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White House mistakenly identifies CIA chief in Afghanistan

Your memory betrays you again:

Actually, no it didn't...


In March 2007, Plame addressed the question while testifying before the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: "I did not recommend him. I did not suggest him. There was no nepotism involved. I did not have the authority.... It's been borne out in the testimony during the Libby trial, and I can tell you that it just doesn't square with the facts." She described that in February 2002, while discussing an inquiry from the office of Vice President Cheney about the alleged Iraqi uranium purchases, a colleague who knew of her husband's diplomatic background and previous work with the CIA suggested sending him, and that she agreed to facilitate the discussion between her husband and her superiors despite her own ambivalence about the idea.​

Plame affair - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


In 2007, Senator Kit Bond released the entire text of Mrs. Wilson’s February 12, 2002 memo. The memo that led the Senate investigation to conclude that Plame recommended Wilson for the trip. Here is the text of that memo where she referenced a February 5, 2002 CIA intelligence report about Niger, Iraq, and uranium that had been circulating in the previous week:


Iraq-related Nuclear Report Makes a Splash

The report forwarded below has prompted me to send this on to you and request your comments and opinion. Briefly, it seems that Niger has signed a contract with Iraq to sell them uranium. The IC [Intelligence Community] is getting spun up about this for obvious reasons. The embassy in Niamey has taken the position that this report can’t be true — they have such cozy relations with the GON [Government of Niger] that they would know if something like this transpired.

So where do I fit in? As you may recall, [redacted] of CP/[office 2] recently approached my husband to possibly use his contacts in Niger to investigate [a separate Niger matter]. After many fits and starts, [redacted] finally advised that the station wished to pursue this with liaison. My husband is willing to help, if it makes sense, but no problem if not. End of story.

Now, with this report, it is clear that the IC is still wondering what is going on… my husband has good relations with both the PM and the former minister of mines, not to mention lots of French contacts, both of whom could possibly shed light on this sort of activity. To be frank with you, I was somewhat embarrassed by the agency’s sloppy work last go-round, and I am hesitant to suggest anything again. However, [my husband] may be in a position to assist. Therefore, request your thoughts on what, if anything, to pursue here. Thank you for your time on this
.​




Are you accepting that she was, at the time Novak published, a covert CIA agent?

Under the law, yes I believe she was considered to be covert.


About what, specifically?

Novak was not told by Harlow her status was covert, or that her identity was classified. He is not allowed to disclose to the public if a person is a covert operative. Secondly, you say it was planned to leak her name to Novak and that he was a patsy. There is absolutely no evidence to support that accusation.


In his testimony to the grand jury, Libby testified that both he and Vice President Cheney believed that Joseph Wilson was qualified for the mission, though they wondered if he would have been selected had his wife not worked at the CIA.[37][38]

Subsequent press accounts reported that "White House officials wanted to know how much of a role she had in selecting him for the assignment."[39]

In his book, Tenet writes "Mid-level officials in [the CIA’s Counterproliferation Division (CPD)] decided on their own initiative to [ask Joe Wilson to look into the Niger issue because] he'd helped them on a project once before, and he'd be easy to contact because his wife worked in CPD."[40]​

Too bad for both you and Tenet, that Plame's memo on February 12, 2002 totally contradicts that.



It was established at trial that it was Cheney himself who first told Libby about Plame's identity as a CIA agent, in the course of complaining about criticisms of the administration's run-up to war leveled by her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson. And, as Fitzgerald notes: "The evidence at trial further established that when the investigation began, Mr. Libby kept the Vice President apprised of his shifting accounts of how he claimed to have learned about Ms. Wilson's CIA employment."

The investigation, Fitzgerald writes, "was necessary to determine whether there was concerted action by any combination of the officials known to have disclosed the information about Ms. Plame to the media as anonymous sources, and also whether any of those who were involved acted at the direction of others. This was particularly important in light of Mr. Libby's statement to the FBI that he may have discussed Ms. Wilson's employment with reporters at the specific direction of the Vice President."

That's fine and dandy, but what Fitz couldn't establish was that anyone in the Administration was informed in any way that Plame was a covert operative, or that he identity was classified.




Um, the MEMO was stamped SECRET on every page.

Here is the unclassifed, redacted, court released copy:

http://www.nysun.com/pics/31062_1.php

See all of the places it is stamped SECRET.
Maybe Armitage had trouble reading documents, there is a lot of that going around lately too.

