Clue-free Minto

John Minto devotes his column to the recent spy-file by recalling a foreword that David Lange wrote for Nicky Hager's Book:

It includes the bald statement, "It was not until I read this book that I had any idea that we had been committed to an international integrated electronic network."

This is an outrageous situation. Aside from his prime ministerial role he was also the minister responsible for security and intelligence and chairman of Parliament's security and intelligence committee, and yet he was given no idea as to the real purpose of the secret base he authorised.

It is clear that he was deliberately misled by the bureaucrats who run the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), which is responsible for managing the Waihopai base.

Does Minto seriously expects us to believe that Lange, have had read this report, did not draw the obvious conclusion that we were part of such a network? Or did the possibility that Lange was not adverse to telling lies never occur to him?