Remember all those right-wingers that insisted that Valerie Plame was not undercover and that she was just some glorified desk jockey and that ‘everyone’ knew she was in the CIA? Well…then…how do explain the fact that the CIA won’t let her publish her book?
A CIA panel has told former officer Valerie Plame she can’t write about her undercover work for the agency, a position that may threaten a lucrative book project with her publisher.
CIA employees and veterans always have to submit writings for pre-approval. That’s a precaution that prevents the inadvertent disclosure of classified information. But Plame is a special case precisely because she was a NOC (non-official cover spy).
The panel [CIA Publications Review Board] refused Plame permission to even mention that she worked for the CIA because she served as a “nonofficial cover” officer (or NOC) posing as a private businesswoman, according to an adviser to Plame, who asked not to be identified discussing a sensitive issue. “She believes this will effectively gut the book,” said the adviser. Larry Johnson, a former colleague, said the agency’s action seems punitive, given that other ex-CIA undercover officers have published books. But even Plame’s friends acknowledge that few NOCs have done so.
Forget the fact, for a moment, that the administration is once again using the cloak of national security to muzzle one of its critics. The important thing is that the CIA thinks her work was so sensitive that they won’t let her admit she worked for the CIA. And this is after they filed a complaint on her behalf with the Justice Department after her identity was outed.
So, remember, Clifford May and Bob Novak and all of Cheney, Rove, Armitage, and Libby’s defenders are full of crap. Plame was no desk jockey.
good move. Scooter defense team should take note. Lots of questions for Cheney.
Why should she honor their refusal? Is it because she`s loyal to her promise or oath, or is it because it would be a crime?
What`s your take on that? I think her work had much to do with nuclear intel on Iran & the knowledge that Iraq had no nukes at all. I believe it`s another CYA ploy which I hope she finds a way to overcome. They threw her to the dogs, damn them, not to mention blowing Brewster-Jennings as a cover. What about the unnamed Gold Star at the CIA. Was an agent killed because of their outing her? Couldn`t the book be “leaked”?
How many lives are in fatal jeopardy because of her outing?
When are we going to know these things?
CIA officers who break their vow of silence don’t just lose their pensions. They can be criminally prosecuted.
That’s how secrets can be kept forever. It’s a serious crime to reveal them. In addition, no publisher will touch her if the CIA asks them not to, and the CIA is all over the publishing industry and has been since long before the Church and Pike committees unveiled that.
Yep. No one ever works for the CIA. The CIA will neither confirm nor deny all but their most visible employees.
This is just rotten, and smacks of the political, which does not bode well for the Agency.
Thanks Real History, so where does her situation go from here?
The only hope for her is 1) a true prosecution of those who exposed her – I believe, from reading the indictment of Libby, that either Rove or Cheney was the mysterious person “A” who has not yet been named or arrested.
If that fails to happen, she’ll be silenced forever, because that means no one wants to get to the bottom of her case.
If that succeeds, then she may still have to wait for 2008 when a new regime could be installed at CIA, one that might give her permission to go forward.
Remember – secrets are only being kept from US, not other spy agencies, who already tracked her and her associates, causing the CIA to roll up a wide operation when she was exposed. The Agency has always feared exposure to its citizens the most, for fear there will be a public outcry about the types of activities they engage in.
In 1966, the New York Times ran a historic four-part series on the CIA. It was the first in-depth examination ever, and the CIA, and James Angleton in particular, were freaking out over this. Halison Salisbury detailed this in his book on the Times called Without Fear or Favor. A very interesting read!
I don’t know why I said Cheney – it seems obvious to me in the context that “Official A” in the indictment is Rove. It maps to the known timeline of his actions and events. I guess I’m hoping the only reason Fitzgerald let Rove walk was that he found a way to get Rove to help him bring down Cheney for some role in Plame’s exposure. If both Cheney AND Rove walk, that’s just unconscionable.
But won’t this be very helpful to her in their civil suit? Isn’t it a clear admission that she was illegally outed?
That’s my take also. Plame was no desk jockey. Denial is no longer plausible. Hopefully an item at the top of the list for the Senate’s Select Committee on Intel: damage assessment. Say goodnight, Dick.
Refusing to grant her permission to even say that she worked for the CIA is laughable given that it was covered by virtually every media outlet and is now common knowledge.
Maybe there is legal exposure if the CIA says she is, but others aren’t, when they really are, and want to publish their OWN books. I don’t know – just guessing.