I never said the memo wasn't secret... I said that just because it was classified, does not make the identity of the people mentioned in it classified... In fact, here is a screen shot of the memo mentioning plame from your link.

Pay real close attention to what I highlighted in yellow:

plame.jpg

You see what I mean?

Even the CIA memo sent to the State Department describer her as a "CIA WMD managerial type" and did NOT say she was a covert operative.

(continued below)
 
Gimmesometruth said:
FFS, you just got done reading from HARLOW that he confirmed during his conversations with Novak that she was COVERT.

WTF? Are you forgetting what I just corrected you about?

Sorry, but Harlow did not tell Novak that. He said that he could mention in his article the thing about her recommending Wilson, but that he shouldn't use her name. According to Novak Harlow said not to use it because it could be an issue if she traveled abroad, but he never said her identity was classified, or indicated in any way that doing so would be dangerous... which is why he went ahead and used it anyway.

What you fail to grasp here is, that if Harlow had told him she was a covert operative and her identity was classified, a) Harlow would have been in big trouble for leaking that information, and b) Robert Novak would have been indicted because he would have violated the law for knowingly disclosing her name in his article.




Libby's lies, Fitzgerald wrote, "made impossible an accurate evaluation of the role that Mr. Libby and those with whom he worked played in the disclosure of information regarding Ms. Wilson's CIA employment and about the motivations for their actions."​

Dan Froomkin - Fitzgerald Again Points to Cheney - washingtonpost.com

Now you've found the "cover your butt" portion of this issue... Fitz spent nearly 2 years and untold millions of tax payer dollars on a witch hunt that turned out to be, as Dana Perino said yesterday, a "nothing burger". There was no way he could pronounce publicly that all that time and all those millions of dollars were for nothing and that nobody had violated the law... He used Libby as an excuse, a scape goat, which is why he indicted him in the first place.

I still have no idea how you think revealing that she worked at the CIA would be an "embarrassment" to Wilson, he was proud of her career. To reveal her position was an act of malice, just the acknowledging that it was done to "get Joe Wilson" is a recognizing of the fact. I have no idea why you think your saying what you say is supposed to be an excuse.

So they could say "This guy isn't a covert agent and he doesn't even work for the CIA... The only reason they sent someone so unqualified was because his wife, who works at the CIA in Langley, pulled some strings to get him the job,"

Yes, I exaggerated it, just as I'm sure the Bush Administration wanted it to be... It's called "Politics".

Four upper WH employees nearly simultaneously revealing the name of a covert agent to multiple reporters does not happen by accident, especially when you admit it was done intentionally.

I think there's a good chance it was done by design (that's speculation), but they had no idea that her identity was classified or that she was a cover agent... As far as they knew, she worked at a desk in Langley, just as the "secret" memo that was sent to the Administration that you alluded to above.

There was no crime, because nobody was ever informed of her status... Why is that so hard for you to understand?
 
Novak was not told by Harlow her status was covert, or that her identity was classified.
Harlow, the former CIA spokesman, said in an interview yesterday that he testified last year before a grand jury about conversations he had with Novak at least three days before the column was published. He said he warned Novak, in the strongest terms he was permitted to use without revealing classified information, that Wilson’s wife had not authorized the mission and that if he did write about it, her name should not be revealed.
Harlow said that after Novak’s call, he checked Plame’s status and confirmed that she was an undercover operative. He said he called Novak back to repeat that the story Novak had related to him was wrong and that Plame’s name should not be used.


Secondly, you say it was planned to leak her name to Novak and that he was a patsy. There is absolutely no evidence to support that accusation.
Anyone with half a brain can see that, Novak was used as a patsy




Too bad for both you and Tenet, that Plame's memo on February 12, 2002 totally contradicts that.
I am still waiting for how this has any significance.





That's fine and dandy, but what Fitz couldn't establish was that anyone in the Administration was informed in any way that Plame was a covert operative, or that he identity was classified.

I never said the memo wasn't secret... I said that just because it was classified, does not make the identity of the people mentioned in it classified...

The term classified information means information or material designated and clearly marked or clearly represented, pursuant to the provisions of a statute or Executive order (or a regulation or order issued pursuant to a statute or Executive order), as requiring a specific degree of protection against unauthorized disclosure for reasons of national security.
 
