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Originally Posted by x-factor
I don't want to get into a political debate. With regards to this post:
- Criticizing Bush in this instance has nothing to do with excusing what other Presidents have done.
- Criticizing Bush for the pardon does not mean that Wilson didn't have his own agenda or that he's right about any of the Iraq stuff.
- Criticizing Bush for this pardon is criticizing Bush for completely disrespecting the level of the crime committed here and the seriousness of the potential consequences.
Libby (among others) should swing for the Plame thing. You don't ever mess with cover. Ever. Period. Never. Ever. Never... Sometimes? No really, never. But what if her hus-? NO, NEVER.
There is no "well, she's undercover but not really." If she's undercover, then she's undercover and you protect that because its about more than just her career. I don't care what her husband said or did.
A smart counter-intel analyst can potentially take that one little piece of information (her identity) and track Plame back to her sources, her coworkers, any issues she worked, etc. There's a possibility that someone got a bullet in their head as a result of this whole fiasco. Not to mention the fact that it becomes harder to recruit sources when they think they could eventually be exposed to their internal security ministry by someone's silly political agenda back in DC.
82nd...You're a good guy and you're entitled to your opinion, but you don't know what you're talking about in this case. People in every intel agency rotate between field and headquarters assignments all the time. Its the same way military officers rotate between staff jobs and field commands as they move up the chain. You misunderstood Baer's books if you think having a job in DC necessarily means you're a do-nothing.
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Bob Baer got stuck with a desk job at Langley HQ. Why ? if you listen to him, you'd believe that the Agency routed him out of his position with the clandestine service. I'll take a guess and say that if your a covered operative and suddenly find your self lacking in overseas assignments, you might not be on the invitation list to the next mixer. Bobs book "Sleeping with the Devil" is fairly written and any discussion of the text of the book would require more than this forum and merely a thread, especially with individuals that understand the complexities of the middle east far beyond myself and others here. What I will give Mr. Baer is a pat on the back for his years of self sacrifice to this country, but I wont be purchasing another of his books. He's lock step with left and I'm lock step with the right. I'm certain Mr. Baer participated in many activities in the middle east that he now references as *corruption* in both of his best sellers. It's been convenient during the last 6 and half years for Mr. Baer to start to open his mouth through a type writer.
TR reached the thread before I could comment, but he has broken the bottle already on the possiblility that Joe Wilson himself was a larger part of his wifes dilemma than Libby or Armitage. I still want to know why he was chosen to for the trip to Africa. Was he paid as a "Blue Badger" ? Was his wife instrumental in this choice ? For the life of me I cannot see any reasonable answer to as why he was the chosen one for that trip.
Some time ago someone here said this "Her tradecraft was lousy" Perhaps her husbunds bafoonery was intentional. Remember, they wanted the President, and for an impeachment. Instead they go Scooter and now he's commuted of his jail time.
As for cover and Valerie Plame, I would not purport to understand any activities of agents with the Central Intelligence Agency. And I do not watch James Bond movies as a tutorial for their activities. But something about her and her status has alway's bothered me from the start of the entire drama that the left and the democrats in congress made it out to be. She had spent the last six years prior to her supposed "outing" at Langley without any overseas assignments. 6 years is a long time to sit in Va when your trained to develope assets. I guess she cold called them through a secure line.