Breaking News! - Garlic Exclusive! - White House Clash of Mideast Policy

Cheney, To Bolster Israel, Offers To Out Israeli Covert Agents Whose Spouses Criticize Olmert

Opening Playbook; Says, Eventually, Lebanese Will View Israeli As Liberators

With pressure mounting on the Bush White House, to call for an Israeli cease-fire, sources have told The Garlic of a major clash between President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, after Bush discovered that Cheney was conducting secret talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, urging the Israeli to push further into Lebanon, and offering his expertise on how to consolidate his power.

Cheney, allegedly, offered Olmert his expertise, and access to the Vice President’s staff, to expose any Mossad agents whose spouses speak publicly, or write Op-Ed pieces critical of Olmert, or the Israeli campaign in Lebanon

Stumping this weekend in Florida, at a fundraising event for a GOP congressional candidate, Cheney warned that "It's going to be a battle that will last for a very long time. It is absolutely essential that we stay the course."

Later in his speech, Cheney opined that “Eventually, the Lebanese will view Israeli as liberators.”

With Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice making a surprise visit to Beirut today, following a visit yesterday from Saudi foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, where the Saudis are urging President Bush to facilitate an immediate cease-fire, the rift between Cheney and Bush is ill-timed.

The President is vulnerable right now,” says David Aaronson, editor of 'What Color Is My Coat Today?', the Capital Hill Newsletter that tracks politicians who turn on their own party.

“After finally using the veto for the first time, Bush is now trying - another first - use diplomacy and Cheney is trying to stay the course with the Cowboy stuff ... You’re with us or against us thing .... Cheney’s still, very much, in the Neocon camp and is pushing the Administration for more action.”

Cheney “Opening up the playbook.”

Bush first learned of Cheney’s advice and communication with Olmert upon his return from the G8 Summit last week.

Sources say while the President was joking with his staff about his use of a curse word, and his faux pas with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Cheney was squirreled away in his office, with his Chief of Staff David Addington, putting together an array of strategies for Olmert to weather any political firestorm on the home front, as protest broke out in Tel Aviv over the weekend

According to one senior official close to the White House, Cheney is “opening up the playbook.”

“He’s had Addington give Olmert the complete layout on Signing Statements, how to circumvent laws, the Knesset ...How to protect himself, consolidate the power to his office ... the works ... And Cheney, himself, offered information on how to out any Mossad agent spouses, should anyone start publicly criticizing Olmert.”

Other information Cheney is said to pass on is the forging of documents to back policies, and the nuance of tweaking intelligence around policies, and then blaming the intelligence sources and agencies if it backfires.

“Olmert,” according to Aaronson, “is getting a major-league crash course of plausible deniability.”

Secretary Rice is said to be furious with Cheney, Lieberman

Apprised by a secure telephone call while enroute to Beirut, Rice was said to be livid as she heard the details of Cheney’s consultation with Olmert.

“First I have to deal with Rumsfeld and the Pentagon screwing up Iraq,” said Rice, according to a source that was traveling with the Secretary. “Now I have Cheney gumming up the works, for what will surely be a few more thousands of tactical errors...”

Errors or not, don’t look for Cheney to tip his hand, or leave any kind of paper trail, according to Dix Whitcomb, editor of the newsletter "Our Laws Are Different"

“I doubt that Cheney will make the mistake of jotting notes on any newspapers on this one,” said Whitcomb.

Cheney, along with Special Presidential Advisor Karl Rove, and former Cheney Chief of Staff Lewis ‘Scooter” Libby are being sued by former CIA Agent Valarie Plame, and her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, over the trio exposing Plame’s covert status, in retaliation for Wilson’s Op-Ed piece in the New York Times, criticizing the Bush Administration’s claims for invading and occupying Iraq, over the now false information that Saddam Hussein was seeking to purchasing uranium in Niger.

As to Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT?), Rice also received a call from the Senator, inquiring about the Lebanese Government.

Lieberman is said to have asked a beleaguered Rice to “put in a good word for him” as the Senator is considering, should he lose his Democrat Primary Race against gaining challenger Ned Lamont, Lieberman indicated he would consider putting in papers, should the Lebanese form a new government in the wake of the Israel-Hezbollah war














Vice President Dick Cheney is said to be causing a rift with President Bush over Mid-East policy and “opening the playbook” to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on consolidating his power and crushing his critics