Sorry, but Harlow did not tell Novak that. He said that he could mention in his article the thing about her recommending Wilson, but that he shouldn't use her name.
You make no sense, mentioning her....would be disclosing, identifying her...Plame.

Harlow, the former CIA spokesman, said in an interview yesterday that he testified last year before a grand jury about conversations he had with Novak at least three days before the column was published. He said he warned Novak, in the strongest terms he was permitted to use without revealing classified information, that Wilson’s wife had not authorized the mission and that if he did write about it, her name should not be revealed.
Harlow said that after Novak’s call, he checked Plame’s status and confirmed that she was an undercover operative. He said he called Novak back to repeat that the story Novak had related to him was wrong and that Plame’s name should not be used.



What you fail to grasp here is, that if Harlow had told him she was a covert operative and her identity was classified, a) Harlow would have been in big trouble for leaking that information, and b) Robert Novak would have been indicted because he would have violated the law for knowingly disclosing her name in his article.
He did disclose her name, he was not prosecuted because he turned states evidence.





Now you've found the "cover your butt" portion of this issue... Fitz spent nearly 2 years and untold millions of tax payer dollars on a witch hunt that turned out to be, as Dana Perino said yesterday, a "nothing burger". There was no way he could pronounce publicly that all that time and all those millions of dollars were for nothing and that nobody had violated the law... He used Libby as an excuse, a scape goat, which is why he indicted him in the first place.
Libby lied under oath, he was dead meat.



So they could say "This guy isn't a covert agent and he doesn't even work for the CIA... The only reason they sent someone so unqualified was because his wife, who works at the CIA in Langley, pulled some strings to get him the job,"

Yes, I exaggerated it, just as I'm sure the Bush Administration wanted it to be... It's called "Politics".
There is no point there, the VP said Wilson was qualified. The point still is you admitted they went after his wife to hurt him.



I think there's a good chance it was done by design (that's speculation), but they had no idea that her identity was classified or that she was a cover agent... As far as they knew, she worked at a desk in Langley, just as the "secret" memo that was sent to the Administration that you alluded to above.There was no crime, because nobody was ever informed of her status... Why is that so hard for you to understand?
Now you are trying to argue that a document labeled SECRET is not secret, that these top level officials did not understand what SECRET means, that they suddenly became unaware of the implications of USC 426.

I think it is completely stretching the bonds of rationality to say that a CIA pr guy can find out with one call that she was covert.....but yet this escaped members of Cheney's office.

You can believe that fairy tale if you like....and.....you do.

You can play it that way if you like, but it is baseless.
 
Harlow, the former CIA spokesman, said in an interview yesterday that he testified last year before a grand jury about conversations he had with Novak at least three days before the column was published. He said he warned Novak, in the strongest terms he was permitted to use without revealing classified information, that Wilson’s wife had not authorized the mission and that if he did write about it, her name should not be revealed.
Harlow said that after Novak’s call, he checked Plame’s status and confirmed that she was an undercover operative. He said he called Novak back to repeat that the story Novak had related to him was wrong and that Plame’s name should not be used.

1. He didn't tell him that her identity was classified, just that he shouldn't use it because it might cause problems for her if she ever chose to travel abroad.
2. He was not allowed to reveal to Novak that she was a covert agent who's identity was classified, or he would have been breaking the law himself.
3. He never told him he couldn't use her name, he just suggested that he shouldn't
4. Novak made it clear that Harlow gave no indication that revealing her name might put her in danger, otherwise he said he would have never printed it.


Anyone with half a brain can see that, Novak was used as a patsy

Translated:"To hell with the evidence, to hell with the testimony and to hell with the known facts... I hate republicans and I say it was a plot to destroy her career, destroy her life, and put her in danger of physical harm DAMMIT!!"




I am still waiting for how this has any significance
.

You are the one who asserted that I had a lapse in memory and that she didn't suggest her husband for the mission... I was just proving to you my memory on that was just fine and it was you who was in error.







The term classified information means information or material designated and clearly marked or clearly represented, pursuant to the provisions of a statute or Executive order (or a regulation or order issued pursuant to a statute or Executive order), as requiring a specific degree of protection against unauthorized disclosure for reasons of national security.


You are wrong... Dead wrong...

