I agree that this episode has hurt US intelligence interests, but underlying this whole story is the ugly business that has gone on at the CIA in the last four years. Unelected officials at the agency have been playing politics, leaking information in deliberate attempts to sabotage Administration policy. They should have fully expected that if their people engaged in partisan battles that something like this would happen. It doesn't justify the leak, but it should illustrate the foolishness of having CIA agents and officials engaged in these sorts of partisan battles.
And let's not forget ethics. None of this affair would have ever happened had Valerie Plame simply observed Government Ethics 101- you don't use your position in government to influence purchasing decisions in favor of a spouse or other relative. But she didn't do that, she actively promoted the idea of using her husband for the Niger trip. Maybe the two of them assumed that her secret status would prevent the Administration from bringing up this issue of her ethical lapse. If so, that suggests a "dirty tricks" campaign by the Wilsons to discredit the Administration and use her CIA status as a shield to prevent the Administration from talking about it. All of which goes back to my original point. Joe Wilson was hired by the CIA to do a job. He should have done his job and kept his mouth shut, but he (and others at the CIA) just had to get involved in the partisan battles in Washington over the war. You know the old saying- it takes two to tango. If you ask me, this whole nasty affair illustrates, yet again, the staggering incompetence of the CIA in carrying out its mission, as well as the dirty business of partisan politics in Washington today. If it were up to me, the prosecutor would find and jail the person responsible for the leak, and he would jail Plame on ethics violations and Wilson for opening his big lying mouth and injecting himself into a partisan debate after he was paid to render a service to the Administration. >If you knew you'd be killed for meeting with a US agent, would you >feel comfortable doing so knowing the Whitehouse had exposed one for >political reasons? I sure as hell wouldn't. > >Thus the massive damage to US intelligence gathering and therefore >national security. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Purchase Studio MX with Flash Pro from House of Fusion, a Macromedia Authorized Affiliate and support the CF community. http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=51 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:166441 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
