Posted on 10/21/2005 5:44:38 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
CLAREMONT - While investigations into the leak of his CIA-operative wife's identity continued, Joseph C. Wilson blasted the Bush administration in a speech at Claremont McKenna College on Wednesday night. The former U.S. ambassador to Iraq charged that the administration's actions, including those associated with the war in Iraq, have tarnished the world's perception of the United States.
"This is a radical administration and I fear history will judge us for Abu Ghraib," Wilson said, referring to the scandal-ridden, U.S. military prison in Iraq.
Speaking to nearly 650 people, Wilson addressed a broad range of issues, including the investigation surrounding the leak of his wife's identity and the United States' reputation.
Wilson explained how he traveled to Niger in 2002 to investigate claims Iraq was acquiring uranium from Africa in order to make nuclear weapons. He said he found no evidence to support the claim and in 2003 penned a column that appeared in the New York Times titled "What I Didn't Find in Iraq."
Following the column's publication, the identity of his wife, Valerie Plame, was disclosed in a column written by Robert Novak. Novak also wrote that Wilson was sent to Niger because his wife worked for the CIA. Wilson has since charged that White House officials had deliberately blown his wife's undercover status to punish him for his public opposition to the administration's claims.
"The first line of my obituary now reads: Husband of the first American spy to have her identity compromised by her own government," Wilson said.
The leak investigation "is about the lies and deceptions that underpin the justification for taking this country to war," Wilson said. "This is the administration's effort to attack somebody who stood up and said, `I want to hold my government on account of what my government has said and done in the name of the American people.' "
A career diplomat for 23 years, Wilson most recently served as special assistant to the president and senior director for African Affairs from June 1997 until June 1998. He also served in Iraq as Deputy Chief of Mission from 1988 to 1991.
Wilson said his background in African affairs was partly why he went to Niger. He noted he came out of "comfortable retirement" to travel to the country, and later realized that the administration's claims were untrue.
"It became apparent that we were badly misled on why we went to war," he said. "I talked to the State Department and people in the White House and said, `You need to correct the record on this. You have a responsibility to correct the record.' "
Following his attempts to have the claims corrected, Wilson charges that the administration began to look into fixing the "Wilson problem," which culminated in the disclosure of his wife's identity.
The disclosure has been painful for his family, but Wilson said he believes his telling the truth was an act of civic duty and not political courage.
With the U.S. war in Iraq - at the expense of more than $200 billion and nearly 2,000 U.S. lives - Wilson said he is concerned about the country's direction and reputation around the world. People had once looked at the United States as "the shining city on the hill, but now our credibility has collapsed because we have no followers," he said.
Many who attended responded favorably to Wilson's speech, but noted that it was simply Wilson's interpretation of events.
"Mr. Wilson has a point to make, but, overall, I was very receptive to what he had to say," said Nick Le Du, sophomore at Claremont McKenna College.
Jeff McCull, a retired U.S. history teacher, was heartened by Wilson's discussion of the country's reputation abroad.
"He brought forth what I'm worried about - the lies and misrepresentation," McCull said. "It may take a long time for the U.S. to gain back the respect."
Hey fool...countries don't have friends, they have interests. There are no international warm fuzzies.
This guy gets a pass from the MSM and even the conservative puditocracy.
If he took no prisoners, why should we?
Time for a cure. One bet is to prohibit nepotism in government, and prosecute people who violate the current law ~ e.g. Valerie Flame.
Send that chick to jail.
That's the ticket!
"He brought forth what I'm worried about - the lies and misrepresentation," McCull said. "It may take a long time for the U.S. to gain back the respect."
Sell it down the road, loser. Your side lost the last few elections.
History's gonna have a bigger docket than that. What a contemptible, vain, silly horse's ass this guy is.
Comfortable retirement? He was working for the Dems. Wise up Joe. The Dems took you for the schmuck you are.
Sounds like the reaction of a liar that got caught.
His ass is mud inside the Beltway too.
Interesting, But if I recall, it was President Bush himself that called Mexico, "Our good friend".
The author sounds as if she is very much attracted to Amb. Wilson.
There are two exceptions (Briton & Australia) and Mexico is not one.
Yeah, I'm sure this will go down as a real watershed in the annuls of history. Just goes to illustrate how narrow and small his thinking is. No wonder he and his wife are so big in their own minds. What a piece of work this guy is.
our credibility has collapsed because we have no followers," he said.
If that doesn't sum up eight years of Clintonian foreign
policy, I'll eat my hat.
The degree to which the American people are so thorougly uninformed and misinformed, and more so those in academia, is frightening at times.
Here is a listener who leaves a speech thinking the speaker (Wilson) has shown him something important about "lies and misrepresentations" and that speaker's tale of his own actions in current national WMD policy history consists of mostly lies and misrepresentations.
Liberalism can only succeed by maintaining illusions.
"The first line of my obituary now reads: Husband of the first American spy to have her identity compromised by her own government," Wilson said.
What a Drama Queen. Has he nothing of his own to stand on?
Aren't this bozo's 15 minutes up?
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