Wilson says Plame not covert

I sent this letter to the editor of the Seattle Times this morning:

From: ron_lfp@mac.com Subject: Headline error on Wilson story Date: July 17, 2005 7:24:24 AM PDT To: opinion@seattletimes.com Editor, Seattle Times, Valerie Plame was not a covert operative for the CIA when Bob Novak told Karl Rove his name. Your Friday headline is in error. The Union Leader and New Hampshire Sunday News on July 17 says that Wilson said so this week:

The icing on the cake was Wilson's own admission, made Thursday, that "My wife was not a clandestine officer the day that Bob Novak blew her identity."

We have known for a long time that Plame was working a desk job, driving to the office every day. Now Wilson himself admitted it. Ron Hebron

First: The Seattle Times is still repeating the fiction that Karl Rove blew the cover of CIA agent Valerie Plame. They know it's not true. They seem to think that repeating it will make it so. Second: Rove didn't blow her cover. He heard her name from journalist Bob Novak. There are emails that establish this. Third: Bob Novak's publisher notified the CIA that he was going to publish Plame's name. The CIA did not object. If she were covert they would certainly have objected. What's the big deal about this? Only one thing: the Dems thought they could blow out Rove and "everyone knows" that Rove is Bush's brain and he can do nothing without Rove. There's no coon up the tree they barked at all night. And the Seattle Times is playing their part on the team. They are knowingly printing false headlines. Tip to Lucianne.com Update. On Sunday the Seattle Times first downgrades their verbiage, then upgrades it, but doesn't correct their errors. Rove "was part of the conversations that outed a covert CIA official..." That's an improvement. Now the fall back. "Somebody else ought to be assessing Rove's ability to handle classified information." What? Bob Novak told Rove that Wilson's wife recommended Wilson for the Niger investigation. That's not handling classified information and it's not mishandling classified information. Classified information wasn't involved. But the charge is serious. We have seen when Demos make an unfounded charge against a political enemy it just matters that the charges are serious. Not that there is no evidence. Also. Now the Democrats care about the CIA? They have been trying to make it ineffective for 40 years. In the past year Senator Kerry has blown the cover of a covert agent. They don't care about our intelligence services.