'The Daily Outrage' column by Ari Berman at The Nation's website looks at the furious Pentagon response to Seymour Hersh's eye-opening New Yorker piece (still on the shelves!; I wrote about it) and how subsequent reportage is supporting Hersh's work.

An excerpt:

Instead of denying the existence of the secret teams outright, the Pentagon and its attack dogs struck back with an extraordinary smear campaign. "Mr. Hersh's article is so riddled with errors of fundamental fact that the credibility of his entire piece is destroyed," wrote Pentagon spokesman Lawrence DiRita in a sharply worded statement. Washington Times columnist Tony Blankley accused Hersh of espionage. Former White House speechwriter (and "Axis of Evil" originator) David Frum said Hersh had endangered US lives. Michael Ledeen, a tireless Iranian conspiracy theorist, called the article "plain crazy," and "classic Hersh incoherence." Richard Perle -- who famously dubbed Hersh "the closest thing American journalism has to a terrorist" in March 2003 -- told Charlie Rose: "It was a typical Sy Hersh piece. That is to say it was full of inaccuracy."

But then, the Washington Post confirmed Hersh's allegations in a front-page story last Sunday. According to Pentagon officials and documents, the Defense Department has indeed created a new espionage arm--the Strategic Support Branch--reinterpreting US law to give it the broadest possible powers with the least possible oversight. The new unit has existed in secret for two years and includes the Gray Fox forces mentioned by Hersh--operating in Iraq, Afghanistan and other undisclosed countries, likely including Iran. The Pentagon is even recruiting "notorious figures" whose identities would embarrass the US government if disclosed.