Former CIA agents tell RNC to shut up

[Perlstein]

AN OPEN STATEMENT TO THE LEADERS OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SENATE.

The Honorable Dennis Hastert, Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives

The Honorable Dr. William Frist, Majority Leader of the Senate

The Honorable Harry Reid, Minority Leader of the Senate

We, the undersigned former U.S. intelligence officers are concerned with the tone and substance of the public debate over the ongoing Department of Justice investigation into who leaked the name of Valerie Plame, wife of former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson IV, to syndicated columnist Robert Novak and other members of the media, which exposed her status as an undercover CIA officer. The disclosure of Ms. Plame?s name was a shameful event in American history and, in our professional judgment, may have damaged U.S. national security and poses a threat to the ability of U.S. intelligence gathering using human sources. Any breach of the code of confidentiality and cover weakens the overall fabric of intelligence, and, directly or indirectly, jeopardizes the work and safety of intelligence workers and their sources.

The Republican National Committee has circulated talking points to supporters to use as part of a coordinated strategy to discredit Ambassador Joseph Wilson and his wife. As part of this campaign a common theme is the idea that Ambassador Wilson?s wife, Valerie Plame was not undercover and deserved no protection. The following are four recent examples of this ?talking point?:

Michael Medved stated on Larry King Live on July 12, 2005, ?And let's be honest about this. Mrs. Plame, Mrs. Wilson, had a desk job at Langley. She went back and forth every single day.?

Victoria Toensing stated on a Fox News program with John Gibson on July 12, 2005 that, ?Well, they weren't taking affirmative measures to protect that identity. They gave her a desk job in Langley. You don't really have somebody deep undercover going back and forth to Langley, where people can see them.?

Ed Rodgers, Washington Lobbyist and former Republican official, said on July 13, 2005 on the Newshour with Jim Lehrer, ?And also I think it is now a matter of established fact that Mrs. Plame was not a protected covert agent, and I don't think there's any meaningful investigation about that.?

House majority whip Roy Blunt (R, Mo), on Face the Nation, July 17, 2005, ?It certainly wouldn't be the first time that the CIA might have been overzealous in sort of maintaining the kind of top-secret definition on things longer than they needed to. You know, this was a job that the ambassador's wife had that she went to every day. It was a desk job. I think many people in Washington understood that her employment was at the CIA, and she went to that office every day.?

These comments reveal an astonishing ignorance of the intelligence community and the role of cover. The fact is that there are thousands of U.S. intelligence officers who ?work at a desk? in the Washington, D.C. area every day who are undercover. Some have official cover, and some have non-official cover. Both classes of cover must and should be protected.

While we are pleased that the U.S. Department of Justice is conducting an investigation and that the U.S. Attorney General has recused himself, we believe that the partisan attacks against Valerie Plame are sending a deeply discouraging message to the men and women who have agreed to work undercover for their nation?s security.

We are not lawyers and are not qualified to determine whether the leakers technically violated the 1982 Intelligence Identities Protection Act. However, we are confident that Valerie Plame was working in a cover status and that our nation?s leaders, regardless of political party, have a duty to protect all intelligence officers. We believe it is appropriate for the President to move proactively to dismiss from office or administratively punish any official who participated in any way in revealing Valerie Plame's status. Such an act by the President would send an unambiguous message that leaks of this nature will not be tolerated and would be consistent with his duties as the Commander-in-Chief.

We also believe it is important that Congress speak with one non-partisan voice on this issue. Intelligence officers should not be used as political footballs. In the case of Valerie Plame, she still works for the CIA and is not in a position to publicly defend her reputation and honor. We stand in her stead and ask that Republicans and Democrats honor her service to her country and stop the campaign of disparagement and innuendo aimed at discrediting Mrs. Wilson and her husband.

Our friends and colleagues have difficult jobs gathering the intelligence, which helps, for example, to prevent terrorist attacks against Americans at home and abroad. They sometimes face great personal risk and must spend long hours away from family and friends.

They serve because they love this country and are committed to protecting it from threats from abroad and to defending the principles of liberty and freedom. They do not expect public acknowledgement for their work, but they do expect and deserve their government?s protection of their covert status.

For the good of our country, we ask you to please stand up for every man and woman who works for the U.S. intelligence community and help protect their ability to live their cover.

Larry Johnson

JOINED BY:

Mr. Brent Cavan, former Analyst, CIA

Mr. Vince Cannistraro, former Case Officer, CIA

Mr. Michael Grimaldi, former Analyst, CIA

Mr. Mel Goodman, former senior Analyst, CIA

Col. W. Patrick Lang (US Army retired), former Director, Defense Humint Services, DIA

Mr. David MacMichael, former senior estimates officer, National Intelligence Council, CIA

Mr. James Marcinkowski, former Case Officer, CIA

Mr. Ray McGovern, former senior Analyst and PDB Briefer, CIA

Mr. Jim Smith, former Case Officer, CIA

Mr. William C. Wagner, former Case Officer, CIA

Note, the undersigned are from both the CIA's Directorate of Operations and Directorate of Intelligence.

