A few 'scoops' to share... I work at a policy shop in DC, and a good friend of mine is very well connected in Washington --
extremely well connected. I wrote him late last night when the weapons cache story hit, and his note back was rather provocative:
"It's good for a day or two of hits. Trust me, lots more stuff coming. NYT has been saving them for this week. They HATE Bush, and they have a whole bunch of stories ready to go."
I believed him from the get-go, and Drudge's new scoop pretty much confirms it: "New legal opinion by Bush admin concluded for first time some non-Iraqi prisoners captured by US forces in Iraq not entitled toprotections of Geneva Conventions, NYT set to lead in Tuesday editions, newsroom sources tell DRUDGE... Developing."
Another bit below...
This is a bit more speculative, but interesting nonetheless. As some here know, Colin Powell took an unexpected trip to Asia this week, with brief visits to the capitals of China, Korea, and Japan. The trip raised eyebrows given its proximity to the elections the fact it was announced so suddenly. CBS News [
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/21/opinion/diplomatic/main650727.shtml] and others have mentioned the trip, but their analysis has been extremely benign. For example, the CBS piece ends:
There is one possible reason for making such a trip, however, that no one wants to talk about, publicly at least. If widely held assumptions that Colin Powell will not serve another term as secretary of state are true, even if there' a Bush victory in November, now may well be his last chance to go to these allies in person and say his farewells while he is still America's top diplomat. Now if that's what's really behind this trip at this time, well, that does make some sense.
So Powell, a career diplomat, wants to say goodbye? Not likely. The interesting theory I was told -- and take this with a grain of salt -- was that State may have intel suggesting N. Korea is about to test a nuclear weapon, knowing they would have immediately have the absolute, undivided attention of the world. Attempts to attract the spotlight such as this fit Pyongyang's pattern (remember their actions during the lead-up to the Iraq war), so the theory is interesting to ponder, even if it likely isn't the case.
Exciting times, to say the least!