Addendum: Clarice Feldman and I have been bantering in emails over this connection between Plame and the authors of this NIE and one topic I wanted to emphasize was the timing of this phone call right before her speech that Fitzgerald and Waxman were colluding on some dirt on Bush and Cheney. First off, the phone call (from an attorney I would note) was not giving the news, it was permission to leak the news.

Plame is a creature of DC and the CIA. She would NEVER leak controversial information about a federal prosecutor and a sitting congressman without checking it out and making sure it would not come back to bite her. That kind of mentality has been drilled into her by her many years at the CIA. Therefore the call was not a tip. It was permission to leak the media news that Waxman, with Fitzgerald’s help, is going to re-open the Plame Game in Congress. Which is might convenient timing with the NIE on Iran coming out – and could help divert attention from the authors and herself! How convenient! – end addendum

Looks like I may have been onto something when I noted the NIE authors had links to Valerie Plame.

The problem with the modern media age is the choreography required to put on a major media event takes so much time and effort that well timed media events around breaking news – like the latest NIE on Iran – become quickly suspect as part of the choreography. They staging of political debate is becoming quite apparent on 2008, with CNN’s facade ripped apart with the GOP debate.

Let’s assume a famous ex-CIA agent – one woefully wrong by the President when she was exposed by her big mouthed husband – wanted to run for elected office? She would give speeches of course to test the waters. But how is it one of these speeches would be coincidentally scheduled for perfect timing with the release of an NIE by her old coworkers?

Valerie Plame Wilson, whose cover as a covert CIA agent was famously blown by top Bush administration officials, told a Brown University audience last night she is pleased that the U.S. intelligence community has released an assessment concluding that Iran halted its covert nuclear weapons campaign in 2003.

“I’m pleased that they have some gumption and have pushed back” against the Bush administration, which has often pointed to Iraq as a rouge nation that is developing a nuclear arsenal, Plame told a packed house on campus last night .

While the new intelligence report appears likely to make President Bush’s “case for war somewhat more problematic,” Plame said, his policies in Iraq and Afghanistan have been a boon to Iran’s government.

“We have done grave damage with our policies in Iraq,” said Plame. “We’ve taken care of Iran’s enemies — the Taliban and Saddam Hussein.”

Amazing how Plame is giving a speech only days after her old coworkers in the IC release the controversial NIE. In addition, Plame’s speech was a staged media event announcing collusion between a Federal Prosecutor (Fitzgerald) and a Liberal Congressman (Henry Waxman) to hand over FBI investigative files so the Liberal Congressman can use them to conduct witch hunts in Congress and – surprise, surprise – effect the 2008 elections.

After her hour-long speech and question-and-answer session, Plame dropped one bombshell almost casually.

She said a lawyer had called her just before her talk began and told her that special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald had agreed to turn his transcripts of interviews with Mr. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney over to U. S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who is known for his relish for investigating wrongdoing by Republicans.

Too casually for me. She should have been an actress (oops, I forgot – she was one for the CIA).

Let’s look at the big picture to set some context. al-Qaeda is on the ropes in Iraq and are acting now out of sheer desperation. They have gone to a scorched Earth policy in order to avoid an humiliating defeat. The Democrats tied their future to al-Qaeda succeeding in Iraq, in the hopes they would deal a defeating blow to Bush and the GOP. The problem is now the Liberal Dems are also desperate to avoid a humiliating political defeat. It appears they may be willing to go well beyond the pale to salvage themselves from their own poor judgments on Iraq. And that could not only be political suicide for lib-dems, but really injure America and its institutions. Are we on the verge of the bloodiest political battles this nation has seen since the civil war? Sadly we may be.