Of course, the GOP hysteria over the topic isn't really about anything Berger did. It's about fear of the upcoming 9/11 report. Stealing this from the Center for American Progress:
REPUBLICANS ADMIT THE TIMING SMELLS: CBS News reported last night that even Republicans "say the timing of the investigation's disclosure smells like politics, leaked to the press just two days before the 9/11 Commission report comes out." Republican strategist Eddie Mahe said, "somebody is manipulating the process." Why? Because, as the WP reports, the final report by the commission concludes Iraq "never established operational ties" with al Qaeda. In other words, the Commission is about to formally conclude that one of the two major justifications the administration gave for war in Iraq was a fraud. With the WMD justification also proving false, the administration is desperate to distract from polls that show a majority of Americans say the war was a mistake. Even more troubling for the White House, almost half the public now says the White House "deliberately misled" America about Iraq. It was this fear that the Commission would embarrass the Bush administration that led the White House to oppose its creation. And it is no surprise that yesterday Commission Chairman Tom Kean admitted that some wanted the 9/11 Commission to fail.
MOTIVE ACCUSATIONS JUST PLAIN SILLY: Reuters reports "Republicans accused Berger of taking the documents so they could be used by the Kerry campaign at a news conference on port security." Said Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA): "Right after the documents were taken, John Kerry held a photo op and attacked the president on port security. The documents that were taken may have been utilized for that press conference." Although the timing in this fable may be accurate, one thing is clear: neither Kerry nor any citizen in America needs secret documents from the National Archives to know the Bush administration and Republicans in Congress have dangerously underfunded seaport and airport security. As American Progress fellow PJ Crowley notes, while the Coast Guard has said it needs $7.5 billion for key port security upgrades, the White House has requested just $45 million this year. Similarly, as the Century Foundation reports, while "the Transportation Security Administration estimates there is a 35% to 65% chance that terrorists are planning to place a bomb in the cargo of a U.S. passenger plane" the administration has only provided funding to make sure that 5% of air cargo is screened.
SAXBY CHAMBLISS – A RIGHT-WING SMEAR ARTIST: As the Dallas Morning News reports, the Berger affair "took on a slightly comic note" as Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) claimed without any proof that Berger "put some papers in his trousers" (Berger categorically denies this charge). Chambliss, of course, has made his career dishonestly smearing decorated war heroes who lost limbs in Vietnam, even while he refused to explain how he avoided all military service during the war. In his 2002 race against triple amputee veteran Max Cleland, Chambliss "ran a TV ad picturing Cleland with Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden." At the same time the ads were running, Chambliss refused to explain how he received three draft deferments – including two for a "bum knee" even though he still found a way to play baseball in college.
WHERE IS THE LEAK OUTRAGE?: CBS News reports the controversy "was triggered by a carefully orchestrated leak" about the FBI's investigation of the matter. Yet, top administration officials and Republicans who have previously expressed outrage about leaks were nowhere to be found. There was no statement of outrage or call for an investigation from Attorney General John Ashcroft who in 2001 said leaks "do substantial damage to the security interests of the nation." Similarly, there was nothing from the Chambliss, who one year ago said "leaks have always been a problem and continue to be a problem." And it was all quiet at the Pentagon, despite Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stating last year that leaks are "disgraceful, they're unprofessional, they're dangerous."
NO SIMILAR OUTRAGE ABOUT BUSH RECORDS BEING DESTROYED: Even as Rush Limbaugh and the GOP's congressional leadership insinuate without proof that Berger was deliberately trying to destroy records, they have made little mention about last week's disclosure that President Bush's key military draft records were destroyed by Pentagon officials. The documents in question would have proven whether the President was lying about whether he fulfilled his military service that allowed him to avoid going to Vietnam. The destruction of the documents has forced the Associated Press to sue for copies of them, which are legally required to exist in the Texas archives. Despite promises to release all documents, the president has refused to release the Texas copies.
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