When an intelligence breakdown occurs — say, I don’t know, someone leaks the name of an undercover agent, for example — the CIA conducts a thorough damage assessment to determine just how much damage the incident has done to national security. When Aldrich Ames was caught spying for the Soviet Union, the CIA prepared an exhaustive report over the course of 18 months.
So, what did the CIA come up with after the Plame leak? The Wall Street Journal’s John Harwood noted today that Dems have been trying to find out.
Democrats two years ago sought a damage assessment over the outing of Valerie Plame, but Congress still hasn’t received one. Such assessments are routinely done for unauthorized disclosures of an agent’s identity.
The National Counterintelligence Executive has said the Central Intelligence Agency took steps to mitigate real or potential damage. A CIA spokeswoman declines to comment amid the investigation by special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, who has probed the role of Bush strategist Rove and others. Democrats, who would benefit from showing the leak was costly, say Republicans want to play it down.
Nearly two full years ago, we learned that the CIA was, in fact, conducting an extensive damage assessment after Novak’s column ran. Is it complete? What does it say? Why has the CIA been reluctant to share it?
Inquiring minds want to know.