more on Anyone know if this is for real?

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Casserly, James" <JCasserly () WILLKIE COM>
Date: July 20, 2005 3:28:50 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: RE: [IP] Anyone know if this is for real?


Believe so.  A .pdf of the letter is at
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/intel.officers.letter.pdf
The fellow who maintains that site, Joshua Micah Marshall, is in my
experience quite reliable.

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-ip () v2 listbox com [mailto:owner-ip () v2 listbox com] On Behalf
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Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2005 3:20 PM
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Subject: [IP] Anyone know if this is for real?




Begin forwarded message:

From: EEkid () aol com
Date: July 20, 2005 3:12:41 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Anyone know if this is for real?


CIA Agents Letter to US Senate and House


18 July 2005

AN OPEN STATEMENT TO THE LEADERS OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SENATE.

The Honorable Dennis Hastert, Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader, U.S. House of
Representatives

The Honorable Dr. William Frist, Majority Leader of the Senate

The Honorable Harry Reid, Minority Leader of the Senate


We, the undersigned former U.S. intelligence officers are concerned
with the tone and substance of the public debate over the ongoing
Department of Justice investigation into who leaked the name of
Valerie Plame, wife of former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson IV, to
syndicated columnist Robert Novak and other members of the media,
which exposed her status as an undercover CIA officer. The disclosure
of Ms. Plame's name was a shameful event in American history and, in
our professional judgment, may have damaged U.S. national security
and poses a threat to the ability of U.S. intelligence gathering
using human sources. Any breach of the code of confidentiality and
cover weakens the overall fabric of intelligence, and, directly or
indirectly, jeopardizes the work and safety of intelligence workers
and their sources.

The Republican National Committee has circulated talking points to
supporters to use as part of a coordinated strategy to discredit
Ambassador Joseph Wilson and his wife. As part of this campaign a
common theme is the idea that Ambassador Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame
was not undercover and deserved no protection. The following are four
recent examples of this "talking point":

Michael Medved stated on Larry King Live on July 12, 2005, "And let's
be honest about this. Mrs. Plame, Mrs. Wilson, had a desk job at
Langley. She went back and forth every single day."

Victoria Toensing stated on a Fox News program with John Gibson on
July 12, 2005 that, "Well, they weren't taking affirmative measures
to protect that identity. They gave her a desk job in Langley. You
don't really have somebody deep undercover going back and forth to
Langley, where people can see them."

Ed Rodgers, Washington Lobbyist and former Republican official, said
on July 13, 2005 on the Newshour with Jim Lehrer, "And also I think
it is now a matter of established fact that Mrs. Plame was not a
protected covert agent, and I don't think there's any meaningful
investigation about that."

House majority whip Roy Blunt (R, Mo), on Face the Nation, July 17,
2005, "It certainly wouldn't be the first time that the CIA might
have been overzealous in sort of maintaining the kind of top-secret
definition on things longer than they needed to. You know, this was a
job that the ambassador's wife had that she went to every day. It was
a desk job. I think many people in Washington understood that her
employment was at the CIA, and she went to that office every day."

These comments reveal an astonishing ignorance of the intelligence
community and the role of cover. The fact is that there are thousands
of U.S. intelligence officers who "work at a desk" in the Washington,
D.C. area every day who are undercover. Some have official cover, and
some have non-official cover. Both classes of cover must and should
be protected.

While we are pleased that the U.S. Department of Justice is
conducting an investigation and that the U.S. Attorney General has
recused himself, we believe that the partisan attacks against Valerie
Plame are sending a deeply discouraging message to the men and women
who have agreed to work undercover for their nation's security.

We are not lawyers and are not qualified to determine whether the
leakers technically violated the 1982 Intelligence Identities
Protection Act. However, we are confident that Valerie Plame was
working in a cover status and that our nation's leaders, regardless
of political party, have a duty to protect all intelligence officers.
We believe it is appropriate for the President to move proactively to
dismiss from office or administratively punish any official who
participated in any way in revealing Valerie Plame's status. Such an
act by the President would send an unambiguous message that leaks of
this nature will not be tolerated and would be consistent with his
duties as the Commander-in-Chief.

We also believe it is important that Congress speak with one non-
partisan voice on this issue. Intelligence officers should not be
used as political footballs. In the case of Valerie Plame, she still
works for the CIA and is not in a position to publicly defend her
reputation and honor. We stand in her stead and ask that Republicans
and Democrats honor her service to her country and stop the campaign
of disparagement and innuendo aimed at discrediting Mrs. Wilson and
her husband.

Our friends and colleagues have difficult jobs gathering the
intelligence, which helps, for example, to prevent terrorist attacks
against Americans at home and abroad. They sometimes face great
personal risk and must spend long hours away from family and friends.
They serve because they love this country and are committed to
protecting it from threats from abroad and to defending the
principles of liberty and freedom. They do not expect public
acknowledgement for their work, but they do expect and deserve their
government's protection of their covert status.

For the good of our country, we ask you to please stand up for every
man and woman who works for the U.S. intelligence community and help
protect their ability to live their cover.

Sincerely yours,



_____________________________________

Larry C. Johnson, former Analyst, CIA


JOINED BY:

Mr. Brent Cavan, former Analyst, CIA

Mr. Vince Cannistraro, former Case Officer, CIA

Mr. Michael Grimaldi, former Analyst, CIA

Mr. Mel Goodman, former senior Analyst, CIA

Col. W. Patrick Lang (US Army retired), former Director, Defense
Humint Services, DIA

Mr. David MacMichael, former senior estimates officer, National
Intelligence Council, CIA

Mr. James Marcinkowski, former Case Officer, CIA

Mr. Ray McGovern, former senior Analyst and PDB Briefer, CIA

Mr. Jim Smith, former Case Officer, CIA

Mr. William C. Wagner, former Case Officer, CIA



http://www.crooksandliars.com/stories/2005/07/19/
ciaAgentsLetterToUsSenateAndHouse.html



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