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Spy Games
By Clifford D. May

Was it really a secret that Joe Wilson's wife worked for the CIA?

It's the top story in the Washington Post this morning as well as in many other media outlets. Who leaked the fact that the wife of Joseph C. Wilson IV worked for the CIA?

On July 14, Robert Novak wrote a column in the Post and other newspapers naming Mr. Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, as a CIA operative.

That wasn't news to me. I had been told that — but not by anyone working in the White House. Rather, I learned it from someone who formerly worked in the government and he mentioned it in an offhanded manner, leading me to infer it was something that insiders were well aware of.

Link to NRO article: Who Didn't Know?"

It has to be seen as puzzling that the agency would deal with an inquiry from the White House on a sensitive national-security matter by sending a retired, Bush-bashing diplomat with no investigative experience. Or didn't the CIA bother to look into Mr. Wilson's background?

Thanks for the link to that article

Wilson said Monday that if the administration actually took an intelligence asset "off the table," that would have been "a dastardly deed ... coming from an administration that came to office promising to restore dignity and honor to the White House. It was contemptible."

I smell a rat. First of all, I agree with Cliff May that many people from plenty of agencies probably knew that Valerie Palme was working for the CIA. Anyone could have tipped off reporters claiming he/she was from the WH. Presuming she was stationed in Washington, I doubt she was engaging in any covert activties and is in no present danger from this disclosure. It will be difficult to station her overseas again, which is why Wilson mentions taking "an intelligence asset off of the table." Overseas, many CIA agents are declared with the host government.

Ms. Palme may have to finish out her CIA career in the US, but this is not that unusual. Depending on her age and number of years in (she can retire at age 50 with 20 years service), she and her husband (Amb Wilson) can live comfortably on their combined USG pensions, which probably total around $150K.

I think Wilson's strident opposition to the liberation of Iraq is based more on personal ambition than principle. He is hoping that a future Dem President will reward him with a job in his administration or some major think tank will pick him up. I particularly resent his allegations that the administration pressured the intelligence community to shape its analysis to meet W's objectives. This guy is a gadfly who is basking in his 15 minutes of fame.