I think the question is really HOW the LATimes found out that these were THE pilots "involved" in the first place. Without the answer to that, the database is useless.
The second question is, if they're "classified" CIA agents what are their names AND home addresses are doing in the database accessible freely (?) by news media... or the database was accessed illegally...? Novak found Plame's name because it was out in the open in "Who's Who", entry bought by Wilsons themselves.
I'd say this maybe more serious than Plamegate, and we might need a SP to get to the bottom of this, at least to find out if news media was illegally breaking into secret (or possibly "classified") CIA database, and/or how they identified that these were THE pilots. Should somebody at CIA send a referral to DoJ, just to find out?
When I first read it, I assumed they got their basic information from access to the court and parliamentary proceedings mentioned in the article ("Relying on the operatives' passport numbers, hotel records, credit card bills and aviation records, German prosecutors are seeking to properly identify the 13 Americans. . .Elsewhere in Europe, legal and parliamentary investigations have focused a harsh spotlight on the CIA's program. . .On Friday, an Italian judge issued arrest warrants for 26 suspected CIA operatives. . .None of the aliases used in Italy match those in the German case. . .Flight records show that. . .according to catering invoices obtained by the prosecutors. . ."). Supplementary information seems to have come from public-source data in the US (e.g., "Federal aviation records show. . ."). The Intelligence Identities Protection Act only applies if a source with authorized access to classified information was involved. It does not cover cases of the media learning such information from other sources, such as the European proceedings and federal aviation records mentioned. The only part of the article I see citing information that seems to be based on a source with authorized access to classified information is this one:
One former CIA operation officer who was involved in the Italian case at CIA headquarters, speaking on condition of anonymity because the case is classified, said he and his colleagues were increasingly nervous about traveling in Europe for fear of getting swept up in the investigations.
However what's being disclosed here is not the identities of those involved, but the fact that those involved are nervous about travelling in Europe because of the investigations. I'm more concerned about the investigations by our European "allies" than I am about this article. I doubt this article revealed anything the European left doesn't already know thanks to these investigations.