The Big Picture

As the indictments stemming from Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation are revealed, several columnists and bloggers have been keeping the larger context of the Plame leak in view. Laura Rozen writes at War and Piece, "the Vice President's office was leading an all-out propaganda war - every bit as choreographed as the pre-war propaganda campaign by the same officials - to blame the CIA for the fact that there weren't any WMD to be found in Iraq after all, and the chief stated reason for the war was collapsing. And it enlisted not just leaks to reporters about Valerie Plame to conduct that war against the CIA. It also enlisted key Republican officials in Congress, to buck up its narrative, and literally divert attention from the role of the White House and executive branch offices in citing truly dubious Iraq intelligence - some, including the Niger yellowcake claims, not supported by the intelligence community at all. And Congress so far has gone along."