The liberal blogosphere went to war to defend the CIA when the Bush administration disclosed that Valerie Wilson (nee Plame) was employed there. I hope in the process of covering Plamegate that I conveyed some of the complexity of the agency. It’s true that the CIA carried out the worst offenses of the Bush administration when they set up their detainee programs. It’s also true that they repeatedly lied to Congress and enabled the Bush administration’s march to war (it’s a slam dunk case). But…they also leaked that they really didn’t believe there were WMD and they leaked about the secret prisons in Eastern Europe, and they leaked about the torture. The CIA serves the president. But major elements within the Agency didn’t like Bush and sought to undermine his reelection. That is why Porter Goss was brought in in 2005.
Nevertheless, now that Pelosi has declared open warfare on the CIA, she has no choice but to go all the way. She says the Agency misled Congress. Now she has to prove it. When the dust settles, we may no longer have a CIA. At least, like the KGB, we may have to change the name. Any attempt at half measures now will see Pelosi crushed like a bug. In for a dime, in for a dollar.
