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Let me just put a few things in order here:

February 2002 Joe Wilson is sent by a sub-group, on their own initiative (per Tenet's July 2003 statement) to Niger.

May 2002 someone leaks the existence of the August 6 2001 PDB to the press

Condi Rice does a press conference acknowledging the PDB and characterizing it (accurately and correctly--confirmed by the declassification last Saturday)

Ari Fleischer give the title of the PDB the next day

WaPo frontpages a story May 19, 2002 giving title and characterizion.

The same "questions" about the meaning and hints the president was derelict in not "acting" on the information in the PDB are raised. Issue dies until the commission where BenVenist asks C. Rice about it and asks her the title. She gives it and BV states (falsely) that the title heretofor had been kept secret from the public.

Somebody leaked the PDB's existance in the first place, on the heels of Wilson's Niger visit.

Of course the public didn't learn of the Niger business until the next year, but it points to machinations emanating from the CIA.

**I will say, I don't perceive a problem per se with the content of the PDB, though it was stated by freepers that Tenet said he has some problems. I don't think it was *created* to be used against the president. That makes no sense. But I do think that after the fact someone saw spin potential in it and started the ball rolling. And the most likely suspect is the authoress (since I'm pretty sure I heard BV referring to "she wrote" but nobody else has confirmed that, so I'll need to see a transcript to make sure I didn't misunderstand him).

Thanks for putting all this in order. Can't imagine why Ben Viniste would refer to the analyst as "she" unless he knew who it was. I think whoever wrote the PDB should testify also so we can find out about some of the inconsistances,like "70 ongoing investigations by the FBI."

Good quick timeline. Thanks.

Yesterday, when I speculated about Plame, it was instinctive to whatever was being discussed at the hearings. Then BV calls the briefer/operative a "she."

I understand why Rove was accused of being the leaker. He goes to the same church, and he has probably seen her at the WH. However, lots of folks in the WH see things and put 2+2 together.