30 October 2005

THIS ENDETH THE FIRST LESSON (2)

List member Karen Watters Cole, Portland, Oregon, responds:

It is the job of political analysts and strategists to ponder what the larger impact of the CIA leak will be, not the special counsel. At trial, if it gets that far, more about motives and intentions would be revealed, and that's why there is less chance of a trial than my wearing a mini skirt again.

The lasting image is of a coordinated effort from the White House to discredit an opponent; the subject was the premise for war, not a political campaign, and the plan of action included exposing a clandestine government agent. It couldn't be much worse.

Its been more than a century since a sitting White House official has been indicted. This is the 'morals and values' crowd. It's just that expectations were that Rove would be named, and if there were any justice in this world, Darth Cheney would have been exposed.

As to the renewed challenge about what kind of real damage Plame's outing created for the CIA, that's subterfuge. We may never know, really. Just don't forget the CIA referred the leak to the Dept of Justice. The indictment is concerned with the disclosure, not how much damage. Let the analysts and historians evaluate that.