A CIA Cover Blown, a White House Exposed

A cogent and coherent summary of the events in the Affaire de Rove et Plame et Novak. Well worth reading, even if you think you understand the sequence of events. You will learn even more. And we must not let Rove escape this time.

from the LA Times via Amygdala

By Tom Hamburger and Sonni Efron, Times Staff Writers

WASHINGTON — Toward the end of a steamy summer week in 2003, reporters were peppering the White House with phone calls and e-mails, looking for someone to defend the administration's claims about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

About to emerge as a key critic was Joseph C. Wilson IV, a former diplomat who asserted that the administration had manipulated intelligence to justify the Iraq invasion.

At the White House, there wasn't much interest in responding to critics like Wilson that Fourth of July weekend. The communications staff faced more pressing concerns — the president's imminent trip to Africa, growing questions about the war and declining ratings in public opinion polls.

Wilson's accusations were based on an investigation he undertook for the CIA. But he was seen inside the White House as a "showboater" whose stature didn't warrant a high-level administration response. "Let him spout off solo on a holiday weekend," one White House official recalled saying. "Few will listen." (more)