The Real Story Behind the Leak

Center for Equal Opportunity | 10/14/03 | Linda Chavez

[haole]

The Real Story Behind the Leak 10/14/03

Joseph C. Wilson IV is having the time of his life. The former-diplomat-turned-Bush-administration-accuser spent last week ruminating over who might play his wife-the now-famous CIA operative Valerie Plame-when Hollywood comes knocking on the couple's door. "She is really quite amazing," Wilson told The Washington Post, which described Plame as a slim, 40-year-old blonde, possessing "the looks of a film star" herself.

Somehow, this doesn't sound like a man worried that the leak of his wife's name and identity as a CIA employee by someone high up in the Bush administration might jeopardize her life. It sounds a lot more like Wilson is reveling in the attention the disclosure of this supposed deep, dark secret has brought his way-and he's looking for more. There is nothing unusual about anyone in Washington wanting his 15 minutes of fame. But it does call into question whether all the Sturm und Drang generated by the leak of Wilson's wife's name isn't way out of proportion to the offense.

Mr. and Mrs. Wilson-actually, Plame is the third Mrs. Wilson- aren't exactly apolitical career bureaucrats toiling in obscurity for years. Wilson, the last American diplomat at the U.S. embassy in Iraq before the first Gulf War, held a press conference wearing a noose around his neck after Saddam Hussein threatened to execute anyone harboring "foreigners" just before the war began. Joe Wilson clearly likes to strike a pose.

Both Wilson and Plame are also active Democrats. He worked for both Bill Clinton and Al Gore, and donated money-the maximum allowed by law-to Gore's 2000 presidential campaign, as did Plame. They certainly were entitled to do so, though Plame's donation was risky, at best.

All political contributions require the donor to list his or her employer's name, which then becomes a matter of public record accessible instantly on the Internet. Plame listed her "employer's" name, all right. It just happened to be a company that apparently operated as a CIA front, which Plame's political contribution has now exposed to the world.

Wilson has endorsed one of George W. Bush's Democratic opponents, Sen. John Kerry, as well, and his anti-Bush sentiment is deeply ideological. Wilson chose to write his first, stinging criticism of the Bush administration's Iraq policy in the far-left magazine The Nation in March.

"The underlying objective of this war," Wilson wrote, "is the imposition of a Pax Americana on the region and installation of vassal regimes that will control restive populations." He went on to predict: "Nations in the region, having contracted with the United States for their security umbrella, will now listen when Washington tells them to tailor policies and curb anti-Western dissent. Hegemony in the Arab nations of the Gulf has been achieved," a laughable suggestion, if it weren't so viscerally anti-American.

Wilson apparently believes he will bring down this president. He mused to the Post that his future obituary might read, "Joseph C. Wilson IV, the Bush I administration political appointee who did the most damage to the Bush II administration..."

Wilson isn't likely to realize his fantasy, despite the Justice Department investigation into the leak of his wife's name. The only thing that could really hurt the administration is an attempted cover-up — and they know it, which is why they are cooperating fully.

Of course, the Democrats will keep the drumbeat going. "I don't think we're going to let this drop," said Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) to a group of Democrats recently. Wilson told the crowd at the same meeting, "At the end of the day, it's of keen interest to me to see whether or not we can get Karl Rove frog-marched out of the White House in handcuffs."

In the end, the Democrats will fail, and this incident will become a mere footnote in Washington's never-ending catalogue of intrigue and scandals. I guess Joe Wilson will just have to devise some new role to play if he wants to regain center stage.

Linda Chavez is CEO and President of the Center for Equal Opportunity. You can email her at comment@ceousa.org.

[RatSlayer]

Why the heck do republican administrations keep appointing rabid democrats????

Don't they bother to actually vet anyone?

[tioga]

Joseph Wilson -- A Legend in His Own Mind....

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[jaz.357]

Let the 'RATS do the FROG MARCH.

Come next November,the GOP does the CAKE WALK!

[agincourt1415]

His wife is a clerk at the CIA, big deal.

