The testimony in the Libby Trial is producing a picture of a White House that will go to extreme measures to try and stop or spin information that did not support the Bush claim that we were in danger from Saddam.
The claim that Saddam tried to purchase uranium in Africa was questioned by the intelligence community. At the same time this issue was being questioned by VP Cheney. The testimony shows that Cheney did not specifically ask that Ambassador Wilson be sent to investigate the supposed attempt of Saddam to purchase Yellow Cake. However the questions asked by Cheney along with the questioning at the CIA caused the agency to investigate this issue. When Valerie Plame learned that the CIA was planning to investigate this issue she told her superior that her husband had experience and knowledge about that area in Africa. CIA officials ABOVE Mrs. Wilson made the choice to send Wilson on this mission.
The result of the Wilson investigation is well known—it contradicted the claims of Bush that Saddam had attempted to purchase uranium in Africa. That finding by Ambassador Wilson did not fit with what Bush and Cheney wanted since it was intelligence that did not support the contention that Saddam was working on nuclear weapons. It disproved the scare tactic of the mushroom clouds that Bush and Cheney used to convince Congress to allow Bush to invade Iraq.
The testimony shows a White House that did everything possible to discredit and punish Ambassador Wilson for his report. There is NO evidence that Wilson went to Africa to embarrass Bush. He went to get the facts on an important question. It is clear that the task of attacking Wilson was an obsession of Cheney, Libby and Rove. They in fact did reveal to reporters that Wilson’s wife was a CIA Operative as part of their campaign to punish Wilson for his report. The White House placed CIA Agents that worked with Valarie Plame in danger by revealing her position at the CIA. This case clearly shows that all this was done to discredit a man that did nothing more then the job he was given by the CIA. The real shame is that Cheney, Rove and Libby are not on trial for endangering our CIA agents and harming future efforts to secure intelligence information!