Rich writes in The Corner that he is “going to be rooting hard for

Chuck Schumer” who is pushing for disclosure of our intelligence on the role of

Saudi Arabia in 9/11. That company would give me pause. Some believe that the

Saudi’s are the ultimate source of our current terrorism problem and there

is much to recommend this hypothesis. But if it is the case that we are not yet in a position to move against the Saudis (and I do not mean

militarily), it may not be in our interest to publicize their culpability,

if any, for 9/11 etc. An important reason for moving militarily into Iraq is

to position us to take measures against the Saudis (and others in the region).

Getting Iraq’s oil production up and secure, for example, would be very

important.

In short, if it is premature to move against them, then it is premature to

expose them. Who would know this better? George Bush et al or Chuck Shumer

et al? Although I am always wary of relying on government officials either for

information or correct decisions, here we face a choice between two parties,

both of which are government officials. I know on whom I would be

betting in this contest. While I don’t know who is right, the issue is who

I trust at the moment to know and act properly on this information. On the

basis of their track records since 9/11, this is not a hard call for me.

For an interesting discussion of when concealment may be necessary in the

interest of achieving misdirection to accomplish widely shared national

security objectives, you should read this by Steve Den Beste, or this by TM

Lutas.