by Matt Barr

Watcher's Council results, April 28

Watcher's Council voting this week:

Defend Dissent: Punish the Leakers at Right Wing Nut House took the Council prize. John F. Kerry: The gift that keeps on giving to the starboard side of the blogosphere:

Responsible dissent is one thing. Certainly there are millions of Americans who, for a variety of reasons -- some of which are based on a misinformation campaign carried out by Democrats and their allies in the press that is unprecedented in its ferocity -- oppose the war in Iraq. And then there are those like Mary McCarthy and John Kerry who see dissent as a way to political gain.

One kind of dissent is worth defending. The other should be held in as much contempt as we should hold the people who practice it.

Dave at The Glittering Eye is Tired, which was enough for second place.

Former spook at In From the Cold had The McCarthy File, which won the week's Non-Coucil event.

Did Mary McCarthy have any help? That's an intriguging question. Here are some thoughts that suggest she might not be the only leaker. First, it is clear that the covert prisons were a closely-held secret. That would suggest that they fell under a SAR/SAP (Special Access Required/Special Accees Program), with its own set of security rules, and (possibly) special facilities where only those "read-in" could discuss the program. Correspondingly, only a small number of agency employees knew about the prisons--until Dana Priest published her front-page expose? Was Mary McCarthy among that number? Perhaps, but that raises another important issue: why would the agency assign a departing staffer to handle IG issues relating to one of its most sensitive programs?

The Belgravia Dispatch placed with The Tragedy of George W. Bush.

Nominations here, full voting results here and on the left sidebar of my home page.

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