Re-examining the INR Document

For many long months, even years, during the Plame-gate investigation there have been allegations that the source of Valerie Plame-Wilson's identity escaped the halls of the CIA and reached the White House via a classified INR memo sent to then Secretary of State Colin Powell on Air Force One.

Last week the New York Sun obtained and published redacted versions of those very documents from June 10th and July 7th.

The Right-wing has used the fact that the document does not mention Valarie Wilson's status as a NOC -- never mind the fac that that was supposed to be a Secret -- to point out that anyone reading this memo would not have realized this, and therefore anyone revealing this information would not have done so while knowingly violating the Intelligence Identifies Protection Act.

But what's really interesting about this document is what the Right-wing isn't telling you...

Authored by our good friend Carl W. Ford Jr (the man who told the Senate John Bolton was a "Serial Abuser"), it's interesing to note that the entire document is marked "Secret/Orcon/Noforn" (indicating that the Contents - all of them - are protected and specifically to be kept under the Organization that orginated them -ORCON- and Not for Release to Foreign Nationals -NORFORN- as it contains nuclear design information or foreign intelligence) it's reasonable to assume that revealing anything within it would do "Harm to the United States" and should be considered a crime and Teason for disclosing classified information (Y'know, the kind of of Pultizer Prize Winning "Treason" that Bill Bennet like to complain about so much?)

Valerie Plame-Wilson's CIA NOC status would have been classifed at an even higher level than this, either Top-Secret or compartmentalized within a SAR (Special Access Required) designation. From my own experience with Classified documents and SAR environments (12 years with Defense Contractor Northrop-Grumman) my best guess is that the claim in the INR memo that Mrs Wilson was "A CIA WMD managerial type" was a mistake on the part of the INR analyst who simply wasn't aware of her NOC status, and was making an assumption. It's second hand sourcing - the INR talking about what someone at CIA (The CPD Reports Officer who according to both Wilson and the CIA wasn't in the room at the time) said about Wilson's trip. Just as he assumed that she in a managing position and could or would make decision on who would take the trip to Niger. IMO Fitz probably realizes this was a mistake that originated deep in the bowels of INR and eventually led to the creation of this document, therefore he isn't going to persue violations of the IIPA on this basis. But Treason, Perjury and Obstruction - based on the release of selective information from this document - well, that's another matter. Hence we have the latest reports that Karl Rove will soon be roasting on a spit.

The next thing about this memo, which has been noted on Firedoglake, is that the document does a great deal of damage to the claims that the Niger-Iraq Uranium intelligence was clear and decisive, and that the President declassifying and authorizing Scooter Libby to "clarify the record" on the Niger issue is anything more than desperate spin.

On January 12, 2003, INR "expressed concerns to the CIA that the documents pertaining to the Iraq-Niger deal were forgeries." The conclusion, may, however, have been reached and communicated for the first time, somewhat earlier: the record is not clear on this point. After considerable back and forth between the CIA, the Department, the IAEA, and the British, Secretary Powell's briefing to the UN Security Council did not mention attempted Iraqi procurement of uranium "due to CIA concerns raised during the coordination regarding the veracity of the information on the alleged Iraq-Niger agreement."

But wait, it gets worse...

The impetus for the Ambassador's demarches in this period (Tabs 2 and 3), and the investiatives trip by Joe Wilson (Tab 4 is the CIA Account of his trip findings) was a "report of questionable credibility from a foreign service." This was INR's conclusion in an assessment of March 1, 2002. entitled "Niger: Sale of Uranium to Iraq is Unlikely"

The Niger allegations were included but did not figure prominently in the 90-page October 2002 NIE on "Iraq's Continuing Programs for Weapons of Mass Destruction." The major point of contention in differing judgements about the likelyhood of Iraqi nuclear weapons program reconstitution efforts centered on thh CIA's assesment that Iraq was bent on acquiring aluminum tubes to produce parts for a gas centrifuge uranuim enrichment plant. In a lengthy dissent entitled "INR's Alternative View: Iraq's Attempts to Acquire Aluminum Tubes." INR notes "... the claims of Iraqi pursuit of natural uranium in Africa are, in INR's assessment, highly dubious."

Basically the memo establishes that INR had no direct contact with Wilson - yet seemed to have independantly come to a very similar conclusion to his, that Iraq had not tried to get Uranium from Niger.

Valerie Wilson's involvement was tangential at best, and according to both the CIA and Joe Wilson are highly exaggerated in this document.

So why is it that this is what the Right-Wing focuses on? Why is it they wish to treat Wilson's Trip as something his wife asked him to do after taking out the garbage - ("Honey, could you stop by Niger on the way to the recycling bin? Thanks - Luv ya!") when the INR had basically made the exact same arguements in the NIE?

The very same NIE that President Bush unilaterally declassfied on the very same day that Scooter Libby talked to Judith Miller about "Wilson's Wife sending him to Niger"... but didn't bother mentioning that the State Department, Energy Department and CIA director George Tenet all agreed that the Niger claims were most likely bogus.

Because they can. And because they can get away with it.

Unless we stop them in November.

Vyan