End of an Affair [Plame]

Washington Post ^ | September 1, 2006

[West Coast Conservative]

WE'RE RELUCTANT to return to the subject of former CIA employee Valerie Plame because of our oft-stated belief that far too much attention and debate in Washington has been devoted to her story and that of her husband, former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, over the past three years. But all those who have opined on this affair ought to take note of the not-so-surprising disclosure that the primary source of the newspaper column in which Ms. Plame's cover as an agent was purportedly blown in 2003 was former deputy secretary of state Richard L. Armitage.

Mr. Armitage was one of the Bush administration officials who supported the invasion of Iraq only reluctantly. He was a political rival of the White House and Pentagon officials who championed the war and whom Mr. Wilson accused of twisting intelligence about Iraq and then plotting to destroy him. Unaware that Ms. Plame's identity was classified information, Mr. Armitage reportedly passed it along to columnist Robert D. Novak "in an offhand manner, virtually as gossip," according to a story this week by the Post's R. Jeffrey

Smith, who quoted a former colleague of Mr. Armitage.

It follows that one of the most sensational charges leveled against the Bush White House -- that it orchestrated the leak of Ms. Plame's identity to ruin her career and thus punish Mr. Wilson -- is untrue......

Nevertheless, it now appears that the person most responsible for the end of Ms. Plame's CIA career is Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson chose to go public with an explosive charge, claiming -- falsely, as it turned out -- that he had debunked reports of Iraqi uranium-shopping in Niger and that his report had circulated to senior administration officials. He ought to have expected that both those officials and journalists such as Mr. Novak would ask why a retired ambassador would have been sent on such a mission and that the answer would point to his wife. He diverted responsibility from himself and his false charges by claiming that President Bush's closest aides had engaged in an illegal conspiracy. It's unfortunate that so many people took him seriously.

[STARWISE]

Of course he did. Armitage is a gossip .. Woodward is a gossip suction machine. I just can't imagine
how Fitzie seriously moves forward .. do you see any legal grounds these revelations raise with
which Libby's lawyers can make some tangible hay?

[Cap Huff]

It would seem that the Jefferson business is due to come to the surface:

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles.php?article_id=5702

[STARWISE]

That's because he READS people's minds.

[Mo1]

I totally forgot about that .. thanks for the reminder

[Howlin]

Well, well.

[Carolinamom]

Was this $50 Million trip of Clinton's delegation to Africa the one w/about 2000 on the planes, including Hillary's mama?

[STARWISE]

Tapping foot ..............

Report: Justice Department Probing Durbin, Rockefeller CIA Leak "The fact of the matter is that [Durbin, Rockefeller and Wyden] divulged something that was above and beyond top secret and frankly, they probably blew the strategy and the hundreds of millions of dollars that were being spent to pursue it," Babbin told Crowley."

[BigSkyFreeper]

The left-winged press will find something else to batter the President with, even if they have to make it all up.

[MrEdd]

The left-winged press will find something else to batter the President with, even if they have to make it all up again.

Fixed it for you.

[Cap Huff]

I don't know about Hillary's mama, but that trip was the mama of all boondogles.

[BigSkyFreeper]

Because Joe Wilson has been busted as a liar. They'll of course want to "move on" now.

They've already moved on to "Rumsfeld should be fired", "Cheney should be muzzled" and "Bush is politicizing 9/11".

[ozzymandus]

Everybody who was dragged into court over this BS should sue wilson for their legal bills and "emotional damages".

[AmeriBrit]

HOLY COW!!!

Please tell me this is true and I'm not dreaming.

All the false accusations that have been flying around out of the mouths of the liars, the innocent lives that now have a scar on them, the millions of tax-payers money [$24 million I think it was at last count] the damage it's done to President Bush and Administration, and the cost and damage to Libby's career, all because two trailer trash individuals wanted to be the talk of the town.


I hope this isn't the end of this saga. Hopefully the next chapter will be the trials of the two responsible and all those who aided and abetted them from top government officials, Tim Russert, Larry Johnson, Ray McGovern and down to the cleaning lady if they had any part in it.

I'd sure like to be on the Wilson's/Plame jury. If it was up to me they'd never see daylight again.

[Erasmus]

To Liberals he remained a hero until his death, and only when KGB fiels confirmed he was a spy for Stalin, 50 years later, did the hard-core believers relent.

To the real hardcore cases that morphed him from a hero to a saint.

[Erasmus]

Unaware that Ms. Plame's identity was classified information, Mr. Armitage reportedly passed it along to columnist Robert D. Novak "in an offhand manner, virtually as gossip," according to a story this week by the Post's R. Jeffrey.

They still buy the "undercover" legend.

All of that might have been avoided had Mr. Armitage's identity been known three years ago.

They're still pretending Fitzyboy didn't know it back then.

[Miss Marple]

Late to the thread, but happy to see this Washington Post statement. Will wonders never cease?

[YaYa123]

Can't wait to see if the Wilsons lose their big money book deal.

[GOP_Proud]

bookmark

[jimfree]

The last sentence is sweet. It's unfortunate that so many people took him seriously. I don't know if there is anything more important to Joe Wilson than to be taken seriously.