Another One Bites The Dust...

Another US official has taken the blame for El Busho's "Niger Nukes" faux-pas. Bush's deputy national security adviser, Stephen J. Hadley (what the heck is the J. for?) says he saw CIA warnings against using the claims, but "forgot". Hadley had even received a phone call from CIA director George Tenet (who already tried to take the blame for this) on the same issue. He still forgot to drop the references, even though he was drafting the State Of The Union address.

Hadley says national security adviser Condoleeza Rice (who should have resigned when she threatened to a year ago, before she abandoned all pretence of integrity) was not made aware of the doubts but "feels personal responsibility as well."

This is obviously a crock of good old fashioned faeces. The State Of the Union address is very carefully crafted and reviewed. It is - in a normal year - probably THE major Presidential speech. It would have been reviewed and approved by a whole swathe of Bush insiders.

Tenet tried to take the blame earlier, saying that if someone in his department had made a mistake, he as director would take responsibility. It was a clumsy attempt to protect El Busho, and it didn't wash. So where does the buck stop now?

Hadley is not resigning. Why not? He screwed up big time and - unless El Busho knew what was going on - he embarrassed his Generallisimo big time. Or if Condoleeza is Hadley's boss, why doesn't she resign? She could then write a best-selling insider account of what is really going on in the White House these days. Hey, if she spilled the beans on the administration, maybe they would even give her a pardon?!?

And how about this for an enigmatic final word from Hadley: "There is always the likelihood we will find additional information."