A "classified" or "secret" document means that the subject matter being described or discussed in the document is classified, not the names within it unless noted... Using your logic, If that memo mentioned President Obama's name, that would mean that his identity is classified also. lol

As Armitage said, in all his years in Washington he has never known the CIA to ever print the name of covert agent on any memo or document. They always redact the name of covert agents if it's a copy of an archive document, and in the case of a memo like the one Armitage saw, (that you were so kind to link to) they either use a code name for them, or if it's an instance where the agents name is relevant, they specify that the agents name is classified and not to be disclosed to anyone without the proper security clearance.

Sorry man, but that line of bull your selling just doesn't hold water.

Nobody was indicted because nobody knew, so there was no crime and no conspiricy... In other words, Fitz served up a 2 and a half year, multi-million dollar "nothing burger"... Wasn't it delicious?
 
Now you are trying to argue that a document labeled SECRET is not secret, that these top level officials did not understand what SECRET means, that they suddenly became unaware of the implications of USC 426.

I think it is completely stretching the bonds of rationality to say that a CIA pr guy can find out with one call that she was covert.....but yet this escaped members of Cheney's office.

You can believe that fairy tale if you like....and.....you do.

You can play it that way if you like, but it is baseless.

Joe Wilson's name was also on that document... Does that mean that his identity is classified also?

When Joe Wilson decided he wanted to get rich by spilling the beans about his secret mission to Niger and write a book full of his famous "literary flairs", that mission to Niger was no longer a secret. Some of the details layed out in that document were of course still classified, but his name and his wifes name were not.

Please read it again carefully, and with any luck you will realize that she was not described as a covert agent, nor did they indicate anywhere that her identity was classified. She was described as a "CIA WMD managerial type and the wife of Joe Wilson" If the person at the CIA who wrote that memo had known of her status, her name would have either never been used, or it would have specified that her identity was classified and that she was a covert foriegn operative.... But it's obvious and as plain as the nose on your face, that the person who wrote that had no idea, yet you want to claim that Armitage did.

The amount of BS you have to tell yourself in order to justify your political beliefs and hatred is unbelievable.


No knowledge = No crime = No indictment = No conspiricy
 
Joe Wilson's name was also on that document... Does that mean that his identity is classified also?

When Joe Wilson decided he wanted to get rich by spilling the beans about his secret mission to Niger and write a book full of his famous "literary flairs", that mission to Niger was no longer a secret. Some of the details layed out in that document were of course still classified, but his name and his wifes name were not.
What a pile of BS, Wilson's trip to Niger was not secret and was made almost a year prior to President Bush's SOTU address as a favor to his government. He wrote the book - The Politics of Truth: A Diplomat's Memoir: Inside the Lies that Led to War and Betrayed My Wife's CIA Identity - because the Bush administration went after him and his wife.
Joe Wilson explains why he wrote his NYT OP/ed:



Please read it again carefully, and with any luck you will realize that she was not described as a covert agent, nor did they indicate anywhere that her identity was classified. She was described as a "CIA WMD managerial type and the wife of Joe Wilson" If the person at the CIA who wrote that memo had known of her status, her name would have either never been used, or it would have specified that her identity was classified and that she was a covert foriegn operative.... But it's obvious and as plain as the nose on your face, that the person who wrote that had no idea, yet you want to claim that Armitage did.

The amount of BS you have to tell yourself in order to justify your political beliefs and hatred is unbelievable.
I agree, they never knew her status was classified, if they had, they wouldn't released her identity to the press, IMO.


No knowledge = No crime = No indictment = No conspiricy
They wanted to destroy Wilson's credibility.
 
So apparently Libby went to prison for outing Plame. If that is the punishment, then I suppose it should be applied consistently.
 
What a pile of BS, Wilson's trip to Niger was not secret and was made almost a year prior to President Bush's SOTU address as a favor to his government. He wrote the book - The Politics of Truth: A Diplomat's Memoir: Inside the Lies that Led to War and Betrayed My Wife's CIA Identity - because the Bush administration went after him and his wife.
Joe Wilson explains why he wrote his NYT OP/ed:




I agree, they never knew her status was classified, if they had, they wouldn't released her identity to the press, IMO.



They wanted to destroy Wilson's credibility.


Wilson did that to himself.
 
Wilson did that to himself.

At least Pete got a few things right... The Administration never knew her status was classified (meaning there was no crime and nothing to indict anyone over) and the release of her name was to make Wilson look like an unqualified "mamma's boy" who's wife got him the gig.
 
