Plame was indeed quite covert

[spence]

Well, as of this morning it has been confirmed by both Valerie Plame and Gen. Hayden of the CIA that Plame was indeed a covert agent of the CIA at the time of her outing by Administration officials, and a high pay-grade analyst working on Iraqi WMD.

The central theme of the Adminisration supporters has been that she was not covert and therefore the entire Libby trial should have never happened.

This admission pretty much renders the GOP talking points inoperative. I wonder if Rush, Hannity etc... are going to be issuing formal retractions this afternoon

-spence

[fishpoopoo]

yeah, some covert chick, like she wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb in ragheadland.

"no, really, i'm related to queen noor. "

[buckman]

Spence, if you work for the CIA and you work in an embassy you are considered a covert agent. The left would like people to think she was some kind of undercover agent in danger if she was exposed. While I'm not saying disclosing her status was the right thing to do,she is in more danger if she stays in Washington with the Kennedy's driving around. .

[Swimmer]

No employee of the c.i.a. is considered covert when they are stationed at Langley. The female who wrote the law regarding the outing of "secret agents" in 1982 said Plame was not legally covert at the time of her outing. How could she be secret when her husband was using information he gleaned from her stating that there were no WMD's in Iraq.

[Raven]

does she wear panties

[fishpoopoo]

Originally Posted by Raven

does she wear panties

i was thinking the same thing.

seriously, putting aside the technical legalities of Plame's 'outing,' it's awful how politicized the cia and fbi have become. that is the reality of Washington, i guess.

MOST folks who work for the gov't are mission-oriented and want to do the right thing. I can understand how she felt pole-axed for being outed by CINC.

And it is seriously atrocious leadership to 'out' an agent like that for political purposes. What kind of message does that send to the rank and file who stick their necks on the line for the rest of us? That's gotta be bad for organizational morale and will give folks incentive to consider legal CYA vs. doing right for the country.

anyhoo, from a practical point of view, i don't think Plame's 'outing' amounted to much. everyone in the know will assume that if you are a journalist or a diplomat in a foreign jurisdiction, you are likely a SPY.

Now that the cat is out of the bag (as it were), I think Ms. Plame should give serious consideration to posing for Playboy.

[Raven]

maybe she can have a bit part in the next James Bond flick
she can be the bad girl

[Backbeach Jake]

The outing of Plame as a spook, whether active or not, puts her past contacts lives at risk. Future contacts would tend to be leary of us then, wouldn't you think? That hurts our ability to collect intelligence. That outing was akin to treason for the damage that was done.

[Swimmer]

Tell me she isn't loving every minute of her outing!

[spence]

Originally Posted by Swimmer

Tell me she isn't loving every minute of her outing!

Her husband certainly loves the spotlight, but considering her job at the CIA required keeping a low profile, I'd wager she'd rather be back at work and out of the papers.

-spence