So the Democrats, and the press, (granted, a redundancy) are all over a story about how Valerie Plame was covert, after all?
Ho-hum. So what else is new?
Forgive me; I get forgetful sometimes . Is this the same group of Democrats, is this the same group of supposed newshounds, (as opposed to DNC Water carriers) that were so busy dissing the CIA and it’s handling of intel as regards Iraq and WMD? Is this the same group of press, and lefties, that were calling for the destruction, the utter demise of the CIA, for those problems?
I guess such calls are only useful, when they’re used as a tool to attack George W. Bush. now suddenly, the CIA is credible, because attacks on that supposed credibility can be used against Bush? Gee, who didn’t see THAT one coming?
I ask because if it isn’t a different group of people that we’re talking about, here, it seems to me that their concern for the integrity of the CIA, and it’s operatives, is rather selective at best.
Further, let’s examine very closely the nature of the report that Fitzgerald issued, shall we? Of the 30 page report, 27 of those pages are testimony at the show trial that Democrat Henry Waxman ran just a short time ago. Gee, now, there’s an unbiased source.
As for the remaining pages not generated in the show trial, Flopping Aces [1]says, in part:
The other 3 are details from the CIA about her travel.
On 1 January 2002, Valerie Wilson was working for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as an operations officer in the Directorate of Operations (DO). She was assigned to the Counterproliferation Division (CPD) at CIA Headquarters, where she served as the Chief of a CPD component with responsibility for weapons proliferation issues related to Iraq.
While assigned to CPD, Ms. Wilson engaged in Temporary Duty (TDY) travel overseas on official business. She traveled at least seven times to more than ten countries. When traveling overseas, Ms. Wilson always traveled under a cover identity–sometimes in true name and sometimes in alias–but always using cover–whether official or non-official cover (NOC)–with no ostensible relationship to the CIA.
At the time of the initial unauthorized disclosure in the media of Ms. Wilson’s employment relationship with the CIA on 14 July 2003, Ms. Wilson was a covert CIA employee for whom the CIA was taking affirmative measures to conceal her intelligence relationship to the United States.
So basically what constitutes a “covert” agent within the CIA is that they travel overseas sometimes using an alias, sometimes using their true name.
Wow.
Just wow.
I mean a foreign country would never keep tabs on the real names of agents would they? But hey, she was “cover
Either way you look at it she was not a covert agent covered by the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982, this is why ole Fitz’ never brought any charges against the leaker of her name (a leaker other then her husband who tended to talk alot at cocktail parties).
The action that we see here, on the part of Fitzgerald and the Democrats, is one of desperation. It’s a last ditch play in an already overlong anti-Bush derangement fit.
There was no “outing” folks. None. The bottom line is, the left has nothing else to go with, so they’re going to keep telling this lie, until they start getting others to mouth it with them.
Other views, including some examples of people who’ve already fallen victim to the lie: Heading Right [2], Newsweek, [3]Taylor Marsh [4], Unqualified Offerings, Captain’s Quarters [5] The Democratic Daily [6], Brilliant at Breakfast [7] Liberal Values [8] Salon [6], Firedoglake [9], Right Wing Nut House [10], [6]Unqualified Offerings [11], Patterico’s Pontifications [12], The Sundries Shack [13], Shakesville [14], DownWithTyranny! [15], Michael P.F. van der Galiën [16], Bark Bark Woof Woof [17], Greatscat! [18], The Newshoggers [19], The BRAD BLOG [20], The Mahablog [21], Washington Monthly [22], protein wisdom [23], About U.S. Politics [24], The American Mind [25], Jules Crittenden [26], Balloon Juice [27], Flopping Aces [1], The Impolitic [28],
Addendum: (David L) Let me try to get this straight., For the purpose of sentencing, Patrick Fitzgerald wants the court to accept for a fact that a crime was committed, to wit the outing of a protected CIA agent, for which the People never charged anybody, and which was never alleged in open oourt.
Tom Maguire, Just One Minute, digs into Fritz [29].
Getting straight answers from the goverment is akin to birthing elephants. I’d say that Mrs. Wilson was considered “covert” by the CIA but not covered by thE IIPA statute.