Mr. Shaw's Intelligence

Well, it is clear that all eyes should be on Drudge throughout the coming days, as we await the final pieces of the campaign puzzle. And what they could be is any body’s guess. Such as this morning's revelation:

Russian special forces troops moved many of Saddam Hussein's weapons and related goods out of Iraq and into Syria in the weeks before the March 2003 U.S. military operation, The Washington Times has learned.

All the makings of a classic Rove-style leak – given to the friendly Washington Times, the official-sounding yet cryptic title of the informant - deputy undersecretary of defense for international technology security – the last minute nature of the story, and a message deftly tailored to both deflect away attacks on the President over the missing explosives and bolster the idea that unilateralism in necessary in dangerous times. That said, I doubt it will have any effect. Kerry can dodge this one easily by pointing to Putin’s recent bold endorsement of Bush. The Senator can also turn the tables easily again by using it as yet another symbol of the ineptness of the Bush administration to understand the situation on the ground and to control the flow of WMD that the war was designed to secure. Again, Sullivan is essential reading on this score, as he continues to catalogue the cornucopia of errors made throughout the conduct of this war. Sorry Rove, this new "recently obtained reliable information" of Mr. Shaw's will not do much to help your cause. Better luck tomorrow.