Stop believing Bush's propaganda parrots

by

Gerald Plessner

September 13, 2006 - The president's propaganda parrots have been all agaggle over the news that someone outside the White House was the first government official to spill the beans on Valerie Plame Wilson, disclosing that she was a covert agent of the Central Intelligence Agency.

The Bush administration wants you to think that, because Karl Rove didn't do it, no harm was done. But don't you believe it! To allow that impression to prevail would do an injustice, not only to Ambassador Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame Wilson, his wife, who both have served their country with honor, but it would also be an insult to the patriotic Americans working every day to keep us safe and to protect vital and important secrets.

Ms. Plame, as you may recall, was involved in recruiting her husband, former Ambassador and White House staff member Joseph C. Wilson, IV, to go to North Africa in February 2002. While there , he was to check the accuracy of intelligence that alleged that the Saddam Hussein regime had tried to buy yellow cake uranium, an ingredient of nuclear weaponry, from the government of Niger.

The administration was working aggressively in early 2002 to build a case for invading Iraq. As we now know, President Bush was using often flimsy and inaccurate evidence to convince Americans and the world of the necessity of attacking Iraq.

George W. Bush and the neo-conservatives in his inner circle, were eager to use the yellow cake allegation and they hoped that Wilson's trip would debunk the skeptics in the intelligence community about its authenticity.

After extensive contacts and interviews with people in Niger who were involved in Uranium mining and related activities, Wilson returned home convince that no Iraqi delegation got anywhere near purchasing uranium from Niger.

Upon returning to the United States, Wilson submitted his report to the State Department and assumed that it would be considered as a final answer to the question.

To his surprise, he soon learned that the administration was continuing to use the allegation as a reason for war. It was cited by then Secretary of State Colin Powell in a speech before the United Nations and it was considered by the administration to be an important reason for attacking Iraq.

A few months after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, when it became clear that the administration was continuing to cite false evidence, Wilson wrote an op-ed article for the New York Times in which he stated that the president had misrepresented intelligence suggesting that the Iraqi regime tried to purchase uranium to manufacture nuclear weapons.

A week after the article appeared, columnist Robert Novak wrote about Wilson's trip to Niger and identified his wife as an "agency operative of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Shortly thereafter, the White House began a campaign to discredit Wilson and as is typical of the Bush White House, people on the president's and vice-president's staff began to leak information critical of Wilson and his wife.

Karl Rove, E. Scooter Libby and others had off-the-record interviews with favored reporters and, in a number of cases, Ms. Plame's" identity was hinted at or shared. People having a high Secret or Top Secret clearance have a positive responsibility to discourage non-cleared individuals from assuming that they know about a state secret.

The identity of an intelligence operative is a secret of the highest level and there is every reason why the individuals in the White House who hinted at Plame's status or failed to discourage someone from assuming it, shouldn't lose their clearance or be punished according to the law.

Apologists and supporters of the administration have spread a number of lies about Ms. Plame, her role at the CIA and the status of her security clearance. As we wrote on July 20, 2005, Ms. Plame worked for Brewster-Jennings & Associates, a CIA-owned corporation that tracked nuclear weaponry around the world and oil production in the Middle East. http://www.geraldplessner.com/articles/article.cgi?doc

=20050720032343 The company had relations with energy executives and government officials who were involved in oil production and other energy issues. They had a long history of following activities and events in the Gulf region.

Ms. Plame was assigned to "Non-Official Cover" by the CIA. She worked at the agency-owned company as though she was an employee of a real firm. Although she may have gone to work at CIA headquarters most of the time, her role was a secret because she might be required to become active on the outside at any time, and for all we know, she may have been working on her regular activities during those times.

Disclosing her role may have placed her at minimal risk at the time of the attacks on her husband's credibility, but it destroyed her effectiveness and destroyed her relationships with people who may not have known her status. It may have also put at risk other American agents with whom she may have worked and it might have put at risk foreign nationals with whom she had regular contact.

The wanton and careless trafficking in information about a CIA agent by top government officials resulted in the destruction of a valuable intelligence gathering program, one which had cost millions to develop and sustain. It was a despicable and treasonous act which should have been prosecuted beyond the one indictment of a second level government official.

That is why we wrote in July 2005 that Karl Rove should go to jail and that is why we still believe that he deserves to be punished for his reckless use of state secrets to advance his political goals.

And that is why all Americans should stop believing the propaganda parrots who follow the president's orders when it comes to reporting on Bush administration failures and deceptions. It is time for us to stand up and demand a stop to the lies.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Gerald Plessner is a Southern California businessman who writes regularly on issues of politics and culture. He would be pleased to hear from you and may be contacted at gerald@geraldplessner.com.