The special prosecuter, Patrick Fitzgerald, discovered the leaker's name on the first day of his investigation! So, why did Fitzy continue the investigation for two years, and without revealing this information... enabling the Nadirs of the world to insist loudly and daily with absolute certainty that the leaker was obviously a Bush operative working to punish Joe Wilson?
Joe Wilson's response to the Novak column fairly proves that he lacked any genuine interest in protecting his wife's identity and occupation; his wife's subsequent behavior showed that she lacked such an interest as well. Their behavior revealed that above protecting her CIA status, they prized scoring points against Bush and appearing as heros in this regard. Wilson's famous NYT essay misrepresented his role in pre-war activities, exaggerating his position and the weight of his conclusion. It appears that the Novak column acted as a welcome excuse for him to launch a massive publicity campaign for himself and his wife.
The accusation that Novak's column represented the obvious work of angry Bush partisans retaliating against him by "going after his wife" and "outing" her never made sense to me. Clearly we know now with certainty that the accusation was false.
4 comments:
The media and Paul are jumping on this Armitage revelation to protect Bush and Cheney.
So Richard Armitage was the first person to leak Plame's identity. His involvement is seen as proof that the White House didn't try to damage Wilson's credibility.
Hogwash!
Let's not forget that it was Armitage's boss, Colin Powell who sold the yellowcake story to the UN presumably on White House orders. If Armitage leaked Plame's identity to create doubt about Wilson's credibility, he was undoubtedly protecting Powell who was in turn following orders.
As the Times points out in this article, this does not change the fact that Libby, Rove and others in the White House cabal used the information to attack Wilson and Plame. Perhaps Armitage should be indicted as well, but that doesn't excuse Libby, Cheney or Rove for their violations of the law.
This leak was certainly meant to punish Joe Wilson and now we know both the White House and the State Department were involved. Clearly we know now that these accusations are still true.
My gosh, Six, it never occured to me that in light if these new facts that Nadir would simply cling to his initional, pre-facts conclusion.
Nadir: Of course the Bushies attempted to discredit Joe Wilson. Wilson desearved discredit. Wilson entered a political debate, with a public strike against Bush's credability. Why would the Bushies *not* attempt a counter-strike against Wilson's credability?
Part of Wilson's credability problem is the false charactorization that he gave himself as CIA investigator, demolished by the fact of how he got his assignment: from his wife's manuvering.
Furthermore, Wilson's brief, undocumented, cursory investigation in Niger simply does not stand as the final word on that subject, as I've documented here at RL in posts of Christopher Hitchen's articls on this matter. The reaction of Wilson and Plame, combined with Wilson's public salvo against Bush, demonstrate that the pair had no authentic regard for maintaining Plame's identity.
Novak and Armatidge agree on how and why Armatidge came to reveal the Wilson-Plame connection, and prosecuter Fitzgerald agrees with them. No reporter claims that neither Armatidge nor any Bush operative -- and Armatidge was not a Bush operative -- pushed the Wilson-Plame connection.
The hyptothesis articulated by Wilson -- that Bushies pushed his wife's identity in order to ruin her career as punishment for his "speaking truth to power" -- is now completely falsified.
So Christopher Hitches word is more valuable than a career diplomat and former ambassador to African nations? Give me a break! You can't be serious!
Plame being Wilson's wife and recommending him for the gig is immaterial. He was more than qualified. It's not like he was a former president of the Arabian Horse Association being appointed as FEMA director. He actually had the creditentials.
Armitige was a Bush operative at the time because he worked for the Secretary of State. Would anyone argue that Condoleeza Rice isn't a Bush operative? Would anyone argue that anyone working for Condi Rice better be on the team?
Perhaps in the war of politics Bush was justified in attacking Wilson's credibility, but it is ILLEGAL to reveal the identity of an undercover operative. The fact that she was Wilson's wife was common knowledge, but the fact that she was a CIA agent was not.
I don't see how the facts have changed in this case.
Nadir: I do not refer to Hitchens as a primary source, but as a presenter of primary sources. I am shocked that you didn't understand that. If you read those articles, which I troubled to post, you will find many primary sources, none of which Wilson falsified.
Armatidge was a Bush employee, but not a Bush operative, because he opposed Bush's war; he was actually working against Bush, to prove that he and his own boss (Powell) were correct. Armatidge did not reveal Plame's role in order to advance Bush's position. To the contrary, Armatidge concured with Wilson's report.
Rice is a Bush operative; she shares Bush's views and links her fortune with his.
Wilson wasn't completely unqualified for the job that he performed, but he was not especially qualified either. Bluntly, he wasn't qualified to have been considered without his wife's assistance. Also, the job that Wilson performed was not a thorough, definative investigation of the British intelligence. He didn't even file a formal report. But his NYT commentary created a false impression on all these points.
Once he went public as he did, I think it became fair game to question the seriousness of his conclusion, which includes his qualifications. As it turns out, though, none of the Bush partisans made any effort to reveal the information about how Wilson got this job, which would have been a valuable rhetorical tool regardless of the undercover status of Plame.
Other than your imagination, Nadir, no evidence exists now, or ever, to indicate that any Bushies attemepted to "blow Plame's cover" in order to "punish Wilson."
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