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themp
Supporter
Username: Themp
Post Number: 2530
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Monday, February 13, 2006 - 3:44 pm: | 
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Larisa Alexandrovna
Published: February 13, 2006
The unmasking of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson by White House officials in 2003 caused significant damage to U.S. national security and its ability to counter nuclear proliferation abroad, RAW STORY has learned.
According to current and former intelligence officials, Plame Wilson, who worked on the clandestine side of the CIA in the Directorate of Operations as a non-official cover (NOC) officer, was part of an operation tracking distribution and acquisition of weapons of mass destruction technology to and from Iran.
Speaking under strict confidentiality, intelligence officials revealed heretofore unreported elements of Plame's work. Their accounts suggest that Plame's outing was more serious than has previously been reported and carries grave implications for U.S. national security and its ability to monitor Iran's burgeoning nuclear program.
While many have speculated that Plame was involved in monitoring the nuclear proliferation black market, specifically the proliferation activities of Pakistan's nuclear "father," A.Q. Khan, intelligence sources say that her team provided only minimal support in that area, focusing almost entirely on Iran.
Plame declined to comment through her husband, Joseph Wilson.
Valerie Plame first became a household name when her identity was disclosed by conservative columnist Robert Novak on July 14, 2003. The column came only a week after her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, had written an op-ed for the New York Times asserting that White House officials twisted pre-war intelligence on Iraq. Her outing was seen as political retaliation for Wilson's criticism of the Administration's claim that Iraq sought uranium from Niger for a nuclear weapons program.
Her case has drawn international attention and resulted in the indictment of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, on five counts of perjury, obstruction of justice, and making false statements. Special Prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald, who is leading the probe, is still pursuing Deputy Chief of Staff and Special Advisor to President Bush, Karl Rove. His investigation remains open.
The damages
Intelligence sources would not identify the specifics of Plame's work. They did, however, tell RAW STORY that her outing resulted in "severe" damage to her team and significantly hampered the CIA's ability to monitor nuclear proliferation.
Plame's team, they added, would have come in contact with A.Q. Khan's network in the course of her work on Iran.
While Director of Central Intelligence Porter Goss has not submitted a formal damage assessment to Congressional oversight committees, the CIA's Directorate of Operations did conduct a serious and aggressive investigation, sources say.
Intelligence sources familiar with the damage assessment say that what is called a "counter intelligence assessment to agency operations" was conducted on the orders of the CIA's then-Deputy Director of the Directorate of Operations, James Pavitt.
Former CIA counterintelligence officer Larry Johnson believes that such an assessment would have had to be done for the CIA to have referred the case to the Justice Department.
"An exposure like that required an immediate operational and counter intelligence damage assessment," Johnson said. "That was done. The results were written up but not in a form for submission to anyone outside of CIA."
One former counterintelligence official described the CIA's reasons for not seeking Congressional assistance on the matter as follows: "[The CIA Leadership] made a conscious decision not to do a formal inquiry because they knew it might become public," the source said. "They referred it [to the Justice Department] instead because they believed a criminal investigation was needed."
The source described the findings of the assessment as showing "significant damage to operational equities."
Another counterintelligence official, also wishing to remain anonymous due to the nature of the subject matter, described "operational equities" as including both people and agency operations that involve the "cover mechanism," "front companies," and other CIA officers and assets.
Three intelligence officers confirmed that other CIA non-official cover officers were compromised, but did not indicate the number of people operating under non-official cover that were affected or the way in which these individuals were impaired. None of the sources would say whether there were American or foreign casualties as a result of the leak.
Several intelligence officials described the damage in terms of how long it would take for the agency to recover. According to their own assessment, the CIA would be impaired for up to "ten years" in its capacity to adequately monitor nuclear proliferation on the level of efficiency and accuracy it had prior to the White House leak of Plame Wilson's identity.
A.Q. Khan
While Plame's work did not specifically focus on the A.Q. Khan ring, named after Pakistani scientist Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, the network and its impact on nuclear proliferation and the region should not be minimized, primarily because the Khan network was the major supplier of WMD technology for Iran.
Dr. Khan instituted the proliferation market during the 1980s and supplied many countries in the Middle East and elsewhere with uranium enrichment technology, including Libya, Iran and North Korea. Enriched uranium is used to make weaponized nuclear devices.
The United States forced the Pakistan government to dismiss Khan for his proliferation activities in March of 2001, but he remains largely free and acts as an adviser to the Pakistani government.
According to intelligence expert John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org, U.S. officials were not aware of the extent of the proliferation until around the time of Khan's dismissal.
"It slowly dawned on them that the collaboration between Pakistan, North Korea and Iran was an ongoing and serious problem," Pike said. "It was starting to sink in on them that it was one program doing business in three locations and that anything one of these countries had they all had."
After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Pakistan became the United States' chief regional ally in the war on terror.
