18 July 2005
The Honorable Dennis Hastert, Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives
The Honorable Dr. William Frist, Majority Leader of the Senate
The Honorable Harry Reid, Minority Leader of the Senate
We, the undersigned former U.S. intelligence officers are concerned with the
tone and substance of the public debate over the ongoing Department of
Justice investigation into who leaked the name of Valerie Plame, wife of
former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson IV, to syndicated columnist Robert
Novak and other members of the media, which exposed her status as an
undercover CIA officer. The disclosure of Ms. Plame’s name was a shameful
event in American history and, in our professional judgment, may have
damaged U.S. national security and poses a threat to the ability of U.S.
intelligence gathering using human sources. Any breach of the code of
confidentiality and cover weakens the overall fabric of intelligence, and,
directly or indirectly, jeopardizes the work and safety of intelligence workers
and their sources.
The Republican National Committee has circulated talking points to
supporters to use as part of a coordinated strategy to discredit Ambassador
Joseph Wilson and his wife. As part of this campaign a common theme is
the idea that Ambassador Wilson’s wife, Valerie Plame was not undercover
and deserved no protection. The following are four recent examples of this
“talking point”:
Michael Medved stated on Larry King Live on July 12, 2005, “And let's
be honest about this. Mrs. Plame, Mrs. Wilson, had a desk job
at Langley. She went back and forth every single day.”
Victoria Toensing stated on a Fox News program with John Gibson on
July 12, 2005 that, “Well, they weren't taking affirmative
measures to protect that identity. They gave her a desk job in
Langley. You don't really have somebody deep undercover
going back and forth to Langley, where people can see them.”
Ed Rodgers, Washington Lobbyist and former Republican official, said
on July 13, 2005 on the Newshour with Jim Lehrer, “And also I think
it is now a matter of established fact that Mrs. Plame was not a
protected covert agent, and I don't think there's any
meaningful investigation about that.”
House majority whip Roy Blunt (R, Mo), on Face the Nation, July 17,
2005, “It certainly wouldn't be the first time that the CIA might
have been overzealous in sort of maintaining the kind of topsecret
definition on things longer than they needed to. You
know, this was a job that the ambassador's wife had that she
went to every day. It was a desk job. I think many people in
Washington understood that her employment was at the CIA,
and she went to that office every day.”
These comments reveal an astonishing ignorance of the intelligence
community and the role of cover. The fact is that there are thousands of
U.S. intelligence officers who “work at a desk” in the Washington, D.C. area
every day who are undercover. Some have official cover, and some have
non-official cover. Both classes of cover must and should be protected.
While we are pleased that the U.S. Department of Justice is conducting an
investigation and that the U.S. Attorney General has recused himself, we
believe that the partisan attacks against Valerie Plame are sending a deeply
discouraging message to the men and women who have agreed to work
undercover for their nation’s security.
We are not lawyers and are not qualified to determine whether the leakers
technically violated the 1982 Intelligence Identities Protection Act. However,
we are confident that Valerie Plame was working in a cover status and that
our nation’s leaders, regardless of political party, have a duty to protect all
intelligence officers. We believe it is appropriate for the President to move
proactively to dismiss from office or administratively punish any official who
participated in any way in revealing Valerie Plame's status. the President
would send an unambiguous message that leaks of this nature will not be
tolerated and would be consistent with his duties
as the Commander-in-Chief.
We also believe it is important that Congress speak with one non-partisan
voice on this issue. Intelligence officers should not be used as political
footballs. In the case of Valerie Plame, she still works for the CIA and is not
in a position to publicly defend her reputation and honor. We stand in her
stead and ask that Republicans and Democrats honor her service to her
country and stop the campaign of disparagement and innuendo aimed at
discrediting Mrs. Wilson and her husband.
Our friends and colleagues have difficult jobs gathering the intelligence,
which helps, for example, to prevent terrorist attacks against Americans at
home and abroad. They sometimes face great personal risk and must spend
long hours away from family and friends. They serve because they love this
country and are committed to protecting it from threats from abroad and to
defending the principles of liberty and freedom. They do not expect public
acknowledgement for their work, but they do expect and deserve their
government’s protection of their covert status.
For the good of our country, we ask you to please stand up for every man
and woman who works for the U.S. intelligence community and help protect
their ability to live their cover.
Sincerely yours,
_____________________________________
Larry C. Johnson, former Analyst, CIA
JOINED BY:
Mr. Brent Cavan, former Analyst, CIA
Mr. Vince Cannistraro, former Case Officer, CIA
Mr. Michael Grimaldi, former Analyst, CIA
Mr. Mel Goodman, former senior Analyst, CIA
Col. W. Patrick Lang (US Army retired), former Director, Defense Humint
Services, DIA
Mr. David MacMichael, former senior estimates officer, National Intelligence
Council, CIA
Mr. James Marcinkowski, former Case Officer, CIA
Mr. Ray McGovern, former senior Analyst and PDB Briefer, CIA
Mr. Jim Smith, former Case Officer, CIA
Mr. William C. Wagner, former Case Officer, CIA
No comments:
Post a Comment