiltration would not be detected.

Big mistake. Within hours of sharing the info with the Bushies, it got LEAKED to the news media, including FOX, which put it up on its own website with all the identifying info. (See "Leak Severed a Link to Al-Qaeda's Secrets")

Gee, do you think one of W's r-wingers hit the ol' speed dial to Fox and alerted them that the White House had gotten an advance copy of Bin Laden's latest. Probably implied that this was due to some terrific White House sleuthing, etc., etc.

So now Al Queda has shut down the channels through which SITE got the video--and had been getting other surreptitious info on Al Queda.

Of course, the party line from the administration and its media apologists is that the government has its own means of getting similar intelligence. Well, let's hope they don't share it with anyone in the West Wing, lest it, too, get compromised.