08/01/2005: "An Open Letter to Bill Weissinger"

by Herb Meyer

Hi, Bill:

I'm writing to alert you that someone has stolen your by-line for a column entitled Stranger in a Strange Land that's so loaded with errors you couldn't possibly be its real author.

For example, the sneaky little creep who stole your by-line describes Karl Rove as the senior U.S. Government official "who revealed the identity of an undercover CIA agent." Of course, we don't know who "outed" Valerie Plame because the special prosecutor investigating this leak hasn't yet completed his report. So at this point, the leaker's identity is pure speculation. As I'm sure you recall, it was the Democrats and their media allies who demanded that the President appoint a special prosecutor – which the President immediately did by naming a very tough Democratic lawyer from Chicago. Now, these same people who demanded the special prosecutor won't let the poor guy do his job and instead have declared Karl Rove guilty even before the prosecutor's report has been filed. This shows a disrespect for the legal process which, obviously, a distinguished member of the Bar like yourself would never share.

Further down in the column, its author writes that Ambassador Joseph Wilson "had refuted claims by the Bush administration about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq." This isn't even close to the truth.

What the President actually said in his State of the Union speech is that British intelligence believes that Saddam Hussein had tried to purchase uranium ore in Niger. In fact, British intelligence really did come to that conclusion, so what the President said was accurate. It was to confirm or discredit this British claim that the CIA sent Joe Wilson to Niger. After his return Wilson reported his findings orally to CIA officials – he never troubled to actually write a report – and whatever he said seems to have convinced the CIA that Saddam Hussein really had tried to purchase uranium ore in Niger. You needn't take my word for this; Wilson's findings and the CIA's subsequent conclusions are all in a public report issued by the Senate Intelligence Committee. Moreover, to this day British intelligence continues to back its claim.

It's quite true that much of what the Bush administration has said about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has turned out to be false – it's an appalling intelligence failure, and I've written extensively about it – but whoever really wrote this column picked up on the one claim that seems to have been accurate.

Finally, whoever really authored the column writes that "Rove's explanation to the grand jury of how he learned of Plame's identity as a CIA agent differs sharply from explanations journalists have given." Since grand jury testimony is secret, this is something the author cannot possibly know. A careful attorney like you – who would never allow his political leanings to color his legal judgments – couldn't possibly have made such an elementary mistake.

Since this whole business about "outing" Valerie Plame as a secret agent has blown up into a full-fledged Washington scandal – and since the CIA is something I happen to know about – allow me to point out a few things that seem to have eluded everyone's attention.

First, the legislation making it a crime to "out" an undercover agent was written explicitly to prevent a second instance of something that happened years ago, when an ex-CIA agent published the names of his former colleagues in a foreign newspaper and literally got some of them killed. It's a carefully written law that limits the definition of "undercover agent" to someone who has worked overseas within the past five years. Since Valerie Plame had been working in Washington DC for six years before her "outing," it's obvious that the legislation doesn't even apply to her situation.

Moreover, while the CIA admittedly does some stupid things, it isn't so stupid that it allows its undercover agents to show up for work each morning at the agency's headquarters in McLean, Virginia. The entrance is off Route 123, and as you approach there are always one or two cars parked along the verge, sometimes with the hood open as though the engine had overheated. In fact, inside these cars are foreign intelligence agents who are busily photographing those of us turning into the CIA's main gate. The police always chase these cars away, but of course when one leaves another takes its place. Valerie Plame came to work at agency headquarters every morning – which means she wasn't an undercover agent.

Finally, undercover agents don't marry loudmouth party-animals like Joe Wilson. If you think the level of gossip is high here in Friday Harbor, you should try living in Georgetown. I've lived in both places, and compared to Georgetown our little Friday Harbor is a model of discretion. I can guarantee that half the population of Washington – including every reporter, every foreign diplomat and every Georgetown hostess – knew precisely who Valerie Plame was and where she worked. In short, this whole thing is a manufactured scandal that has nothing to do with the law and everything to do with politics.

Rest assured, Bill, that not for one moment do I believe that you really wrote this column. But in the interests of your excellent reputation for accuracy and fairness, you might want to demand that The Island Guardian publish a retraction – and launch an investigation to "out" the byline-thief among us.

All best,

Herb

Herb Meyer served during the Reagan Administration as Special Assistant to the Director of Central Intelligence and Vice Chairman of the CIA's National Intelligence Council. His DVD on The Siege of Western Civilization has become an international best-seller.