Another Whacky TV Premise That Wingnuts Take Way Too Seriously

Image credit: screenshot by Cujo359

If you read the comments of some wingnuts regarding Valerie Wilson's status as a covert agent, you'd swear they think that covert secret agents take a trapdoor phone booth to work every morning. One good thing came out of Wilson's civil court case today, which ought to lay that fantasy to rest.

Joseph and Valerie Wilson's civil suit of the CIA has been dismissed by a Federal court today. One of the more interesting bits of evidence presented was this:

I, STEPHEN R. KAPPES, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. S. 1746, hereby declare and state:

1. I am the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and have held this position since 24 July 2006. I have held numerous senior operational and administrative positions since joining the CIA in 1981. As an example, I have served more than 12 years overseas with assignments as an Operations Officer. I have served as Deputy Chief of CIA's Counter-Intelligence Center (CIC) and concurrently as the Chief of CIC and Associate Deputy Director for Operations for Counterintelligence. I was named the Associate Deputy Director for Operations of the CIA in 2002 and Deputy Director for Operations of the CIA in 2004.

...

III. Valerie Wilson Employment Summary

5. On 1 January 2002, Valerie Wilson was working for the CIA as an operations officer in the Directorate of Operations (DO). She was assigned to the Counterproliferation Division (CPD) at CIA Headquarters, where she served as the chief of a CPD component with responsibility for weapons proliferation issues related to Iraq.

6. While assigned to CPD, Ms. Wilson engaged in temporary duty (TDY) travel overseas on official business. She traveled at least seven times to more than ten countries. When traveling overseas, Ms. Wilson always traveled under a cover identity -- sometimes in true name and sometimes in alias -- but always using cover -- whether official or non-official cover (NOC) -- with no ostensible relationship to the CIA.

Kapsis Affadavit Re Damage to US National Security

The most important bit is paragraph 6, where Kapsis says, in a legal document, that Valerie Wilson was working undercover overseas for the CIA. He works for General Micheal Hayden, who was appointed by President Bush.

House Oversight Committee chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA30) said this in his opening statement when Valerie Wilson testified in March, 2007:

Ms. Wilson was a covert employee of the CIA. We cannot discuss all of the details of her CIA employment in open session. I have met with General Hayden, the head of the CIA, to discuss what I can and cannot say about Ms. Wilson's service. My staff has also worked with the agency to ensure these remarks do not contain classified information.

I have been advised by the CIA that even now, after all that has happened, I cannot disclose the full nature, scope, and character of Ms. Wilson's service to our nation without causing serious damage to our national security interests. But General Hayden and the CIA have cleared these following comments for today's hearing.

• During her employment at the CIA, Ms. Wilson was under cover. Her employment status with the CIA was classified information prohibited from disclosure under Executive Order 12958.
  
  
• At the time of the publication of Robert Novak's column on July 14,2003, Ms. Wilson's CIA employment status was covert. This was classified information.
  
  
• Ms. Wilson served in senior management positions at the CIA, in which she oversaw the work of other CIA employees, and she attained the level of GS-14, step 6 under the federal pay scale.
  
  
• Ms. Wilson worked on some of the most sensitive and highly secretive matters handled by the CIA.
  
  
• Ms. Wilson served at various times overseas for the CIA. Without discussing the specifics of Ms. Wilson's classified work, it is accurate to say that she worked on the prevention of the development and use of weapons of mass destruction against the United States.
  
  
• In her various positions at the CIA, Ms. Wilson faced significant risks to her personal safety and her life. She took on serious risks on behalf of her country.
  
  
• Ms. Wilson's work in many situations had consequences for the security of her colleagues, and maintaining her cover was critical to protecting the safety of both colleagues and others.
  
  
• The disclosure of Ms. Wilson's employment with the CIA had several serious effects.
  

Statement of Chairman Henry Waxman

I suppose it's possible someone could just assume, without checking, that Rep. Waxman was just lying about what Gen. Hayden said. Hayden never contradicted Waxman, and plenty of folks have backed up these assertions.

But now a CIA official has sworn an affadavit testifying that this was the case. If you still don't believe Valerie Wilson was covert, then you don't have a mind to call your own.

UPDATE: Fixed a couple of typos. I neglected to point out that the text of the affadavit was my own transcription. You're welcome to validate it against the PDF in the link.

UPDATE 2: Speaking of wingnuts in denial, Keith Olbermann gives them a verbal ass-kicking in a special comment tonight. Crooks and Liars has the video.

UPDATE 3: (July 20) Juan Cole put it very well this morning:

But the world has a kind of karma, and the United States will be punished for what Cheney Inc. did to Plame Wilson.

Think about it. She worked against nuclear proliferation, including with regard to Iran,with a "non-official cover" (NOC). She was an undercover operative with extremely sensitive duties.

So what are the big security challenges facing the United States in the next decade? They include the regrouping of al-Qaeda and the threat of nuclear proliferation.

What the United States therefore needs most to secure our country is smart, knowledgeable, skilled and dedicated counter-terrorism and counter- proliferation professionals. Without such persons, we are in danger of being hit hard by smart, knowledgeable, skilled terrorists.

But here is the problem. If you are a NOC, you are living a lie. Your very identity as CIA would potentially put everyone around you in danger, especially your friends, contacts and the agents you are running in foreign countries. You yourself could easily be assassinated on a trip abroad if your identity became known.

Plame Case Thrown Out; National Security Imperilled

Karma doesn't work well enough these days. If it worked as it should, the lying sacks of dung who did this would be in jail, and the liars and morons who apologize for them would be recognized as the worthless little putzes they are.