Did you know Valerie Plame was a covert CIA agent?

Question

I didn't either until Bush leaked it to the press for political reasons...

Answer 1

Valerie Plame, herself, said that she was a "covert CIA operative" on TV today; I don't think that she wold say this if it could be proven false. She said that her "outing" compromised vital connections AND threatened lives of many!

Some of the other answers here have said that Rove was not "criminally liable" because he did not KNOW these facts. In the position that he was in, I find this very difficult to believe. Remember, HE KNEW EVERYTHING!!!! It is easy to say, when you are caught doing anything "wrong", that you "did not know...", but ignorance is no defense!

Why is it so difficult to accept the fact that the president was trying to "punish" the Wilsons for bringing out information that was contrary to his "plan" for Iraq? Why is it so hard to believe that he would incapacitate Plame, especially if he was afraid that she, too, might bring out information that would be contrary to said plan??

Accept the facts, and quit trying to "spin" this into an "innocent mistake". The president's men did not care about "truth"--they wanted to continue their "war" without dissent, and they did everything in their power to make sure that the public (you know, "we the people" who are SUPPOSED to be the people they work for....???) would never have any concrete evidence that the "war" in Iraq was trumped up for personal gain.

Even if Armitage "admitted" that he leaked Plame's name, how do we know he has not been "paid off"? Or how do we know that his was not just a "slip of the tongue" that was capitalized on by the government?

There is NO EXCUSE for what happened. And Scooter's "pardon" proves the president's liability!



edit: Why is it so difficult for so many of you to believe that a beautiful woman could be anything other than a secretary???


edit#2----Yes, the administration TRIED to say that Wilson's report led them to believe that Iraq DID try to purchase yellowcake. But do you know how they came by that assessment? Wilson's information was so tight, so well-put-together, so absolutely airtight, that the "powers that be" decided it must be a "set-up" and therefore "untrue". Nice spin, eh? (In other words: if they don't like it, it must be a lie.....)

Answer 2

It's amazing that the person that wrote the law covering the "outing of covert operatives" said that Ms. Plame's duties at the CIA didn't fall under the status of "covert". Second, if she was a covert operative, why wasn't Armatige prosecuted. And third, why did Fitzgerald continue the investigation when he KNEW withing the first month of the investigation that it was Armatige that had leaked the information to Novak and Woodward. Novak reported that he had told Fitzgerald at the beginning of the investigation that it was Armatige that had leaked him the information. BTW, if you're so concerned about government leaks, where is your outrage about all the secret government operations during the war against terrorists? Where is your outrage about the leaks on how we were gathering intelligence on terrorists by taping THEIR phone conversations? Your indignation about this seems a bit hollow.

Answer 3

If she was actually a covert operative, why wasn't the man that leaked her name to the press (Richard Armitage) prosecuted and convicted? Armitage was no "Bush lackey". He worked for Colin Powell in the State Dept. and was against the war in Iraq. You might want to do a little research.

EDIT to Joey's Back:
First off, Bush didn't pardon Libby, he commuted the sentence. Second, Do you honestly think that the Bush administration would be able to "buy off" Bob Woodward? You probably didn't know that Armitage "leaked" the info to Woodward 2 weeks before he "leaked" it to Bob Novak. And if you read the Senate Intelligence Committee report on the pre war intel, you'll find that Joe Wilson's report, actually encouraged the CIA thinking that Iraq was seeking uranium from Niger. Wilson's report doesn't jive with what he told the press.

Answer 4

Not until after the leak.
Gen Hayden, head of the CIA knew it.
Patrick Fitzgerald found out also.
Amazing nobody has gone to trial for treason.
Is this not the party of personal responsibility anymore?
HEE-HEE.

"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."

EDIT:
I love to see the supposed law&order conservatives defending treason, as they complain about something so trivial in comparison as perjury.

Answer 5

Valerie Plame only in her dreams was a covert agent and the President himself never leaked her name to anyone it was Richard Armitage, Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell. Armitage was no admirer of the war effort so how was his action political. If you look at all the evidence you will see how the State Dept. especially Armitage fought against the war on Iraq and that he admitted in the first week of the Libbey investigation that it was he who leaked the information, get your facts straight.

Answer 6

Valerie Plame did not hide behind a bush when she was AIC.

Answer 7

Not until Scooter Libby told that reporter the fact and gave him permission to publish it, under authority from Karl Rove and Dick Cheney.

I was in Military Intelligence in the US Army, and when you compromise Classified information, it isn't the information which is the problem, it's revealing the SOURCE of that information, as Libby did to Plame. When you do that, you not only put that agent's life in jeopardy, you also jeopardize her contacts in Iraq. Any Iragi associated with Plame in Iraq prior ot her "outing" is most likely dead, in hiding or now working for the other side to survive. The damage done to the boththe US's and the CIA's credibility took an even bigger hit than the loss of what we used to call "HUMINT" (Human Intelligence) assets in Iraq.

Had this been myself who compromised this information, either inadvertantly or deliberately, I would be at Ft Leavenworth Penitentiary, making little rocks out of big ones for the rest of my life.

Scooter Libby gets lecture tours.

Answer 8

I love when people bring up Valerie and Joe. It gives me a chance to enlighten them.

You are severly misinformed (or your spinning). You should read these articles.


This is an article that states that the Identity Act that was written to protect covert agents didn't apply to Plame. Two reasons, there was no intent to harm national security and she was not covert at the time. Hell, she went to work through the front gate of Langely everyday.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/07/14/sanford/

But that doesn't even matter because a DEMOCRAT had already spoken to reporters about her by the time libby mentioned her name. In fact, Armitage has already admitted to being the source of the leak.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/08/leak.armitage/index.html

These are articles that speak about how Joe Wilson WAS lying about what he found in Niger. Mainly that an Iraqi official DID seek the sale of Yellowcake Uranium and (this is my favorite part) that a Senate Intelligence commitee found that there is no way that Wilson could have known that the documents were forgeries because they weren't in U.S. hands until 8 months AFTER his trip. He'd never seen them. Wonderful.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A39834-2004Jul9?language=printer

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/31/AR2006083101460_pf.html

http://www.aim.org/media_monitor/1804_0_2_0_C/

Enjoy reading :)

Answer 9

Um, the whole point of being a "covert" agent is that NOBODY is supposed to know.

Answer 10

You see the 60 Minutes interview last night? She was CHIEF OF OPERATIONS for the Iraq intelligence unit, fercripesake!

Limbaugh and that ilk have run around calling her a glorified secretary.

[ADDED] And to "Open Thoughts" - She WAS covert until the day her name was published. Moreover, she was able to say, in response to an interview question, that "damage" to her assets (that's human beings, in case you don't know) from the revelation was highly likely to have occurred.

I'll bet that just makes you laugh, doesn't it.

And to "JimSock" - How far down in the sand is that head of yours? Or is it up your @ss?

Sure looks like a lot of America-haters answered your question, Mr. President.