Plame outed because of Iran nuclear trafficking

larisa has another Plame blockbuster:

"The unmasking of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson by White House officials in 2003 caused significant damage to U.S. national security and its ability to counter nuclear proliferation abroad, RAW STORY has learned.

According to current and former intelligence officials, Plame Wilson, who worked on the clandestine side of the CIA in the Directorate of Operations as a non-official cover (NOC) officer, was part of an operation tracking distribution and acquisition of weapons of mass destruction technology to and from Iran.

Speaking under strict confidentiality, intelligence officials revealed heretofore unreported elements of Plame's work. Their accounts suggest that Plame's outing was more serious than has previously been reported and carries grave implications for U.S. national security and its ability to monitor Iran's burgeoning nuclear program.

[snip]

Intelligence sources would not identify the specifics of Plame's work. They did, however, tell RAW STORY that her outing resulted in "severe" damage to her team and significantly hampered the CIA's ability to monitor nuclear proliferation.

[snip]

Three intelligence officers confirmed that other CIA non-official cover officers were compromised

{snip]

Several intelligence officials described the damage in terms of how long it would take for the agency to recover. According to their own assessment, the CIA would be impaired for up to "ten years" in its capacity to adequately monitor nuclear proliferation on the level of efficiency and accuracy it had prior to the White House leak of Plame Wilson's identity.

[snip]

The revelation that Iran was the focal point of Plame's work raises new questions as to possible other motivating factors in the White House's decision to reveal the identity of a CIA officer working on tracking a WMD supply network to Iran, particularly when the very topic of Iran's possible WMD capability is of such concern to the Administration."

kerfuckingching!

Larisa is our best hope to crack this story open. She's been dancing around this topic for ever - inching closer and closer. The wonderful emptywheel is on the same path - she hasn't written about Larisa's article yet, but I'll point to that when she does. emptywheel has been all over the iran game - see here for the latest on planting nuclear evidence in iran - and here about the planting of nuclear evidence in iraq. It's all the same game. (and of course, she's a plameologist without peer).

And of course, Larisa latest feeds straight into Sibelology. We're getting closer, folks. Also, re-read my summary of the Sibel story - including the comments (particularly the one by EW). Messers Perle, Feith, Grossman and Edelman ought be a bit more nervous today than they were yesterday. My greatest concern is that Reggie Walton is on the Libby case (there should be some more coming out about him in the next week. stay tuned)

Oh - and btw - can all the Wingnut bloggers now STFU about 'no damage' and 'desk-job' and 'no underlying crime' and all that nonsense? (in fact, can they just STFU about everything? Have they ever been correct about anything?)

I'll try to write another post pulling it all together... so little time, so much scandal

(thanks John)