[Miss Marple]

Wilson was not a Bush II appointee. He was a career diplomat who got a courtesy appontment at the end of Bush I's term. He then leveraged that into a political appontment under Clinton. He quit when the current president was elected.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Bump for later read.

[onedoug]

...and the leaker, himself.

[MonroeDNA]

Hi folks,

Don't you just love this place? Are you becoming addicted to FR? I am a Freepaholic. I have to tune in every day. This is the best place on the planet to get unbiased news, and the best analysis, bar none. You know that. I know that.

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Some of the brightest people in the world come here daily, to learn, and read what YOU have written. People like Rush (bless him), Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, both Houses of Congress, their staffs, World leaders, and all freedom lovers come here.

In some countries, you could go to jail for posting here. For real. It's that powerful.

Communists in power HATE this site. They can't control the propaganda. Come to think of it, communists NOT in power hate it, too. So does the Democrat leadership.

Do you want this site to stay here? There is no membership fee. The fundraisers are to keep it going, 3 months at a time. Think about that. 3 months at a time.

China would love this place to fail. So would Chavez, Castro, the idiot running North Korea, Tom Daschle, and Hillary.

I know it sounds like such a little amount, but I am humbly asking you to consider donating just $3 a month. A dime a day. I know it sounds like nothing, but it is everything. It really is. Put it on a credit card, and that's that. The link is at the bottom of the main page, way, way down. You will join us freedom lovers who are committed to spreading the word, and letting people all over the world have a place they can get unbiased information. Your dime a day is 100 times more than the guy in China who is reading this can afford. And he will go to jail if he is caught reading this. Think about that.

I've been here since '97, and know how this site has changed the world. Become a permanent part of it. I am asking you, personally.

Please. Your pride will swell, and rightly so. It feels good.

That guy in China, wanting freedom, depends on YOU.

[tioga]

yep, most likely suspect........joseph wilson himself

[scotiamor]

It is my understanding that Novak asked, "why did the CIA ask Wilson to go there?" The "senior admin official" replied, "his wife recommended him - she works there".
Novak did two things: He used Who's Who in America to find the wife's name, which was provided by Mr. Wilson to Who's Who. He also gave Mrs. Wilson the title "CIA Operative".

Seems to me there is a good case that Wilson outed his wife by listing her real name in Who's Who. Don't expect the liberal press to report this detail.

[Dog Gone]

I know it sounds like such a little amount, but I am humbly asking you to consider donating just $3 a month.

Sorry, but I'm going to keep my monthly donation far higher than that. Anybody who frequents this forum regularly and isn't willing to part with 10 cents a day for the privilege is something less than a tightwad.

In fact, give me time, and I'll come up with all kinds of descriptive names for them.

[MHGinTN]

I'm wondering if donating to a political campaign using the front company name is a legal violation of his and her oaths taken?

[bert]

With apologies to Linda Chavez, but "The Real Story"?

This is mostly a rehash of the mismash. She did bring up one new tid bit. Plame is wilson's spouse III.

[MonroeDNA]

Dog Gone, you are certainly one heck of a guy, and a great donor.

Having once lived in my car for three weeks, I know what it is like to live from paycheck to paycheck.

I am only trying to say that a dime a day is a GREAT contribution, and know how painful that can be.

[camas]

i bet she is one of jimmy carter's affirmative action types.

[Dog Gone]

I was trying to shame the people who wouldn't miss a dime a day, or even a lousy quarter, into donating. I hope it works!

10 cents a day is less than the cost of two first class postage stamps per week. Granted, if you're living in your car, you might not be able to afford that, so to all Freepers living in cars, I'll cover your contribution.

[irv]

"The underlying objective of this war," Wilson wrote, "is the imposition of a Pax Americana on the region and installation of vassal regimes that will control restive populations."

Is there something wrong with that?

[MonroeDNA]

DG, a woman from Texas sent in a dollar. That is what she could afford, and I have no doubt it was painful.

I wish I knew who she is.

Freedom lovers should NEVER be ashamed of contributing any amount, IMHO.

Woman from TX, please contact me. Please?