AJC: Blowing CIA agent's cover weakens national security

[scarletwoman]

from the Atlanta Constitution Journal

Under federal law, it is a felony to reveal the identity of an undercover CIA operative, and for obvious reasons. It puts human lives at risk and can do serious damage to national security by undercutting the agent's operation.

The CIA now believes that two top unnamed White House officials may have purposefully leaked the identity of one of its operatives as a means of wreaking petty political revenge against the operative's husband. CIA Director George Tenet has asked the U.S. Justice Department to open a criminal investigation.

Given the gravity of the charges and the high positions held by those alleged to have been involved, the appointment of a special independent counsel is absolutely necessary. The allegations come perilously close to treason -- and not the sort of treason fashionably redefined by some as the mere expression of dissent.

<snip>

It (referring to the recent Wash. Post story where yet ANOTHER "administration source" confirmed that "two top White House officials" shopped the leak to 6 different journalists) might be possible to dismiss this as anonymous leaking about anonymous leaking, except for one well-established fact: Somebody with enough security clearance to know about Plame's undercover CIA work leaked that information to Novak.

(more -- a darn good read...)

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And ya gotta love these closing lines:

This was a project -- an organized, calculated effort by top people in the administration to exact petty political revenge no matter what the impact to national security.

People who would do that have no place in positions of grave responsibility. Their place is in prison.

sw

[gristy]

1. This is a hard-hitting editorial

And it clarifies some of my confusion on the usage of "senior administration official" and "two top White House officials"

That statement jives with recent reporting by The Washington Post, based on an interview with still another anonymous source identified as "a senior administration official." According to that source, "two top White House officials" -- a term that probably applies to at most 10 people -- went on a mission, contacting at least six reporters trying to find one who would print the information about Plame.