Plame speaks

Washington, D.C.

Former CIA officer Valerie Plame was a covert agent whose cover was “recklessly and carelessly” blown for “purely political motives,” Plame told a House hearing last week. Until last week, Plame had not spoken publicly about the disclosure of her identity by Bush administration officials. The administration blew her cover, Plame testified, because her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, had disputed the administration’s claim that Iraq had sought uranium from the African country of Niger. CIA agents understand that they might be exposed by “foreign enemies,” Plame said, but “it was a terrible irony that administration officials were the ones who destroyed my career.” Plame is writing a book about her experience, and critics charge that she used the hearing to publicize it.

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