The Place of Dead Roads

From the Wall Street Journal, CIA Leak Queries Look at Disclosure Of Classified Data, we learn Mr Fitzgerald is interested in more than just the leaking of Mrs Plame covert status with the CIA.

But lawyers and others close to the case say he may be piecing together a case that White House officials conspired to leak various types of classified material in conversations with reporters -- including Ms. Plame's identity but also other secrets related to national security.

(2cool diaried this WSJ article over at DailyKos.)
If Mr Fitzgerald's investiagtions are any indication of what the White House is up to, we must wonder if this is how the White House wants to operate during "times of war". Let's hop in the wayback machine for the answer. From less than one month after 9/11, in the WashPost, we have Bush Edict on Briefings Irks Hill

Wednesday, October 10, 2001; Page A01
Members from both parties objected strongly to Bush's highly unusual step of ordering that briefings with sensitive information be limited to eight of the 535 members of Congress.

[Bush said:] "I want Congress to hear loud and clear, it is unacceptable behavior to leak classified information when we have troops at risk." [He also said Congress should] "...take their positions very seriously and that they take any information they've been given by our government very seriously."

I wonder if Republician Sen. Hagel is sensing the irony these days, given his statement from back then:

"To put out a public document telling the world he doesn't trust the Congress and we leak everything, I'm not sure that helps develop unanimity and comradeship."

Perhaps the White House's problem with Congress "leaking everything" is not that they leak, but Congressional leaks might not be in sync with the White House's leaks of "secrets related to national security." I guess the WH didn't want to have competition when it came to using leaked classified information to control public perception.

Or did you think all this leaking/not leaking of classified information had something to do with national security during a time of war?