corrente

I think Josh Marshall—commenting on the almost-too-beautiful revelation that neocon creature and White House invitee Ahmed Chalabi was either a fool or working for the Iranian Secret Service—has cause and effect exactly right here:

But what we're seeing here is less the result of new revelations than the outward signs of deep tectonic shifts within the US government -- the discrediting of some factions and agencies, the attempts of others to reposition themselves in a moment of acute crisis and get ahead of the storm, and the freeing up of others to assert themselves for the first time in years.

It's probably too dramatic to compare this to the bubbles, choppy water and occasional scraps churned up by a Piranha feeding. But the struggles that are giving rise to all these leaks and tergiversations of the state are the real story -- one that it is difficult to see directly, but possible to glimpse in what we can infer from its effects and repercussions.
(via Talking Points Memo)

Sure, there are bad guys and worse guys, but that's politics....