The Col refuses to accept that the information CBS and other news services based those articles on was found to be LIES leaked to them by an "anonymous" Joseph Wilson. He'd rather regurgitate the lies.

The REAL conclusion of the Senate investigation about Wilson's claims was:

""Conclusion 13. The report on the former ambassador's trip to Niger, disseminated in March 2002, did not change any analysts' assessments of the Iraq-Niger uranium deal. For most analysts, the information in the report lent more credibility to the original Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports on the uranium deal, but State Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) analysts believed that the report supported their assessment that Niger was unlikely to be willing or able to sell uranium to Iraq."

Meaning that a) Wilson didn't debunk a damn thing, and it wasn't that Iraq wasn't interested in buying uranium, and that overtures may not have been made, rather that Niger just wasn't able or willing to accomodate.

The Col ignores the fact that Wilson lied to the press, and them posts the lies the press printed.

"Either Rove knew that he was revealing an undercover officer to a reporter or he was identifying a CIA officer without bothering to check on her status and without considering the consequences of outing her."

Like I said, I had a freind in college whose mom worked for the CIA. Was it treasonous for me to be told? Nope. Was it treasonous for a member of the press to publish Plame's name IF she were an agent? That may be. The only reason this is about Rove is because the Col and others think he is a "dirt bag". Any other time and we'd be addressing them people who PUBLISHED the name.

Sorry, this is so idiotic I can't help myself.

That was NOT what Bush and Cheney wanted to hear and they most likely retaliated by outing his wife's name as a CIA operative!

I'll ignore the "most likely" hedge for the moment, but noone, certainly not Gene, has yet to explain exactly how "outting" Wilson's wife would have constituted "retaliation." That whole theory is a figment of the press's imagination, a pure supposition based on what they want to believe, invented to give this story some legs. It simply doesn't pass the test of logic. Why would they need to "out" the guy's wife when they knew he had misrepresented his findings and would be called on it when it was examined closely - they had the truth on their side so no "retaliation" was even needed.

This e-mail demonstrates that Rove committed a firing offense. He leaked national security information as part of a fierce campaign to undermine Wilson, who had criticized the White House on the war on Iraq.

This is so not true. There was no "fierce campaign" and he never "leaked national security information" - Cooper initiated the call; Cooper brought up the subject of Wilson, not Rove; Cooper confirms Rove's account of the conversation. You keep embellishing the original unfounded allegations with even more outlandish BS. Your "Let's string 'im up quick! Before anyone finds out he's not guilty!" campaign is just sick, Gene. The lies you're spreading here are despicable.

Cheers,
Daiwa

What someone else did does not justify what Rove and Limbaugh did. They are both "DIRT BAGS" that pose as moral Americans. Any person who can justify their actions are just like them and are the bottom feeders of our society

--the term moral can be made to fit ones need...as in your case, you could say that your beliefs are moral, where as others (not me) could say they are un moral...

Blair supported the war at great political risk and now appears to be paying for it. Polls show he is deemed less trustworthy than rival political leaders.

--And yet in may he was re-elected...hmmm, i wonder why?

Section 421. Protection of identities of certain United States undercover intelligence officers, agents, informants, and sources

(a) Disclosure of information by persons having or having had
access to classified information that identifies covert agent
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 or imprisoned not more than ten years, or
both.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Miss Plume was not, and has never been a covert agent. She was just a CIA employee that every body that knew them had known where she worked. If you were to throw anyone in jail for identifying that she worked with the CIA, they need to start with both her and her husband. Even the Times reporter Cooper, had stated that he just had to here Wilson's Wife to know her by name and already had known that she worked for the CIA.

Another point of interest. The time Magazine editorial staff was very eager to release Cooper's private notes to the Grand Jury (i.e. Rove POC). But the Time staff refuses to release Miller's, the other journalist of theirs sitting in jail now, notes. Why?

We all know that Time Magazine is more then willing to fry the administration every chance they get (just read any of their issues), but why not go behind Miller's back (as they did Cooper) to release her notes. Me thinks that the source is different, and Time knows it will hurt their political axe grinding if Miller's source is revealed.

The second point of interest: Cooper's source (i.e. Rove) has authorized Cooper to reveal him as the source. But why has the source for Miller, not released Miller from the confidentiality clause? If Rove was her source it would not do any more damage or be anymore beneficial for Rove not to release her. It make perfect since that Rove is not her source, but someone else that Time Magazine don't want outed is.

Why is it that when Cooper refused to release his info Time fired him, but when Miller didn't, Time hired more lawyers in her defense.

Something smells fishy.

Why is it that when Cooper refused to release his info Time fired him, but when Miller didn't, Time hired more lawyers in her defense.

There is a difference in the two circumstances, not that I'm here to defend the NYT. Miller is being asked to reveal a source for a story never written. Cooper had at least actually written a story based in part on confidential sources. I can sympathize with Miller as it seems rather absurd to jail her over a story which was never even written, let alone published and I can't blame the NYT for trying to defend her, whoever her source might be.

Interesting, however, that the NYT, previously a staunch defender of the right of its reporters to protect their anonymous sources, would suddenly decide that one particular reporter, whose anonymous source they knew to be Rove, was now "not above the law." Am I just being cynical or could the potential for damaging Rove, no friend of the NYT to be sure, have influenced their decision? Mind you, I think they miscalculated if so, since it appears likely that Rove won't even be charged with anything, let alone drummed out of his job. And you do have to wonder why Miller's source is letting her cool her heels in jail.

