Obviously.
I now think this was an accidental happenstance not orchestrated from the beginning by Wilson et al. There may even have been an accidental breach of Plame's genuine undercover assignment.
Perhaps the investigation will show that there is a process problem. If a CIA analyst, whose workplace is not a secret, goes undercover, which I understand is fairly rare, then it becomes necessary to protect her identity. But perhaps not everyone gets the memo in order to filter information appropriately.
I understand Novak asked the CIA why he should not divulge this and they could or would not give him a good reason.
The administration reportedly did not actively call Novak to give him this juicy bit, but it came out, and it is easy to believe this administration flunky thought it good to make it appear Wilson got the Niger gig because of his wife. Some people still believe Cheney ordered it, for Chrissake.
Anyway, whether or not there was a true accidental breach, this fell into the DEMOCRATS lap and they don't have anything else that is sticking to Bush at the moment. There will probably be no way for them to make it drag on. But DEMOCRATS will roll the dice to see if the investigation accidentally turns up something else juicy.
What an interesting situation... The recall could overwhelm this whole story, in effect making it irrelevant... Or, this could blow out of proportion, tainting all Republicans in the near-term- effectively keeping Davis in power as he capitilizes/opportunizes the situation...
I sure hope it's the former...
It may be a long-shot theory, but I wouldn't put anything past these slime... After all, what new event occurred that brought this out now, as it's a 2 month-old story???
That is the only possiblity. Personally, I find it hard to believe, and think she's an analys who was hyped into covert agent by people with their own agenda. I do believe Wilson either has a personal feud going with Rove or he is being told what to say by someone else.
On Good Morning America, he retracted his accusations against Rove : "I don't have any knowledge that Karl Rove himself was either the leaker or the authorizer of the leak." His reversals remind me of Scott Ritter. Perhaps Wilson is simply unstable.
"I understand Novak asked the CIA why he should not divulge this and they could or would not give him a good reason."
What Novak said was "They asked me not to use her name, but never indicated it would endanger her or anybody else. According to a confidential source at the CIA, Mrs. Wilson was an analyst, not a spy, not a covert operative and not in charge of undercover operators."
This has gone from nothing or an accident to a cardboard castle of monumental proportions built by those who wish to regain power.
It may not have STARTED as a conspiracy, two months later it has become a conspiracy. A cause du jour for the DLC.