Bad Moon On The Risen

James Risen, the New York Times reporter who willfully damaged national security interests by reporting on NSA intercepts of al Qaeda cellphone and email communications with American citizens, has moved up the release of his new book to take financial advantage of the furor surrounding the NYT story. Here's how Time describes the book, State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration:

Risen's chief target is the CIA, where, he argues, institutional dysfunction and feckless leadership after 9/11 led to intelligence breakdowns that continue to haunt the U.S. Though much of State of War covers ground that is broadly familiar, the book is punctuated with a wealth of previously unreported tidbits about covert meetings, aborted CIA operations and Oval Office outbursts. The result is a brisk, if dispiriting, chronicle of how, since 9/11, the "most covert tools of national-security policy have been misused."

Here's a newflash for Risen, who shouldn't need to have it pointed out: there have been no, zero, nada, zilch attacks on the US since 9/11. That, in and of itself, invalidates the thesis of Risen's potboiler.

It's almost possible to respect a person who betrays this country because he is motivated by ideology. At least that can indicate noble intent, if flawed reasoning. But who can have any respect for someone who puts his countrymen at risk for the sake of personal enrichment?

Also posted at The Jawa Report.