[ekwd]

Mel Goodman was a CIA analyst who testified against a Bush 1 nominee for the head of CIA (I forget the nominee's name). He accused the nominee of hyping info that the Bulgarians had helped the man who tried to assassinate the Pope. He was the first person I ever heard use the word "counterintuitive". The last I saw of him he was working at the National War College. He has also worked at the Center For International Policy. The following is a link to an article he wrote for "Counterpunch" in July 2003.

http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=2077999367228&lang=en-US&FORM=CVRE10

Its safe to say he was part of the problem with the CIA, not part of the answer

[docbnj]

This memo is incredibly unprofessional. It shows that we have had a lot of real jerks working in out CIA and intelligence services.

I would fire the lot of them.

[mountainfolk]

Somehow, the RNC forgot to inform me of their talking points so I have had to on my own, judge events as they have unfolded. I have not yet figured why this situation concerns a leak when there has been no leak. All I come up with is a MSM beating the drums for entrenched,and unelected, CIA employees who think they should control foreign policy rather than allow the elected President George Bush to do so. I hope to God that this administration is cleaning house big time at all of the government agencies where unelected employees are subverting US policies because of their personal liberal persuasions.

[ken21]

so wha'?

these are democrat cia guys.

[madison10]

And aren't all these people perhaps "outing" themselves or those they worked with by putting their names to this document?

Yeah. LOL Geniuses aren't they?

Valerie Plame-Wilson gave a donation to Al Gore's campaign from the CIA front company. That's a great way to keep a secret. /sarc

[palmer]

Larry Johnson has been part of Wilson's team banging on his drum from the very beginning. His early statements were all partisan anti-Bush crap. Now he's pretending to be just concerned about Plame, yeah right.

Who is Larry Johnson? He's the author of one of the more poorly timed op-eds in history. On July 10, 2001, he wrote in the New York Times under the headline "The Declining Terrorist Threat" that "Americans have little to fear" from terrorism unless they travel or work in a few of the world's hotspots.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/994402/posts

[McGavin999]

Hmmmm. How do we know they are former CIA? We could write something and say we were former CIA undercover agents.

[cynicom]

Boo hoo hoo, sob,snivel, whine, don't you people KNOW WHO WE ARE??????

[palmer]

why would they need covert agents stationed inside the US?

They don't, it's illegal to conduct covert operations within the U.S. but it's normal for agents to maintain their cover after coming back from covert operations overseas. That said, it doesn't look to me like Plame's cover was legitimate. Her former boss claims it was, but then I must question his judgement.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

It is illegal for the CIA to operate within the United States. That is the job of the FBI. The CIA works exclusively outside the country.

It used to be illegal for them to operate in the US, but it isn't now. I can't remember what year the law changed but I think it was late 1980s or early 1990s. It was even a question on "Jeopardy" a few years ago.

[palmer]

The CIA was partly responsible for 9/11.

Johnson himself was partly responsible (see http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/994402/posts

[rwa265]

"You could only muster eleven to sign this nonsense."

You can read about one of them here:

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0922-01.htm

You think he just might have an agenda?

[burrian]

Ray McGovern, eh? He was one of the moonbats at that John Conyers Downing Street Memo "hearing" where they were passing out the anti-Israel literature.

He went on the PBS News Hour that evening and was just frothing at the mouth, completely unhinged, hate-filled, and unprofessional. It's sad these people ever held positions of prominence within the intelligence community.

It just shows you how there really is an left-wing clique within the CIA and other institutions. All these signatoires have done is call attention to that fact and bolster the sense that Plame and her gang did indeed consciously game the process by sending Joe Wilson to Niger for the purpose of lending the credibility of the CIA to their partisan attack. Just as they've done with this letter - wrapping themselves in the Langley flag so we won't notice their shameful advocacy.

[Lancey Howard]

LOL, where did the Democrats come up with THIS pack of lying scumbags?

[dirtboy]

These comments reveal an astonishing ignorance of the intelligence community and the role of cover. The fact is that there are thousands of U.S. intelligence officers who ?work at a desk? in the Washington, D.C. area every day who are undercover. Some have official cover, and some have non-official cover. Both classes of cover must and should be protected.

Notice that they never claimed that Plame/Wilson was under cover. PFFFT!

[narby]

It's pretty obvious to me that from the Church hearings on the CIA forward, the left has attempted to stack the deck at CIA with partisians. They've done a good job.

Someone needs to close CIA and let the military resume covert activities. We can trust them.

[Khurkris]

bump for reference

[Texas Songwriter]

Where is their letter repudiating John Kerry for outting a covert operator for the CIA on the floor of the Senate? Where is the letter from the nonpartisans to Harry Reid for doing the same?

[popdonnelly]

Of course, Wilson went to Niger as an "agent" of the CIA. But it's okay for him to blow his "cover" for political advantage.

[Lancey Howard]

We stand in her stead and ask that Republicans and Democrats honor her service to her country and stop the campaign of disparagement and innuendo aimed at discrediting Mrs. Wilson and her husband.

Interesting that these "case officers" have nothing to say about Plame donating $1,000 to the Gore campaign in 2000, or Wilson joining the Kerry campaign in 2003, or the two of them helping to launch a rogue CIA/State Department operation to influence the outcome of the 2004 election.