Almost immediately after Joseph Wilson published an op-ed for the New York Times highlighting Bush’s lies about Iraq’s non-existent nuclear program, the White House pushed back hard, attacking him in the media and targeting his wife. It led, of course, to outing an undercover CIA agent.
By why go after some largely-unknown former ambassador so aggressively? The president was saying Iraq tried to buy uranium for a nuclear program; Wilson was saying Iraq wasn’t. The Bush gang could have dismissed Wilson’s claims casually, ignored Plame, and continued their march to war unabated. Why was it necessary to destroy Wilson and his wife?
Almost two years ago, a senior administration official told the Washington Post that the White House outed Plame “purely and simply for revenge.” This, of course, says a lot about the character of the people running the executive branch of government. But it doesn’t completely capture their motivations. This does.
Prosecutors investigating whether administration officials illegally leaked the identity of Wilson’s wife, a CIA officer who had worked undercover, have been told that Bush’s top political strategist, Karl Rove, and Cheney’s chief of staff, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, were especially intent on undercutting Wilson’s credibility, according to people familiar with the inquiry.
Although lower-level White House staffers typically handle most contacts with the media, Rove and Libby began personally communicating with reporters about Wilson, prosecutors were told.
A source directly familiar with information provided to prosecutors said Rove’s interest was so strong that it prompted questions in the White House. When asked at one point why he was pursuing the diplomat so aggressively, Rove reportedly responded: “He’s a Democrat.”
It tells you everything you need to know about the mentality of these people, doesn’t it?