PLAME WAS MONITORING IRAN

I typed down as much as I could, as quickly, of David Schuster's blockbuster report tonight on the Plame-Wilson-Rove story on Chris Matthews' Hardball, but I was interrupted several times, so it's just excerpts:

Schuster: White House supporters are stepping up their argument that unveiling Wilson’s identity was not a crime. Joe Wilson’s response?

Joe Wilson: “Well, the CIA I think has responded first by asking the Justice Department to open an investigation, and in my judgment the leak of national security information is a betrayal at a minimum of … national security clearance and certainly of the public trust, and I for one cannot understand why Mr. Rove remains on the payroll of the U.S. government.”

Schuster: … “It seems that Rove’s memory perks up with every indication that someone will expose him…MSNBC has learned new information about the damage caused by White House leaks. Intelligence sources say that Valerie Wilson was part of an operation three years ago tracking the proliferation of nuclear weapons material into Iran. The sources allege that when Mrs. Wilson’s cover was blown, the administration’s ability to track Iran’s nuclear ambitions was damaged as well. The White House considers Iran to be one of America’s biggest threats.

Madeleine Albright: The world is in total turmoil right now… the worst I’ve ever seen it.

Schuster: How do we get out of it? What’s the number one issue related to that turmoil?

Albright: Iraq.

Schuster: The Iraq war is the backdrop for the CIA leak case.

We already knew much of this, but this is the first time I'm aware that it's been stated outright on mainstream media. Up till now the traditional media has made more of a story about the legal ramifications for Libby and Rove ... perhaps now they will focus on the damage to national security resulting from the malicious, politically inspired destruction of an essential intelligence resource. Maybe NOW this outrage will get the attention it deserves from the general voting public.

UPDATE: The video is here. Incidentally, aren't Mr. and Mrs. Wilson a fantasic-looking couple?

Tags: Valerie Plame Joe Wilson, CIA leak case, Karl Rove, nuclear Iran