and we know how the administration punishes disloyalty...

The former Treasure Secretary, Paul O'Neill, has a new book out where he sheds a lot of light on the insular and clique-dominated nature of political decision-making in the White House. Atrios has more info on this.

Dan asks:

I think that a lot of this is sour grapes and does beg the question that if he knew all of this and felt so strongly, why didn't he air all this stuff prior to the actual war, when it could have arguably done some good as far as bringing this information to light?

To be honest, had O'Neill publicly disagreed with the Administration while still a part of it, he would have been rightfully dismissed as disloyal. An Administration pursuing bad poloicy is not teh same as a corporation pursuing dishonest finances - the "whistleblower" analogy does not apply.

If you are in the administration, your job is to present your policy diferences to the executive and then shut up. Period.

O'Neill is now a public figure and can reveal whatever he wants, as a private citizen. But doing so while in the administration would have been shockingly unprofessional.