At least Pete got a few things right... The Administration never knew her status was classified (meaning there was no crime and nothing to indict anyone over) and the release of her name was to make Wilson look like an unqualified "mamma's boy" who's wife got him the gig.

You might be correct that nobody might have been indicted since they didn't know she was covert. Had Scooter Libby never given the FBI false information, a special prosecutor would never have been involved with the case, but since Libby was part of the inner circle it became necessary. He was questioned as part of an investigation in the matter. He was asked how he knew Wilson's wife worked for the CIA, he said he learned it from newsman Tim Russert. Tim Russert testified before the Grand Jury that was false.

Valerie Plame Wilson did not recommend Wilson for the gig, and she testified under oath as such.

Here is two videos which show her testimony before the House Oversight Committee, I suggest you watch both, you will learn a bunch about what her job was and her classification.


 
You might be correct that nobody might have been indicted since they didn't know she was covert. Had Scooter Libby never given the FBI false information, a special prosecutor would never have been involved with the case, but since Libby was part of the inner circle it became necessary. He was questioned as part of an investigation in the matter. He was asked how he knew Wilson's wife worked for the CIA, he said he learned it from newsman Tim Russert. Tim Russert testified before the Grand Jury that was false.

Valerie Plame Wilson did not recommend Wilson for the gig, and she testified under oath as such.

Here is two videos which show her testimony before the House Oversight Committee, I suggest you watch both, you will learn a bunch about what her job was and her classification.




How did the Waxman hearing turn out and the Plame suits against Libby and Cheney?
 
Isn't America under the Obamy years in office now the weak kneed, spineless land of incompetency. Our enemies are more powerful than ever and our allies are dumping us like a hot coal. It is one debacle after another and this so called president does nothing. He is America's last black president. Nice job Obamy, you have served your race well.
 
So apparently Libby went to prison for outing Plame. If that is the punishment, then I suppose it should be applied consistently.

Actually no. Libby went to prison for perjury because he told the details of the story differently. Plame was outed by Richard Armitage, who escapes censure because he is reliably not-conservative.


But it'd be interesting if anyone here still pretending to be upset about that bothers to show consistency.

It should be remembered that it was only a few years ago that the same Democratic Party that currently runs the White House was up in arms because the name of a CIA official was leaked to the press…. the outrage about [Valerie] Plame’s outing in the liberal mainstream press was universal and white-hot. An angry Washington press corps helped manufacture a crisis that forced President Bush to appoint a special prosecutor to look into an act that was proclaimed to be nothing short of treason…. [W]hat occurred this past week was far worse than anything that happened to Plame. Plame was, after all, serving in an office in Virginia and, while classified, was no secret. By contrast, the CIA station chief whose name was released is in peril every day in Kabul. He is serving on the front lines of a shooting war and the release of his name in this indiscriminate manner may well have compromised his effectiveness if not his safety...


Mind you, that's doubtful. Given that this administration has leaked plenty of classified crap before and so far nobody has cared:

Last year, they leaked fact that the Libyan prime minister had approved the US raid that captured a senior al-Qaeda leader in Tripoli — which led directly to the prime minister’s kidnapping in retaliation for authorizing the raids.
They also leaked the fact that a second raid had been planned against one of the terrorists responsible for the Benghazi attack – tipping him off that we were planning to snatch him.
Before that, they leaked the role of a British double agent in breaking up a new underwear bomb plot in Yemen – requiring that double agent to be extracted.
They also leaked classified operational details of the bin Laden raid – which got a Pakistani doctor who helped us arrested.
They also leaked classified details of a US cyber-attack on Iran’s nuclear program.
They also leaked the US and Israeli role in creating the “Flame” virus to spy on Iran’s nuclear program.
They also leaked the existence of a “secret kill list” of terrorists targeted with drone strikes.
They also leaked the existence of a secret US drone base in Saudi Arabia.
They also leaked the existence a secret Israeli agreement with Azerbaijan to use its territory in case of a raid on Iran’s nuclear program.
They also leaked the existence of secret special operations bases in Burkina Faso that were being used against al Qaeda in Africa.
They also leaked the presence of CIA teams in Turkey helping direct aid to anti-Assad rebels in Syria.
They also leaked the existence of a top secret “covert action finding” authorizing US support for rebels....
 
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