Much was made over the outing for political purposes of Saint Valerie Plame, the formerly covert CIA agent who was forced to leave CIA and pose for Vanity Fair magazine after her cover was blown by Washington pundit Robert Novak. L’affaire Plame was only one of many lost opportunities to see Karl Rove “frog marched” to prison, but – alas – went nowhere. Scooter Libby was convicted of obstruction of justice, perjury and making false statements to investigators looking into the leak, but was later pardoned. The Plame/Wilson civil suit went all the way to the Supreme Court, which declined to review an appellate court’s dismissal. The original source of the leak was Richard Armitage, a man too apolitical and peripheral to serve any in any useful crucifixion. The whole thing was red meat to the legacy media.
So it is with interest that I await the no doubt imminent media focus on ACLU lawyers who surreptitiously took photographs of CIA interrogators at GITMO, the better to pass them around the detained terrorists there:
According to U.S. officials familiar with the issue, the current dispute involves Justice Department officials who support an effort led by the American Civil Liberties Union to provide legal aid to military lawyers for the Guantanamo inmates. CIA counterintelligence officials oppose the effort and say giving terrorists photographs of interrogators has exposed CIA personnel and their families to possible terrorist attacks…
The investigation has been under way for many months, but was given new urgency after the discovery last month of additional photographs of interrogators at Guantanamo showing CIA officers and contractors who have carried out interrogations of detainees, according to three officials familiar with the investigation. They spoke on the condition of anonymity…
CIA counterintelligence officials have “serious concerns” that the information will leak out and lead to the terrorists targeting the officers and their families, if the identities are disseminated to terrorists or sympathizers still at large, said one official.
“They have put the lives of CIA officers and their families in danger,” said a senior U.S. official about the detainees’ lawyers…
Justice officials did not share the CIA’s security concerns about the risks posed to CIA interrogators and opposed language on the matter that was contained in the draft memorandum.
No, of course not. They’re perfectly safe.
Ahh … The Valerie Plame debacle. She was not really “outed” because she was not, nor had been for six years, if then, a covert agent. [My Navy SEAL friend says she was an intelligence analyst, a non-secret job which involved going into her office at the CIA every day, just like we civilians do, and analyzing intelligence reports.] Furthermore, I really don’t think it’s possible, or even reasonable, to classify all 100,000 or so of the employees of the CIA as “protected identities.” Is that supposed to include all minor office personnel? The janitorial staff? The secretarial staff? The carpenters or repair people? Come on.
This whole kerfuffle was generated, as so much in Washington is, to make members of the opposite party look bad. And careless with human life.
Ms. Plame was first “outed” by her husband on his web-site, by the way. He’s the first who said publicly that Valerie worked for the CIA. Armitage came late to the party. Probably even the Vanity Fair article preceded Armitage in the time frame. Having worked for several magazines as an editor, I know that the magazine doesn’t start from scratch on February 1 to generate ideas, stories, pictures etc. to be completed and printed by March 1. A prudent editor starts accumulating story ideas, information, pictures and story drafts more than a month before the publication date — sometimes as much as six months before publication.
I researched as much as I could on the ‘Net when this ridiculous story began circulating. Somewhere, I can’t now recall where, I found that after one has been a field agent and then returns to the U.S., there is a six-year time limit that they are still considered covert and information on one is still protected. But Valerie had been back in the States for more than six years, long enough to become pregnant, have her babies and have them be three or four years old before the story surfaced. Somehow, these facts never made it into the mainstream press.
I wonder why?
Marianne
Marianne, that’s the most complete, concise, and accurate recap of l’affaire Plame I’ve seen. IIRC, even NRO went into multiple pages without adding significantly to the story.
Fwiw, GWB only commuted Libby’s prison term, he chose not to pardon him. Scooter still stands convicted of perjury and obstruction.
Scooter Libby only “stands convicted” because George W. Bush, who I admire greatly, practiced “compassionate conservatism”. In my opinion, he should have been practicing ruthless politics like the rest of them, especially the opposing party. It’s time to do away with the kid gloves, take out the trash and start kicking some liberal wacko butts. Don’t think for one second they wouldn’t do it. That’s what the Valerie Plame debacle was all about in the first place. Pure political nonsense.
Justice officials did not share the CIA’s security concerns about the risks posed to CIA interrogators..
Why should they? I mean, it’s not like any of them will be going to work for the Justice Department.
Oh. Wait…
What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, right? So, publish the names, addresses, and photographs of the attorneys who did the photographing of the CIA people. Let the public have its say once it has That information.
Hello,
I can agree with Mr. SteveC on only one point: publish photographs of said ACLU people. There has been, from what I can determine, no attempt to publicly name the CIA and contractor staff. Nor can I see any mention of the ACLU people publishing other details of said staff, such as family information and/or addresses. Upping the ante on this will not solve anything.
thanks,
Phalanx08
Podna, that was a lame as lame gets.
Guys,I just finished reading Marc Theissens book on terrorist interrogation and the various legal ins and outs, court cases,etc, with some really revealing info on Holder’s ex-law firm and several terrorist pleadings they are involved with directly and as co-council–one of which is a certain female attny–the youngest great grand-daughter of the atomic spies the Rosenburgs–and just as unrepentant as they were about their actions, in his book: “Courting Disaster:How the CIA Kept America Safe and How Obama is inviting the Next Attack.” If you didn’t feel like climbing the Texas Tower (actually thinking more like a Duck-blind oppo the WH) with a high powered rifle, good scope and LOTS of extra ammunition before, wait until you read this. A MUST READ!!!
(Must….keep…..blood….pressure….down….need…..dialate….blood……vessels…..must…..consume……even…..MORE……Barbancourt)
AiIIEEEE!!! Barbancourt stocks running low!!
Where is that Fort Class 6 store report. Have some compassion, VX really needs help!