From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 7/23/05:
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/0705/23natcialeak.html
Bush-Rove loyalty a threat, CIA retirees say
By SCOTT SHEPARD
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Washington --
A group of retired CIA officials on Friday accused President Bush of
using a special investigation of White House leaks to avoid having to
fire his longtime political adviser, Karl Rove.
The group said Bush -- by allowing Rove to remain as deputy White
House chief of staff -- had undermined American security interests
abroad.
Rove was named as a source for news accounts disclosing the identity
of a covert CIA agent married to an administration critic.
In an unofficial hearing conducted by Democratic members of Congress,
the retired CIA agents and analysts also complained that Bush has done
nothing to stop the Republican National Committee and GOP allies in
Congress from continuing a "smear" campaign against the outed agent,
Valerie Plame, and her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson.
"Instead of a president concerned first and foremost with protecting
this country and the intelligence officers who serve it, we are
confronted with a president who is willing to sit by while political
operatives savage the reputations of good Americans like Valerie and
Joe Wilson," said Larry Johnson, a former counterterrorism analyst at
the CIA.
James Marcinkowski, a former CIA case officer, argued that disclosing
Plame's identity had seriously compromised the ability of the CIA to
recruit foreign agents abroad to spy on their own countries or
terrorist organizations.
"While blind deference to legal niceties may be accepted within the
context of American politics, in an overseas setting, it just doesn't
work," Marcinkowski said.
Protection is key to recruiting agents, but guarantees of protection
are undermined when the White House itself exposes members of "the
home team," he added.
Three other former intelligence officials also spoke at the hearing.
The White House and the RNC did not respond immediately to requests
for comment.
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What can they say?
Harry
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