[CHARLITE]

"Of course in a sane world the question would be why did the CIA send a flim-flam man, husband of an opponent of Bush's policies, to investigate a serious issue and then why did the CIA try to keep the nepotism of the co-conspirator's secret?"

This is the crux of this entire story. I've said from the outset that Plame instigated the entire conspiracy, using her husband as a tool, and probably her friend, Judith Miller as the media contact to help spread the "news" that Joey Yellowcake couldn't find any "evidence" of a Niger-Iraq connection.

The entire caper was concocted by Plame to discredit President Bush and throw a national election to John François Kerry. That is what the Fitzgerald investigation is trying to verify. It's not about a few seconds out of an already short, 2 minute conversation between Rove & Cooper.

Fitzgerald is doing big game fishing. He's not looking for minnows.

Char :)

[EagleUSA]

The entire caper was concocted by Plame to discredit President Bush and throw a national election to John François Kerry.
-----
Exactly - let's hope the investigation proves it out. It will be an excellent (another) club for the GOP candidate to use against the "VERACITY" of the left...

[kellynla]

ya know, these "independent prosecutors" are a waste of time and taxpayers money...
these "independent prosecutors" will drag out these investigations for YEARS just so they can continue to receive a check...and at the "end of the day" they'll indict a ham sandwich just so they can say they did something...

[BonesfromHeaven]

Thank god i've found some people that think the way i do. This whole thing has been a smoke screen the entire time. Plame and Wilson are slime, as is Cooper.

[MizSterious]

Wouldn't surprise me. This thing first reared its ugly head around election time; they needed an "issue," even if was based on anonymous sources (aka, "the voices in my head").

[CyberAnt]

Everybody keeps leaving out the other major player in this STAGED event = HILLARY.

While she may have been campaigning for Kerry - secretly she HAD TO MAKE HIM LOSE - because she needed a clear field for her run in 2008.

[Cicero]

I only would depart from your position to suggest that the plot originated with Plame and Wilson together. They are, after all, husband and wife, and both of them appear to be flaming liberals who hate Bush.

My question has been, why did the CIA allow Plame to get away with it? Who approved giving the assignment to Wilson? Or did Plame do it all on her own?

Tenet was still director. Did he know about this beforehand? It was, after all, a critical mission at the time, because it was in an area touching on the administration's highest priorities. It must have been evident that a screwup, accidental or intentional, could blow up in everyone's face.

[Buck W.]

"The entire caper was concocted by Plame to discredit President Bush and throw a national election to John François Kerry. "

Hmmmmm...If I were a conspiracy theorist, I might say that Valerie gave John "aid and comfort" during Teresa's more violent rants...