My thoughts exactly

Paul Mirengoff and John Hinderaker take down the reports in the WaPo and Times with similar headlines about "spy agencies" saying that the Iraq war is hurting our fight against terrorism. The reports discuss the National Intelligence Estimate, a classified document, but make their own conclusions, or rather state leaked conclusions from partisan sources in the CIA and FBI. At least that's what I thought, and so do Mirengoff and Hinderaker.

Leaking to the media in Washington has become so pervasive that it hardly constitutes "whistleblowing" anymore. Nobody seems to care that it's illegal and harmful to the mission of the agencies involved. It's more of a indicator, like opinion polls, but representative only of the level of rebellion in the bureaucracy. It's unprofessional and insubordinate. If I were an editor, I think I'd be worried about the credibility of people who violate the rules of their agencies to dish with reporters. Even more, I'd be worried about the news becoming little more than a place for disgruntled employees to vent.