Lies
versus Spies
October
2, 2003
By Bridget Gibson
"We need more human intelligence. That means we need
more protection for the methods we use to gather intelligence
and more protection for our sources, particularly our human
sources, people that are risking their lives for their country.
Even though I'm a tranquil guy now at this stage of my life,
I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray
the trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in
my view, the most insidious, of traitors." - George
H.W. Bush, April 16, 1999, Dedication Speech, George Bush
Center for Intelligence
From the July 14, 2003, column entitled Mission to Niger
written by Robert Novak (and available on the internet here),
I quote the paragraph that has allowed the traitorous nature
of at least three people be exposed to the light of day.
Wilson never worked for the CIA, but his wife,
Valerie Plame, is an Agency operative on weapons of mass destruction.
Two senior administration officials told me Wilson's wife
suggested sending him to Niger to investigate the Italian
report. The CIA says its counterproliferation officials selected
Wilson and asked his wife to contact him. "I will not answer
any question about my wife," Wilson told me.
In examining the above paragraph, it becomes apparent that three
people have crossed the line. Robert Novak has obviously thrown
caution to the wind and defied the laws of our country and has
tossed concern for the lives of countless people out the window.
The two "senior administration officials" made a choice
to disregard their country and its laws for political gain.
On June 23, 1982, when Ronald Reagan signed into law the
Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982, he said:
Well, today I speak again of those heros, the men
and women who are locked in a dangerous, sometimes deadly
conflict with the forces of totalitarianism, the men and women
whose best accomplishments, whose greatest deeds can never
be known to their countrymen, but only to a few of their superiors
and ultimately only to history. These men and women, these
heroes of a grim twilight struggle are those of you who serve
here in the Central Intelligence Agency.
Whether you work in Langley or a faraway nation, whether
your tasks are in operations or analysis sections, it is
upon your intellect and integrity, your wit and intuition
that the fate of freedom rests for millions of your countrymen
and for many millions more all around the globe. You are
the tripwire across which the forces of repression and tyranny
must stumble in their quest for global domination. You,
the men and women of the CIA, are the eyes and ears of the
free world.
Robert Novak and two "senior administration officials"
betrayed one of those people and their country. The laws that
they have defied are as follows. From the National Security
Act of 1947:
TITLE VI—PROTECTION OF CERTAIN NATIONAL SECURITY
INFORMATION
PROTECTION OF IDENTITIES OF CERTAIN UNITED STATES UNDERCOVER
INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS, AGENTS, INFORMANTS, AND SOURCES
SEC. 601. [50 U.S.C. 421] (a) Whoever, having or having
had authorized access to classified information that identifies
a covert agent, intentionally discloses any information
identifying such covert agent to any individual not authorized
to receive classified information, knowing that the information
disclosed so identifies such covert agent and that the United
States is taking affirmative measures to conceal such covert
agent’s intelligence relationship to the United States,
shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned
not more than ten years, or both.
(b) Whoever, as a result of having authorized access to
classified information, learns the identity of a covert
agent and intentionally discloses any information identifying
such covert agent to any individual not authorized to receive
classified information, knowing that the information disclosed
so identifies such covert agent and that the United States
is taking affirmative measures to conceal such covert agent’s
intelligence relationship to the United States, shall be
fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned
not more than five years, or both.
(c) Whoever, in the course of a pattern of activities
intended to identify and expose covert agents and with reason
to believe that such activities would impair or impede the
foreign intelligence activities of the United States, discloses
any information that identifies an individual as a covert
agent to any individual not authorized to receive classified
information, knowing that the information disclosed so identifies
such individual and that the United States is taking affirmative
measures to conceal such individual’s classified intelligence
relationship to the United States, shall be fined under
title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not more than
three years, or both.
Robert Novak has attempted to act as though this writing of
his, this exposure of a CIA covert agent, was no big deal.
There are approximately one to two thousand covert CIA operatives
within the CIA. That is not a grand number considering that
there are approximately six billion people on the planet,
300 million people within the borders of the United States
of America. That means that each and every person that is
doing that particular function is essential in their mission.
Ms. Plame was an expert in weapons of mass destruction. We
just waged war in Iraq because of weapons of mass destruction.
Our service personnel are putting their lives on the line
at this very moment because of weapons of mass destruction.
Robert Novak just disabled and made useless all of the contacts
that had been made by an expert in weapons of mass destruction.
He made vulnerable every contact and every mission that Ms.
Plame ever had. Do you think that North Korea, China, Iran,
Russia, Syria and countless other countries do not read the
news? Do you think perhaps that those governments are not
combing their files and looking at pictures and attempting
to decide if something has been compromised in their country
because Robert Novak didn't care?
Today is October 2, 2003. This matter was known to countless
of people that read the news and cover the political cauldron
of Washington, D.C. This news concerned many – there have
been many journalists that have attempted to raise the awareness
level of this matter. Today George Walker Bush said that he
was concerned and would allow an investigation that was instituted
by a letter from George Tenet of the CIA to John Ashcroft,
Attorney General.
This matter had been brought to George Bush's attention
before, but he didn't care. He did not instigate an investigation
into his own administration until he was forced, by law, to
answer. If George W. Bush had really cared about this leak
of an undercover operative for our national security, don't
you think that he would have done something after July 14,
2003? Was his month's vacation in Crawford, Texas, throughout
August more important? Were all the trips made for fundraising
more important than our national security?
George W. Bush did not try to find the two "senior
administration officials" and discontinue their employment
and relationship with our government.
In 2001, his month's vacation preceded the worst disaster
on our country's soil. He received briefings from the CIA
regarding the impending threats to our nation. Vacation comes
first for George.
The victims of his intransigence have been beyond number.
The insincerity with which he has pledged to honor his Oath
of Office has been exposed.
Our Congress has been usurped by lackeys that think that
extramarital affairs are more of a threat to our national
security than actual breaches of national security. These
people have been elected to uphold our Constitution and to
defend this country. September 11, 2001, should have been
their wake-up call.
Every citizen of this country has a duty to contact their
representatives and demand a thorough and independent investigation
into the truth. The Washington switchboard number is (202)
224-3121. Make your senators and congressional representatives
aware of your concerns.
|
