Two more US soldiers have died in Iraq. For what?
The publicly stated reasons (WMDs, "democracy," etc.) are all lies.
The real reasons (e.g., neo-con wet dreams of "Empire," political cover gone bad, personal vendetta, oil, positioning for the possible collapse of the Saudi kingdom) are all ill-conceived and some perhaps treasonous... It is a national tragedy...And those brave individuals within the US and British governments who have resisted the Bush cabal have risked their lives and their careers...
Tabassum Zakaria, Reuters: A group of former CIA
staffers is pushing for a congressional investigation
into the "shameful" leaking of the name of undercover
officer Valerie Plame, whose husband cast doubt on the
Bush administration's claims about Iraqi weapons of
mass destruction.
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http://news.myway.com/top/article/id/380578|top|01-22-2004::01:29|reuters.html
Ex-CIA Officers Ask Congress to Probe Plame Leak
Jan 22, 1:25 AM (ET)
By Tabassum Zakaria
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of former CIA staffers
is pushing for a congressional investigation into the
"shameful" leaking of the name of undercover officer
Valerie Plame, whose husband cast doubt on the Bush
administration's claims about Iraqi weapons of mass
destruction.
In a letter to U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert dated
Jan. 20 and obtained by Reuters on Wednesday, 10
former CIA analysts and operatives called the
disclosure of Plame's identity a "shameful event in
American history" that had damaged national security.
"Congress must send an unambiguous message that the
intelligence officers tasked with collecting or
analyzing intelligence must never be turned into
political punching bags," the letter said, saying such
leaks jeopardized the work and safety of intelligence
professionals and their sources.
The Justice Department is conducting an investigation
into who leaked Plame's name to newspaper columnist
Robert Novak last year.
Plame's husband, former diplomat Joseph Wilson, has
accused administration officials of leaking her name
in retaliation for his challenge to one of the reasons
cited by President Bush for going to war against Iraq.
Wilson went to Niger early in 2002 at the CIA's
request to assess a report that Iraq sought to buy
uranium from Niger, but returned saying he had found
no evidence to back the claim. The Niger allegation
was later found to have been based partly on forged
documents.
But it was mentioned in Bush's State of the Union
speech in January 2003 to help build a case for war
against Iraq. The White House has since admitted that
Bush should not have included the charge, which he
attributed to British intelligence, in his speech.
In their letter, the former CIA officers said a
congressional investigation was important not only to
uncover who leaked the name but also to signal that
such behavior would not be tolerated.
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft has stepped aside
from the Justice Department investigation and Bush has
said the inquiry did not involve him "in any way,
shape or form."
Separately, a group of Democrats led by Rep. Rush Holt
of New Jersey on Wednesday introduced a "resolution of
inquiry" that asks the president, Secretary of State,
Secretary of Defense and Attorney General to give the
House of Representatives all documents in their
possession relating to the disclosure of Plame's
identity.
The documents sought included telephone and electronic
mail records, logs and calendars, personnel records,
and records of internal discussions for the period May
6 through July 31 last year, a statement from Holt,
who is a member of the House Intelligence Committee,
said.
"Six months after a syndicated columnist disclosed the
name of an undercover CIA operative, the White House
and the Department of Justice have yet to find and
hold accountable the person or persons who revealed
her identity," Holt said.
"The Department of Justice investigation has the full
support of Congress and should be vigorously pursued,
but it is not enough," he said.