Roger:

Let me start by saying it is true we don’t have all the information on this story nailed down. Here are some questions we need to know.Copies vs. Originals.The LA Times is already stating that as far as we know Berger only took copies. How do they know this? Because certain reporters have written this and Bergers Lawyers say so. It might be true but I don’t think this has been nailed down yet.Did the 9-11 commision see everything that Berger removed. The LA times says so. Why? Because certain 9-11 commision members say so and there have been reports in the paper that say so.So this means that the commision members know which notes and documents Berger took out and which ones he “lost” and what was on them. This could be true and if these commision members and reporters have a list of what he took, what was on them and which papers he lost I would believe it to but so far I have not read it.Just because the commision saw the FINAL report on the Millinium bombing doesn’t mean they saw all of the drafts and all of the notes in the margin.Was Berger just a absent minded NSA director with sloppy document handling techniques. It could be true but since the removed docs and notes seem to be related to just one event it seems unlikely. He was assigned to look at all related terror docs and if he was just sloppy he would have “inadvertantly” removed, lost , destroyed, whatever, docs and notes from different events because apparently this happened on more than one occasion. The fact’ asfar as weknow so far, that the lost docs pertain just to one area seems to indicate intent, not sloppiness.In summation, We don’t know enough, this story needs to be investigated regardless of the political intent. I think there are portions of the 9-11 commision that are very politically driven but that does not mean all of it is false. To borrow the timing theme I notice the LA Times is not ignoring the results of the 9-11 commision even though the realease of the report is nicely “timed” with the start of the Democratic Convention.For the LA Times to try to ignore this as a simple “smokescreen before they have even looked in to it is agenda journalism. “Indeed it’s striking that Berger’s accusers have yet to supply a motive for his accusations”. Off the top oy head, Legacy rescue,CYA patrol,selective document dumping,dirt for Kerry.All or none of these might be true but they are certainly plausable. Heck, if the Times would actually investigate the story they might even find out some new ones.The Times is blowing as much smoke as Berger.