Reply #4: The CIA conducted a 2-month investigation ...

[TahitiNut]

... prior to concluding that a criminal investigation, including grand jury, was called for. It requires a "special mind" to dismiss the CIA's own recommendations on the matter.

Ms. Plame was a civilian employee of a civilian company that was (secretly) providing cover for covert agents like Plame. There was absolutely nothing public about her relationship with the CIA. This allowed her more access to foreign nationals without exposing them to danger - and without the surveillance that her role would attract.

Her intelligence specialty was WMD proliferation (what we used to call NBC). Thus, she was in a good position to know that the Bushoilini Regime was fabricating disinformation as a Fraud - a facade of lies to rationalize the invasion and occupation of Iraq. I'm pretty sure that Cheney/Libby found out who she was in their daily visits to CIA HQ to put the pressure on. She got on their shit list then, I'm betting.