Guest Author - Wendy Amato

Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward has admitted to knowing for two years that Valerie Plame-Wilson was a CIA officer,yet kept silent. Supposedly, Woodward learned about Plame’s role from a “senior Bush administration official” other than Rove or Libby. In interviews with that un-named Bush official, Plame was referred to as a “weapons of mass destruction analyst” rather than a covert operative, and therefore did not alarm Woodward as a security breach. In light of Woodward’s revelation, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is requesting another grand jury to hear more evidence in the case. Earlier this month, Libby pled “not guilty” to charges of revealing Plame’s identity.

This new development seems to be a distraction from the real issue, which is not “who knew what, or when.” What is most disturbing about this whole matter is that Bush administration officials apparently gave no thought to the long-range national security consequences of outing a CIA operative. If Valerie Plame-Wilson could be outed as revenge for comments her husband made, putting her life in danger, why would anyone now want to become a CIA agent? It’s dangerous enough a job, without the risk of your own President’s staff selling you out any time they get peeved. Not to mention the fact that from now on every spouse of an ambassador is going to be a suspected CIA operative. This will make it hard for all diplomats to gain trust in their respective new host countries. This incident is also a blow for women, as it appears that only female CIA agents are vulnerable to disclosure.

To address the situation, President Bush has reportedly ordered all White House officials to participate in an ethics-training program, including instructions for handling classified information.