I'm always a fan of "let's think about who's leaking this story analysis of news coverage," and David Frum* has one which I don't necessarily beleive, but is nevertheless thought-provoking:
http://www.nationalreview.com/frum/diary041904.asp APR. 19, 2004: CONSPIRACY THEORY After 24 hours, it�s agreed that the biggest news to emerge from Bob Woodward�s book is the allegation that the Saudis promised to manipulate the price of oil to help President Bush�s re-election. John Kerry had this to say yesterday in Florida: �If what Bob Woodward reports is true � that gas supplies and prices in America are tied to the American election, then tied to a secret White House deal � that is outrageous and unacceptable.� But is it true? Ask yourself this: Who could have been Woodward�s source for this claim? Only one person: the canny Prince Bandar, Saudi Arabia�s ambassador to the United States and a frequent purveyor of titillating items to selected journalists. Next question: If such a deal existed, what motive could Prince Bandar have for revealing it? The revelation could only hurt Bush, the candidate Bandar was allegedly trying to help. Logical next thought: If, however, Bandar wanted to hurt Bush, then the revelation makes a great deal of sense. But why would Bandar want to hurt Bush? Don�t a hundred conspiracy books tell us that the Bush family are thralls of Saudi oil money? Perhaps the Saudis don�t think so. Perhaps they see President Bush�s Middle East policy as a threat to their dominance and even survival. What could after all be a worse nightmare for Saudi Arabia than a Western-oriented, pluralistic Iraq pumping all the oil it can sell? In other words, if what Bob Woodward reports is true, then the Saudis are meddling to defeat Bush, not elect him. * - David Frum is a former Bush speech-writer. He claims credit for the "axis of evil" line, for example. Thus, his own biases certainly need to be considered also.... _______________________________________________________ John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] "The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world, it is God's gift to humanity." - George W. Bush 1/29/03 _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
