We progressives use the truth as a weapon against the right, and we should not expect anything less than the truth from our side.
The warbloggers (no link, you can find them if you like) are crowing that Joseph Wilson lied about Iraq's attempts to seek uranium from Niger. They also are saying that Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame did indeed recommend him for the Niger investigation, as Bob Novak's treasonous column claimed last July.
You can find what the committee said on pages 72-83 of the PDF version of the report.
As roughly 75% of those 12 pages have been redacted by the CIA, I don't understand how anyone outside of the committee can make a definitive statement about whether or not Joseph Wilson lied. The report does state (on pg. 73) that "State Department Bureau of
Intelligence and Research (INR) analysts believed that the [Wilson] report supported their assessment that Niger was unlikely to be willing or able to sell uranium to Iraq."
The few paragraphs that escaped the CIA's censors make no mention of Ms. Plame recommending her husband for the Niger trip.
Those within the committee who do claim that Ambassador Wilson lied include Chairman Pat Roberts joined by Senator Christopher S. Bond, Senator Orrin G. Hatch, in what can be fairly described as a partisan rant on pp. 442-445. Note that fellow republicans Mike DeWine, Trent Lott, Olympia Snowe, Chuck Hagel, Saxby Chambliss, and John Warner chose not to support this conclusion, nor did any of the eight democrats on the committee.
Look for yourself, then decide if you think there is enough evidence upon which to base a decision.
None of this in any way detracts from the fact that two senior administration officials disclosed Ms. Plame's identity to Robert Novak in violation of federal law.
