Selling the War
Eight years ago, former President Bush said: “I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious of traitors.”
“Fair Game” by Valerie Plame Wilson is a reminder of how the Bush regime sold the Iraq war and then tried to silence critics.
Vice President Cheney said: “There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.”
Bush insisted: “We cannot wait for the final proof, the smoking gun that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.” And in his highest profile speech before the war, Bush’s infamous 16 words in the State of the Union address stated: “The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.”
The CIA had already determined the Iraq/Africa uranium connection was not true. An inquiry, by Vice President Cheney prompted the CIA to send an ambassador to Niger to investigate, and that ambassador, Joe Wilson, found nothing to support the Iraq/Niger claim and reported that to the CIA. In the spring of 2003, after U.S. forces invaded Iraq and found no WMDs, articles began referring to Wilson’s trip, prompting Cheney’s office, led by Scooter Libby, to start calling the CIA and State Department for information about Wilson.
After, Wilson wrote an op-ed titled, “What I didn’t find in Africa,” the White House efforts to smear him went into overdrive. A week later, columnist Bob Novak tried to raise questions about Wilson’s credibility by revealing: “His wife, Valerie Plame, is an agency operative, two senior administration officials told me.”
In the midst of the ensuing uproar over the disclosure of a CIA operative’s identity, Bush declared: “I don’t know of anybody in my administration who leaked classified information. If somebody did leak classified information, I’d like to know it, and we’ll take the appropriate action.
U.S. attorney Patrick Fitzgerald was assigned to investigate the Plame leak. Fitzgerald heard testimony from Karl Rove, Scooter Libby and eventually obtained testimony from reporters. Fitzgerald charged Libby with perjury, making false statements and obstruction of justice. Fitzgerald stated: Mr. Libby’s story that he was at the tail end of a chain of phone calls, passing on to one reporter what he heard from another, was not true. It was false. He was at the beginning of the chain of the phone calls.
After, a two-month-long trial produced evidence that Libby and Cheney sought out information about the Wilsons from multiple government officials. The jury saw evidence that the vice president scribbled notes on Wilson’s column, gave directions to Libby, to declassify information, and even wrote out White House immediate denials after Novak leaked Plame’s identity. Prosecutors argued Libby lied to protect Cheney, and the jury agreed and convicted Libby on four of five felony counts.
Judge Reggie Walton sentenced Libby to 30 months in prison. Prosecutors hoped the threat of jail would convince Libby cooperate and finally tell the truth, but Bush commuted Libby’s sentence. Bush said that he would not rule out giving Libby a pardon to wipe away the felony record.
In fact, Valerie Plame Wilson’s husband, Joe Wilson, was right from the beginning. Iraq did not seek uranium from Niger and the Bush regimes case for war was wrong.
Complicating matters for the White House is the issue of Iran. Intelligence sources insist Valerie Wilson was part of an operation tracking the proliferation of nuclear weapons material into Iran. When Mrs. Wilson’s cover was blown, our ability to track Iran’s nuclear ambitions was damaged. The Bush regime not only ruined her career, but also harmed U.S. national security.
“Fair Game” by Valerie Plame Wilson is a reminder of how the Bush regime sold the Iraq war and then tried to silence critics.
Vice President Cheney said: “There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.”
Bush insisted: “We cannot wait for the final proof, the smoking gun that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.” And in his highest profile speech before the war, Bush’s infamous 16 words in the State of the Union address stated: “The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.”
The CIA had already determined the Iraq/Africa uranium connection was not true. An inquiry, by Vice President Cheney prompted the CIA to send an ambassador to Niger to investigate, and that ambassador, Joe Wilson, found nothing to support the Iraq/Niger claim and reported that to the CIA. In the spring of 2003, after U.S. forces invaded Iraq and found no WMDs, articles began referring to Wilson’s trip, prompting Cheney’s office, led by Scooter Libby, to start calling the CIA and State Department for information about Wilson.
After, Wilson wrote an op-ed titled, “What I didn’t find in Africa,” the White House efforts to smear him went into overdrive. A week later, columnist Bob Novak tried to raise questions about Wilson’s credibility by revealing: “His wife, Valerie Plame, is an agency operative, two senior administration officials told me.”
In the midst of the ensuing uproar over the disclosure of a CIA operative’s identity, Bush declared: “I don’t know of anybody in my administration who leaked classified information. If somebody did leak classified information, I’d like to know it, and we’ll take the appropriate action.
U.S. attorney Patrick Fitzgerald was assigned to investigate the Plame leak. Fitzgerald heard testimony from Karl Rove, Scooter Libby and eventually obtained testimony from reporters. Fitzgerald charged Libby with perjury, making false statements and obstruction of justice. Fitzgerald stated: Mr. Libby’s story that he was at the tail end of a chain of phone calls, passing on to one reporter what he heard from another, was not true. It was false. He was at the beginning of the chain of the phone calls.
After, a two-month-long trial produced evidence that Libby and Cheney sought out information about the Wilsons from multiple government officials. The jury saw evidence that the vice president scribbled notes on Wilson’s column, gave directions to Libby, to declassify information, and even wrote out White House immediate denials after Novak leaked Plame’s identity. Prosecutors argued Libby lied to protect Cheney, and the jury agreed and convicted Libby on four of five felony counts.
Judge Reggie Walton sentenced Libby to 30 months in prison. Prosecutors hoped the threat of jail would convince Libby cooperate and finally tell the truth, but Bush commuted Libby’s sentence. Bush said that he would not rule out giving Libby a pardon to wipe away the felony record.
In fact, Valerie Plame Wilson’s husband, Joe Wilson, was right from the beginning. Iraq did not seek uranium from Niger and the Bush regimes case for war was wrong.
Complicating matters for the White House is the issue of Iran. Intelligence sources insist Valerie Wilson was part of an operation tracking the proliferation of nuclear weapons material into Iran. When Mrs. Wilson’s cover was blown, our ability to track Iran’s nuclear ambitions was damaged. The Bush regime not only ruined her career, but also harmed U.S. national security.
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