Progressive Minds

After having watched Valerie Plame's testimony before the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, one thing in particular that she said, has stayed with me, and I think should stay with every American and send shivers down our spines.

Yesterday, Plame testified that she always expected that she might be outed by some foreign government, but she never expected her cover to be blown by her own government.

In her own words, from yesterday's testimony:

"The harm that is done when a CIA cover is blown is grave but I can't provide details beyond that in this public hearing.

But the concept is obvious. Not only have breaches of national security endangered CIA officers, it has jeopardized and even destroyed entire networks of foreign agents who, in turn, risk their own lives and those of their families to provide the United States with needed intelligence.

Lives are literally at stake. Every single one of my former CIA colleagues, from my fellow covert officers to analysts to technical operations officers to even the secretaries, understand the vulnerabilities of our officers and recognize that the travesty of what happened to me could happen to them.

We in the CIA always know that we might be exposed and threatened by foreign enemies.

It was a terrible irony that administration officials were the ones who destroyed my cover."

Valerie Plame Wilson: I worked on secret missions