They Were Talking about Wilson’s Wife before Wilson’s Article Came Out

[babylonsister]

http://www.baltimorechronicle.com/2007/031207BURNS.shtml

They Were Talking about Wilson’s Wife before Wilson’s Article Came Out
by MARGIE BURNS



snip//


Retaliation is too simple an answer. Wilson had appeared on television expressing doubts about the war and about Iraq WMD from January through April, 2003. He pulled his punches—undoubtedly wondering whether the White House might actually have some evidence—but still made plenty of public comments that could have provoked a White House counterattack. There is no sign of one until May 2003, when Wilson made few public remarks.

Nor does the administration seem to have tipped its hand to the Wilsons beforehand to stop Wilson from going public.

What did happen in regard to Niger uranium—before Kristof’s piece—is that Seymour Hersh published a devastating New Yorker article, “Who Lied to Whom?" in March, which reappeared on April 22 as "Iraq Post Mortem” in the British magazine Prospect. The article emphasized the blatantly forged Niger documents about “yellowcake.” (Judith Miller, for one, seems to have backed down on Iraq WMD immediately following the definitive debunking in Prospect.) Did the administration simply launch a pre-emptive strike against Wilson, fearing that his going public on the “mushroom cloud” would be the last straw? With its usual tin ear, did it fear that Joe Wilson and Seymour Hersh would join forces? Or did it go for a two-fer, moving to disrupt analysis in the WMD unit at the CIA where Mrs. Wilson worked?

By the time Wilson’s column appeared, his wife’s name and CIA connection had already been leaked to Bob Woodward of the Post and Judith Miller of the Times—two of the most famous reporters in the U.S.—for 23 days and 13 days, respectively.

If so, it moved fast: by the time Wilson’s column appeared, his wife’s name and CIA connection had already been leaked to Bob Woodward of the Post and Judith Miller of the Times—two of the most famous reporters in the U.S.—for 23 days and 13 days, respectively. Armitage, Woodward’s source, is another longtime Cheney-Rumsfeld man since the “Team B” days of previous GOP administrations.

Going into the trial, I too thought of the CIA leak as retaliation for Wilson’s column and took the same line in previous postings, like most other writers. Joseph Wilson’s book, The Politics of Truth, takes the same tack. But Wilson did not have access to the behind-the-scenes discussions about his wife now revealed publicly. Retaliation there was, in spades, but retaliation cannot have been the whole story. Theorists who believe the aim was partly to disable the Counter-Proliferation Division in CIA where Valerie Plame worked may be right.

[grasswire]

1. margie burns is a real pro

I admire her an awful lot. This is what an investigative journalist should do.

[stellanoir]

2. This article more than likely explains why. . .

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_crede_ca_070306_plame_s_brewster_jen.htm

It's really horrific.