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in order to deal with the genuine concern that some wacko on the street might easily identify her,"

of course, there was no reason to worry that HE, joe wilson, the squealer, would be identified by some wacko on the street. how much sense does THAT make, considering that supposedly the super sleuth valerie plame who shuns the camera did NOTHING to warrant public attention other than to be married to HIM, THE SQUEALER.

"The 10 former intelligence officers who signed the letter include respected intelligence analysts and retired case officers, including at least two, John McCavitt and William Wagner, who were C.I.A. station chiefs overseas. The former analysts include Larry C. Johnson, a former analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency and the State Department's intelligence branch, and Ray Close and Ray McGovern, former C.I.A. analysts in the agency's Near East division."

Times doesn't delve into the background of "respected analysts" McGovern and Close, part of an ad-hoc group calling itself Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS).

McGovern has made some interesting conspiratorial anti-war musings regarding the Iraq war. Last April, he suggested the U.S. would plant WMD if they failed to find it: "Some of my colleagues are virtually certain that there will be some weapons of mass destruction found, even though they might have to be planted. I'm just as sure that some few will be found, but not in an amount that by any stretch would justify the charge of a threat against the US or anyone else."