Security - What's New - Archive

WomenMatter will continuously post updates on all this and other issues as we monitor the continuing philosophical and practical debates nationwide. Please check back often for updates. Past updates are available for reference on the Security Archives page.

Intelligent Intelligence: What can the public know?

As citizens of a democracy, we need information to judge how well our elected officials are serving our needs. This is especially important in judging how secure this country is or can be. We know there are individuals and groups that not only wish to hurt us, but they also want to make us so afraid that we become helpless. They also hope that we will spend tax dollars, lots of them, to try to react in advance to any physical disaster they might try. They are in the terror business. They create fear.

Information about terrorists comes from undercover agents, spies, who work for the Central Intelligence Agency. The information they gather is what is called intelligence. It is important that their identity is kept secret from the general public. However, it is important for us to know that the intelligence they provide is accurate and trustworthy.

How can we judge secret information from people whose identity is secret? We have to rely on our elected officials who have the responsibility to know who the agents are and what intelligence they gather to let us know how well the intelligence system is working. Our elected officials have to know everything and be trusted to tell us all they can.

War is different from terrorism

The 9/11 Commission has reported that the war in Afghanistan was directed at the terrorists who destroyed the World Trade Center, hit the Pentagon, and tried to hit the Capitol. It also states clearly that the war in Iraq is not part of the response to terrorists.

What has happened in the investigation of the outing of a spy, Valerie Plame, by one or possibly more senior members of the Bush administration is that the spy is the wife of a major critic of the war in Iraq. The outing of the spy is a federal crime. Lying to the Grand Jury that is investigating what happened is also a federal crime.

A lesson in truth telling

The Special Investigator, Patrick Fitzgerald, issued on October 28, 2005 one charge of criminal conduct, an indictment, against the Vice President’s most important aide, his Chief of Staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. The charges are that Libby deliberately tried to keep the Grand Jury from finding out who outed the spy. A Grand Jury’s job is to find out if it is likely that someone may have committed a crime. It meets in secret to hear witnesses without their lawyers. Each must appear and be sworn to tell the truth - without a lawyer. If a witness is not suspect, their testimony is kept secret. Everyone is required by law to tell the truth.

Mr. Fitzgerald gave the nation a clear lesson in what an investigator needs to know in order to be fair, not accuse anyone falsely, and still be able to protect the public from officials who betray our trust in them. He explained that he (and we, too) need to know who, what, when, where, and why the outing of the spy happened and also where the government was going with this action - if indeed it happened.

Fitzgerald accused Libby of throwing "sand in his eyes" so that it was not clear why anyone in the White House would want to out a spy to reporters and whether the reason was tied to something bigger - control of the information to the public about the causes of the war in Iraq. After all, Valerie Plame was not just any spy. She is the wife of a critic of the Bush administration. Trying to keep the investigator from a full story is "obstructing justice." Making a statement that is not based in fact is "false statement," and "perjury", is telling a lie. These are three charges against Libby. He says he is not guilty. He will go to trial in a federal court to determine whether a jury finds him guilty, unless he offers additional information as a "plea bargain" and it is accepted by the Investigator.

It’s not over until it’s over

Fitzgerald has kept the investigation open, even mentioning another senior executive in the government who may have leaked the information to the press. Someone did it. The public is waiting for that information. Someone knows who did it. Maybe more than one person knows.

There is, however, the bigger subject that surrounds this one. Was this incident part of a larger concern of the President to convince the Congress and us citizens that the Iraq government had "weapons of mass destruction" purchased from the African government of Niger. Was the outing of Valerie Plame a way of trying to discredit her husband Joseph Wilson who was sent to Niger to investigate and reported that it was not so.

On November 1, 2005 the Democrats in the Senate called a closed door session to demand an intelligence report on this larger concern. The Democrats wanted the nation to know what intelligence the administration actually had before it told the Congress and the public that Iraq threatened the United States because it had nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. The Senate Intelligence Committee, like all committees, is controlled by the majority party. It had failed to reveal to the minority party what the administration knew and when they knew it.

It’s about trust

As citizens and particularly as women who take responsibility for the security of our families and neighborhoods, we need to know as much of the truth as possible - without telling those who want to hurt us too much about how we get our information about them. No one likes the war news. No government can promise success. But we must demand the facts - and the costs - from our elected representatives.

How much do you want to know about why the war began? How much do you want to know about who outed the spy and why? What do you expect from the majority party? What do you expect from the opposition?

What do you think?

Learn more about Security and Fear from our radio show, Facts and Trade-Offs. WomenMatter is a place to discuss life issues with other women. We don’t want to wedge women apart, but rather bring them together to dialogue. To participate in our blog, click here.

WomenMatter encourages women to educate themselves on the issues and then approach their representatives with ideas.

Your voice is vital. Make sure your leaders know what’s important to you. To see how your representatives vote and to contact them, click here.

WomenMatter is dedicated to empowering women to participate in the political process. To do this we have invested in the most in-depth NONPARTISAN information, because we trust each woman to make up her own mind.

• We track nine issues every week and update this website several times a week.
• We launch after school GirlsMatter Clubs in middle and high schools to grow the next generation of politically aware women through a full curriculum and startup kit on girlsmatter.com.
• We do continuous research to make sure that we are meeting the needs of women across the country of all ages, races, incomes, preferences, and religions.
• We provide partnerships with nonpartisan organizations that provide services to women and advocate for them.

We offer all our services free of charge without memberships or subscriptions. To help us maintain this work - not just in election years but as a continuing part of women’s lives - please make a tax deductible donation, click here.

Update Posted on: 11/4/2005