Rep. Jane Harman: Security, not politics, at center of Plame leak

San Francisco Chronicle
Open Forum
Friday, July 29, 2005

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Blowing someone's cover is the cardinal sin in the intelligence business. Former President George H.W. Bush called those who expose our human sources "the most insidious of traitors." Ten former nonpartisan intelligence officers signed a letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., calling the disclosure of a covert operative's identity a "shameful and unprecedented event in American history."

I believe that President George W. Bush truly values the work of our intelligence officers. That's why he should be outraged. At the minimum, he should immediately suspend the security clearances of any key White House officials involved in the investigation of special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald until that investigation concludes. I have visited our undercover officers on nearly every continent, in war zones and in some of the toughest, most austere corners of the globe. I know them, and I have taken their measure. Protecting them is the least the president can do for those who serve this country with such courage.

Rep. Jane Harman, D-Los Angeles, is the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/07/29/EDGQCDUQ011.DTL