The revelation that Iran was the focal point of Plame's work raises new questions as to possible other motivating factors in the White House's decision to reveal the identity of a CIA officer working on tracking a WMD supply network to Iran, particularly when the very topic of Iran's possible WMD capability is of such concern to the Administration |
Guy
Supporter
Username: Vandalay
Post Number: 1520
Registered: 8-2004
| | Posted on Monday, February 13, 2006 - 3:59 pm: |
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Still no indictments for outing a covert agent after a two year investigation. |
Hoops
Citizen
Username: Hoops
Post Number: 797
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Monday, February 13, 2006 - 4:24 pm: |
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still stonewalling and still denying.
<sarcasm\>This is a non story themp. <sarcasm>
There wont be any ramifications to this outrageous and treasonous behavior by the administration. The republican network is so tight and the power so vastly corrupting that they wont do what is 'right', they would rather close their eyes, turn their heads and 'look at the good things' the administration is doing.
It has been years and years since the last time there was a republican majority in power and they dont want to lose that power over something so minor as putting politics before country.
I believe its the power and the chance to make changes in the way this country is governed that drives the republicans on this board from any criticism of the administration. |
Guy
Supporter
Username: Vandalay
Post Number: 1521
Registered: 8-2004
| | Posted on Monday, February 13, 2006 - 4:29 pm: |
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I thought Pat Fitzgerald was a prosecuter's prosecuter. If it is a fact that Plame was a covert agent and Fitz knows who leaked the names, then why not charge somebody with the crime.
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themp
Supporter
Username: Themp
Post Number: 2532
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Monday, February 13, 2006 - 4:31 pm: |
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Sometimes obstruction works. That's why they have to prosecute it. |
Hoops
Citizen
Username: Hoops
Post Number: 798
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Monday, February 13, 2006 - 4:33 pm: |
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good question Guy, and one that will play out when it plays out.
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Southerner
Citizen
Username: Southerner
Post Number: 671
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Monday, February 13, 2006 - 8:28 pm: |
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Hoops,
I'm glad you finally get it. You are right on target. We finally have power and aren't about to give it up easily. It took us decades to uninstall the Democratic Congressional Regime. Now, it will take you decades to uninstall us. Quid pro quo my liberal friend. Let the games begin! |
LibraryLady(ncjanow)
Supporter
Username: Librarylady
Post Number: 3006
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, February 13, 2006 - 9:57 pm: |
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Matt Cooper of Time Magazine (and a CHS alumnus) will be giving a talk at the Adult School this spring on his experiences with the Grand Jury in the Plame case. Should be more than interesting. |
Hoops
Citizen
Username: Hoops
Post Number: 800
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - 8:48 am: |
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Southerner - and you dont see this as a problem? Whatever happened to knowing right from wrong. Morality and ethics are disappearing from politics and from our social lives daily. Shouldnt our leaders at the minimum police themselves?
Where is the logical breaking point? |
Southerner
Citizen
Username: Southerner
Post Number: 672
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - 9:50 am: |
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These are good questions and ones I was asking many years ago when the Dems were running roughshod over rules and the minority.
You guys seem to have convenient outrage. I understand aligning with the minority party can be rough, but to scream and yell like this stuff is new is laughable.
None of these scandals are new. It's politics and it has been going on for decades. This is just the first time most of you libs have been on the other side of the fence in your adult lives. It doesn't feel very good does it? Now you know how us conservatives felt for decades.
Don't worry Hoops, this is nothing new, the country is not going in the tank, and I'm sure at some point before you and and I move on to the after life your side will be running roughshod over my side once again. I just hope some of you libs go to bat for us like you are for your own. |
themp
Supporter
Username: Themp
Post Number: 2538
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - 10:52 am: |
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"ones I was asking many years ago when the Dems were running roughshod over rules and the minority."
There is a huge qualitative difference now. The GOP has moved into the "all the marbles" phase, where a scorched earth policy of one party rule is in effect. It will fail - we are beginning to see the giant shadow of incompetence and corruption that the party casts. The whole thing will blow away. Bush is a failed president and congress has never been in lower esteem. |
tom
Citizen
Username: Tom
Post Number: 4356
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - 8:14 pm: |
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But southerner, in all seriousness, weren't the conservatives/republicans supposed to be for absolute standards of behavior, and against any kind of "moral relativism." If not, what exactly IS it you guys stand for in the social sphere? |
Southerner
Citizen
Username: Southerner
Post Number: 679
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - 8:35 pm: |
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tom,
That is a good question but I doubt I can answer it very well because it's the type of question that all depends on your view. For instance, I think the Republicans do have standards. I know many of you totally disagree which is why that is the type of question that can't really be answered without using the lens of taking sides. I don't agree with all things the Republicans have done, but overall I like their handling of the economy (read lower taxes and deregulation) and I like our foreign policy (taking care of thugs and getting a nice hold in the Middle East along with our Israeli friends).
I know that probably through your lens the Repubs are hypocritical and of course all politicians are hypocritical to a point. But what is the alternative? Vote Democratic and watch them. That song and dance had decades to run and I don't want to go back to it. Either way, I don't get all worked up like many other posters because I believe that whether the Repubs or Dems are calling the shots that both sides are doing the best they can for our country. I have faith in both parties but obviously prefer one side over the other.
But, I do enjoy goading the likes of themp and tulip because they actually believe this is the first time that a party has been accused of corruption. I guess they are new comers to the political theater. |
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