Taking the Stick to Authority
Eric | November 17, 2005
Joe Wilson served in the United States foreign service from 1976 until 1998. He acted as ambassador to Gabon under George H.W. Bush, and directed Clinton Administration policies in Africa for the NSC. During the months leading up to the first Gulf War, Wilson sheltered more than a hundred americans at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.
In 2002, Wilson was sent to Nigeria to investigate the possibility of yellowcake uranium sales to Iraq. This investigation was motivated by a British intelligence report speculating that Iraq attempted to purchase yellowcake from Niger in 1999. This report is the origin of the famous “16 words” from the Bush State of the Union address in 2003. While Wilson was not able to secure a definate “No” from Nigerian officials regarding such a sale, he remains certain that one would not take place due to the structural nature of the uranium mines. When the administration more or less ignored Wilsons findings, Wilson authored an op-ed in the New York Times titled “What I Didn’t Find in Africa”. Wilson suggests the Administration officials retaliated by indentifying his wife, Valerie Plame, as a covert CIA operative.
Some in the blogosphere attempted to counter Wilsons claim with allegations that he was responsible for leaking Plame’s identity. The right-wing of internet publishing attempts to blame Wilson as well. Critics of Wilson point to conversations he had with his contemporaries while acting as a commentator for Fox News. But these claims do not stand up to an analysis of the records of the shows in question (see another link about these). In fact, they are nothing more than a house of smoke and mirrors.
I have always believed that there are lines that politics is never, under any circumstances, permitted to cross. One of these is intelligence operations. As far as the facts of law are concerned, Administration officials stooped to the level of outing a covert operative out of political spite.
Wilson was sent to verify the accuracy of the British report, and his findings most definately did NOT do this. The Administration chose to ignore his findings, and punished him when he attempted to set the record straight in public.
Ultimately, it is unacceptable for any government official to betray a member of the intelligence under any circumstances. Anyone who does so should hang by the neck until dead, decayed and reduced to dust. So they have Libby, who might be next? Rove? Cheney? I don’t know, but I sure hope we find out.
[...] My earlier Wilson piece prompted an interesting barrage of email. Writers either based Bush in some pre-canned manner or tried to argue that I was somehow “anti-war and un-American”. One or two went so far as to tell me I was a disgrace. Despite all I could write about these fine folks, I’m going to stick to something more meaningful. [...]
[...] I’ve said for some time that the Bush administration cherry-picked evidence prior to the Iraq war. Those who know me personally know I am not a Bush apologist. Finally, Bush admitted it. [...]