Jan Freeman writes The Word column for Ideas.
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Christopher Shea writes the Critical Faculties column for Ideas.
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« The Friend of My Friendster Is My Enemy | Main | The Real Thing » Monday, October 6, 2003Naming namesThe Boston Globe The Examined Life LAST TUESDAY, the Justice Department began a criminal investigation into whether White House officials had leaked the classified information that Valerie Plame, wife of retired diplomat Joseph Wilson, who had criticized the Bush administration's Iraq policy, was an undercover CIA operative. The leak could turn out to be not only a serious political embarrassment to President Bush, but -- as Ideas contributor Jeet Heer pointed out -- the cause for some very awkward moments at Kennebunkport this Thanksgiving. In her 1994 book "A Memoir," the usually mild-mannered Barbara Bush lashed out at ex-CIA agent Philip Agee for revealing the names of fellow agents in his "traitorous, tell-all" 1975 book, "Inside the Company." Most pointedly, the former First Lady linked the 1975 assassination of CIA official Richard Welch to Agee's disclosures. (Agee, who was on the lam overseas, sued for libel, pointing out that his book didn't name Welch. The accusation against him was dropped from subsequent editions of "A Memoir." Clearly, the Bush family cannot stand a whistleblower. As vice president, George Bush pere (a former CIA head) played a key role in pushing the Intelligence Identities Protection Act through Congress in 1982. For the sake of the president's family harmony, then, let's hope the Justice Department lets Bush fils off the hook. Posted by Joshua Glenn at 09:18 AM
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