Do we know who actually authorised Wilson's trip to Africa?

[wurzel]

Wilson must have had some kind of written instructions. Signed by someone. His expenses were paid. He was paid. Checks were written with signatures. He must have addressed his report to someone. We are being asked to believe the only one who did all this was his wife. I don't believe she could possibly have had all this authority. Or did she?

[Finder]

1. CIA approved

and paid his expenses. He was official.

[peace frog]

2. In Salon's interview with Wilson

he said Plame's superiors at CIA had the authority to send him to Niger, Plame herself did not.

[wurzel]

7. So all Valerie did was possibly recommend her husband

because of his expertise in Africa. And this has been "spun" to she sent him. I just don't get how these Repukes are being allowed on TV shows to claim "he lied" about how he went.

[H2O Man]

9. By people repeating it. n/t

[napi21]

3. Yes. It was an official at the CIA. He was also Valerie's boss.

His name was listed in a DU post yesterday, but I don't remember what it was. I'll try to find it.

[displacedtexan]

4. The grand jury knows.

Otherwise, the judge(s) would have dismissed by now.

[Cocoa]

15. yep

that's what counts.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

5. the CIA and I don't believe Plame had the authority to make decissions

[Lex]

6. The republicans would have us believe

that

1. Plame was just a desk clerk at the CIA

AND

2. She had the authority to sign off on Wilson's trip to Africa.


:eyes:

[wurzel]

8. Good Point. I like that.

[acmejack]

10. The CIA is a government entity

There is no reason to believe they are any less bureaucratic.

[napi21]

11. Haven't found the name yet, but here's the info on who authorized it.

In fact, both of the claims underpinning the RNC's defense of Rove are false: Wilson never claimed he was sent to Niger at Cheney's request, and it was the CIA's Directorate of Operations, Counterproliferation Division (CPD), that authorized the trip, not Plame.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200507140001

[wurzel]

18. Thanks.

[mzteris]

12. The CIA report

". . . The intelligence committee report says, "Some officials could not recall how the office decided to contact the former ambassador, however, interviews and documents provided to the Committee indicate that his wife, a CPD employee, suggested his name for the trip. The CPD reports officer told Committee staff that the former ambassador's wife 'offered up his name' and a memorandum to the Deputy Chief of the CPD on February 12, 2002, from says, 'my husband has good relations with both the PM and the former Minister of Mines (not to mention lots of French contacts), both of whom could possibly shed light on this sort of activity.' ... The former ambassador's wife told Committee staff that when CPD decided it would like to send the former ambassador to Niger, she approached her husband on behalf of the CIA."

The report also notes, "On February 19, 2002, CPD hosted a meeting with the former ambassador, intelligence analysts from both the CIA and INR , and several individuals from the Africa and CPD divisions. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the merits of traveling to Niger. An INR analyst's notes indicate that the meeting was 'apparently convened by wife who had the idea to dispatch to use his contacts to sort out the Iraq-Niger uranium issue. The former ambassador's wife told Committee staff that she only attended the meeting to introduce her husband and left after about three minutes." . . .


. . . it is certainly imaginable that an INR analyst sitting in a meeting in which there is talk of dispatching a CIA officer's husband to Africa could have received the impression that his wife had initiated the mission. But if that was the case, why did Valerie Wilson attend for only a few minutes? If Valerie Wilson's account of this meeting is not accurate, where are the contradicting accounts from the other participants? Why does the report not quote them on this topic? Since only a week elapsed between the time Valerie Wilson "offered up" her husband and a meeting was held to consider sending him to Niger, it is possible that someone participating in the matter might have thought that Valerie Wilson's original advice – talk to my husband – was related to question of sending an unofficial envoy to Niger to seek out additional information.

When Wilson returned from Niger two CIA officers debriefed him. "The debriefing," the Senate report says, "took place in the former ambassador's home and although his wife was there, according to the reports officer, she acted as a hostess and did not participate in the debrief." If Valerie Wilson had played a key role in sending Joseph Wilson to Niger, would she have skipped out on this debriefing? Perhaps. But this scene reinforces Wilson's claim that she was not deeply involved in his Niger trip. . .

. . . The report notes that the CIA people in charge of investigating the Niger allegation deliberated over what to do and then reached the decision to ask Wilson to perform a pro bono act of public service. And he said yes. He had the experience for the job. His trip was not a boondoggle arranged by his wife for his or their benefit.

http://occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=5973

[many a good man]

14. Wasn't that section part of the partisan addenda to the report?

The report's addenda listed items that were not able to reach bipartisan agreement. Republican members slipped it in and the Democrat dissenters were later corroborated by statements by Tenet.

Somebody help me find a link to this....

[mzteris]

16. sorry

I thought I'd posted the link - I didn't know it no longer worked. \\

Shoot- I can't get a link to work..... copy and paste the first sentence into google and the report will come up. This story was from Occupation Watch and then from David Corn originally......

Defending Joe Wilson

Republicans are using the Senate Intelligence Committee report to settle scores with former Ambassador for embarrassing the President. That he is also John Kerry's foreign policy advisor doesn't hurt.
by David Corn, AlterNet
July 19th, 2004

(edited to try and get link to work!!! aaaaaaaaggggghhhh)

[Straight Shooter]

13. This is silly. Even if Plame had authority, she never would have done it.

Nobody in their right mind sends a spouse or other close relative. It compromises objectivity and would have made suspect any finding Wilson made.

The Republicans had a son involved in an historic case before his father who happens to be a Supreme Court Justice. I didn't hear Republicans screaming about that compromising the decision. So why have they got their panties in a bunch because Wilson is related to Plame by marriage?

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

21. You refer to Scalia in in the election of 2000

History will look very unkindly on that as I always have and wonder why that one was allowed to slip by under the radar. If the Republicans want to discuss nepotism this is a good place to start@

[dogday]

17. Read this timeline of events, it tells you

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1083895,00.html

[wurzel]

19. So CIA sent Wilson in response to Cheney office request.

Which means his reprot went to Cheney's office who didn't like it. It didn't "Fit".

[Pepperbelly]

20. that is such a peripheral issue anyway ... only a petty fuckhead ...

like Rove would think that the origins of his appointment would distract from the real point which was Bush's lying ass.

[Disturbed]

22. Mrs. Wilson's boss was Pavitt who..

resigned shortly after G. Tenet did.