A glamorous former CIA spy has accused the Bush administration of maliciously blowing her cover, in an Iraq war political scandal that has a top White House aide heading for jail.
Valerie Plame, 43, broke her silence over a drama clouding President George W. Bush's second term, using a congressional hearing on Friday to accuse officials of exposing her to avenge her diplomat husband's criticism of the drive to war.
"It was a terrible irony that administration officials were the ones who destroyed my cover," said Plame, who portrayed herself as an innocent victim of a political firestorm whipped up over the 2003 invasion.
PHOTO: AP
The blonde former intelligence officer, whose appearance drew a paparazzi-style pack of photographers into the staid House of Representatives committee room, also accused Bush aides of tainting the intelligence services.
"I feel passionately as an intelligence professional about the creeping insidious politicizing of our intelligence process," Plame said.
She told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that such actions could wreak lasting damage on the US' crucial intelligence capacity, which plays a key role in the "war on terror."
"If our government cannot even protect my identity, future foreign agents who might consider working with the Central Intelligence Agency and providing needed intelligence would think twice," she said.
Plame was constrained by the details she could give in an open, public hearing as even though she has retired from the CIA, she is still bound by its restrictions on classified information.
As she spoke, a pink-garbed anti-war protester edged into camera range behind her, with a T-shirt reading: "Impeach Bush Now."
Plame was at the center of the so-called CIA leak case which erupted when her husband Joseph Wilson wrote a July 2003 opinion piece in the New York Times criticizing Bush's case for war against Iraq.
She contends White House officials then deliberately leaked her name to the media, to ruin her career and punish Wilson for his actions.
"I felt like I had been hit in the gut. It [my career] was over in an instant," she said, of the moment when she saw her name emblazoned across a newspaper column. "I immediately thought of my family's safety, the agents, networks that I had worked with," said Plame, saying she had made many secret foreign intelligence missions on behalf of the CIA.
She also insisted the top White House political adviser was behind the controversy, and blamed Bush for refusing to fire anyone who leaked.
"Karl Rove clearly was involved in the leaking of my name, and he still carries a security clearance to this day," Plame said.
The incident led to the appointment of a special prosecutor who probed whether administration officials had broken the law by knowingly outing a covert intelligence agent.
No charges were laid under that statute, but prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald did charge Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby with perjury and obstruction of justice over the affair.
After a trial which lifted the lid on the frenzied White House in the months leading up to the invasion of Iraq, Libby was convicted earlier this month, and faces up to 25 years in prison.
Wilson, a former US ambassador to Gabon, was sent to Niger in February 2002 to investigate claims Saddam tried to buy uranium for nuclear bombs but concluded it was doubtful such transfers took place.
The claim still found its way into Bush's annual state of the union address a year later, prompting Wilson to stew for six months before unleashing the Times article, in which he warned top US officials may have ignored data which contradicted the case for war.
On July 7, 2003, the White House admitted the Niger claim rested on flawed intelligence, and should not have been in the speech.
Newspaper columnist Robert Novak then reported that "two senior administration officials" told him that Plame was a CIA operative and had suggested Wilson's mission.
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
RSS