Breach of security

After Bush and Cheney manipulated the intelligence in concert with CIA Director Tenet about Iraq's military capability and WMD to justify the invasion of a defenseless nation, the administration then went ballistic when former ambassador Joseph Wilson revealed that the documents describing the transfer of uranium from Niger to Iraq were phony with forged signatures.

To disparage Wilson, Cheney then exposed Valerie Plame as the wife of Wilson and an undercover agent of the CIA, who sent her husband to investigate the Niger-Iraq connection. Plame was most concerned about the documents because she was the CIA expert on nuclear proliferation. Cheney's breach of security is a felonious offense with severe consequences.

The cardinal rule regarding the handling of classified information is based on "the need to know" concept. This means, even if someone has a security clearance, that person must have the need for certain classified information in order to perform his work. Cheney and his cohorts violated the need-to-know rule when they divulged classified information to the press.

However, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has chosen not to pursue crimes involving classified information so as to prevent further exposure in the public domain.

Chuck Idler

Grass Valley