I haven't finished reading it all.
But want to say this now.
The Wilson's, IMHO, pushed this on what I consider a technicality that doesn't count...and, of course, did that for political purposes. In their way of thinking, any one who works for the CIA is undercover. The Wilson's wanted everyone to think she was a 'spy' because it gave them more credibility in his mind. And, IMHO, he had to cover his ass etts.
Now, that said... something occurred to me as I was reading. If we were to consider a pregnant 'spy' or a 'spy' with small children we'd consider the woman a fruitcake for putting her babies at risk.
I
mean
really,
women who leave their children in the car are arrested.
Inquiring minds want to know if they actually consider any of us stupid enough to believe that she would put her babies at such risk as to be a spy while pregnant or with small children
or
are she and her hubby stupid enough to have endangered those babies when they saw an opportunity to become famous.
My guess is she was too damn dumb and such an attention seeker to have been an effect spy so they slapped her behind a desk hoping to minimize that damage and then,
there's my suspicion hubby had some ground to cover (literally and figuratively) she and he screwed up by hooking up the equally spotlight loving hubby with a "secret mission" to cover his ass etts.
WHY would the CIA have a woman who was suffering from severe Post Partum Depression working as a spy, for heaven's sake.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A58650-2003Oct7?language=printer
I agree it would've been ill-advised for Plame to remain undercover for the reasons you mention, as well as the Ames issue and Wilson's blabbermouth tendencies. But sometimes CIA does things that make no sense to me, so who knows.