Here’s a refreshing blast of counter-spin from good ol’ Sid.
When the Italian report on Niger uranium surfaced, Vice President Cheney’s office contacted the CIA’s counter-proliferation office to look into it. Such a request is called a “tasker.” It was hardly the first query the task force had received from the White House, and such requests were not made through the CIA director’s office, but directly. Plame’s colleagues asked her if she would invite her husband out to CIA headquarters at Langley, Va., for a meeting with them, to assess the question.
It was unsurprising that the CIA would seek out Wilson. He had already performed one secret mission to Niger for the agency, in 1999, and was trusted. Wilson had also had a distinguished and storied career as a Foreign Service officer. He served as acting ambassador in Iraq during the Gulf War and was hailed by the first President Bush as a “hero.” Wilson was an important part of the team and highly regarded by Secretary of State James Baker and National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft. Wilson was also an Africa specialist. He had been a diplomat in Niger, ambassador to Gabon and senior director for Africa on the National Security Council during the Clinton administration. (I first encountered Wilson then, and we have since become friends.) No other professional had such an ideal background for this CIA mission.
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