Cheers,
Daiwa

I thought Plame was not a CIA Agent. If she as you claim had the authority to send Amb Wilson on his trip, she must have been an important person in the CIA. The point is he said there was no evidence that supported the Bush claim that Saddam attempted to purchase Yellow cake. As it truns out, Saddam had no viable nuclear program and all the BS from Cheney about the danger from Saddam with nuclear weapons was so much hipe to justify the War!

Even if she was an agent ( which she herself said she wasn't) Agents do NOT have the authority to send an ambassador on ANY trip! And get smart will ya? Wilson has already "proved" to be a LIAR! Christ I gave you more credit than this.

There is a difference in the two circumstances, not that I'm here to defend the NYT. Miller is being asked to reveal a source for a story never written.

True, true you do have a point here. It is a little bit of a stretch to place her in Jail for something she had not done yet. And the following clause could not be used on her because she never released the info to anyone (or did she? Some one had to tell the press she knew, i.e. Time editors)

Section 421. Protection of identities of certain United States undercover intelligence officers, agents, informants, and sources

(c) Disclosure of information by persons in course of pattern of
activities intended to identify and expose covert agents
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.

But this clause alone could place the Time editors, Cooper, and Novak in jail too. I would very much like to see a charge brought on the Time editors for every one of the million copies sold. That is if Rove must go, then they must go too.

Anyone that believes the outing of Wilson's wife was not a reaction by the Bush Administration to the Yellow Cake and the Wilson report is kidding themself.

As to moral issues Lucas, Limbaugh breaking the law in Florida (Doctor Shopping to obtain drugs) and then telling 20 Million radio fans about his right wing morality and Rove saying he had nothing to do with the Plame issue when we now have the E-mails and his lawyers statements that refute this are "moral" issues in our society.

The conservatives are so convinced they are right that, for them the END justifies the means. Gusss what, there are radical terrorists that use the same lodgic as they kill women and children ( 9/11 New York and 7/7 London for example) to further their ENDS.

Col you have been defeated once again. Will you finally admit you are partisan and that facts and reality doesn't matter to you?

How you love to twist the words & facts, Gene. Rove said he had nothing to do with publicly identifying Plame - he never denied talking to a reporter or that the subject of Wilson might have come up in a conversation with a reporter. On the contrary, he readily admitted the reference to Wilson's wife in that conversation to the grand jury as he had no reason to deny it. If all I had ever said was "Wilson's wife, who apparently works at the agency, got him the job" and did so in a conversation whose subject matter was explicity not to be used by the reporter, I'd say I'd had nothing to do with it, too. Particularly when the story was written by someone else (Novak) with no connection to the reporter I'd spoken to.

I see you're now backpedaling and calling it a "reaction" now, rather than "retaliation." I can accept that as perfectly legitimate. How could the administration not "react" to Wilson's public lies? They were being hounded by the press over Wilson's claims. Rove did not seek out a reporter to give away secrets - how many times does it have to be said before you accept it? Even the prosecutor accepts it. The reporter was digging, heard a benign off-hand comment, then violated Rove's trust by revealing it to his bosses. The only people kidding themselves are people like you, and it ain't particularly funny.

Cheers,
Daiwa

I see you're now backpedaling and calling it a "reaction" now, rather than "retaliation." I can accept that as perfectly legitimate. How could the administration not "react" to Wilson's public lies? They were being hounded by the press over Wilson's claims. Rove did not seek out a reporter to give away secrets - how many times does it have to be said before you accept it? Even the prosecutor accepts it. The reporter was digging, heard a benign off-hand comment, then violated Rove's trust by revealing it to his bosses. The only people kidding themselves are people like you, and it ain't particularly funny

That seems to be the bottom line here.

You forget there was no Nuclear program nor WMD in Iraq. Wilson said just that. It was Bush and Cheney that told the world that we were in danger from all the WMD Saddam had and was ready to use on America. I glad to see you now admit Rove did tell Cooper that Wilson's wife was a CIA agent. Rove said he had nothing to do with identifying Plame as a CIA Agent. That was lie!

The latest polls not show Bush is trusted by only 40 % of Americans and support for his major programs including the way he is handling the economy is in the 1/3 range.

" You forget there was no Nuclear program nor WMD in Iraq. Wilson said just that."

Again, you have no clue about any of this. Wilson never did anything in Iraq, did he? Was he ever tasked to find out if Iraq had a nuclear program? His job was to go to Niger and see if they had bought/attempted to buy uranium there.

What's sad is not only are you ignorant of the situation, you're not even making use of the ample amounts of information on your own blog. There was a congressional investigation of this, Col. We don't have to go to the press, and we don't have to take your word for it.

You forget there was no Nuclear program nor WMD in Iraq. Wilson said just that. It was Bush and Cheney that told the world that we were in danger from all the WMD Saddam had and was ready to use on America. I glad to see you now admit Rove did tell Cooper that Wilson's wife was a CIA agent. Rove said he had nothing to do with identifying Plame as a CIA Agent. That was lie!

Hey Klink, just WTF do WMD's & Iraq have to do with Niger?