Woodward's source for Plame

Tom Maguire probably has the right line on who talked to Woodward. It was either Richard Armitage or Marc Grossman, both of whom would have been privy to the Interagency Parleys leading up to the fool's errand to Niger that State straightforwardly opposed, on the grounds that the American Ambassador in Niger was well connected enough to do the job.

And we can also surmise that State probably did not want a self-promoting loose cannon like Wilson on the job. But his wife's skirts outweighed the feckless INR crowd---who by the way have been remarkably accurate and remarkably unpoliticized throughout the entire shoddy runup to Iraq.

Colin Powell's humiliation in the UN preceded the subsequent fiasco in Baghdad when the State Team led by General Garner and Tom Warrick were pushed off their assignment to run civil affairs by serial eff-ups Cheney and his CPA lap puppy L. Paul Bremer, an FSO whose main expertise was Northern Europe, clicking his heels in the presence of Rumsfeld, and kissing the ring of Henry Kissinger.

Armitage would have been active in any Interagency run-up to Iraq---one commenter notes to Maguire that Armitage asked Carl Ford in July for a copy of the relevant paperwork and that meant he had not seen the Niger documentation in June, but Seventh Floor Offices often do not keep dossiers in their own files, but destroy highly sensitive material after reading [At least they did back in the day......when I interacted with Seventh Floor principals and often brought them docs they needed for a specific purpose].

Armitage is a casual fellow and knew Woodward well. He may have dropped Plame's name as a tidbit and both may have promptly gone on to other more pressing items on their agenda.

The Left's Hyper-Obsessive manic frenzies during these gotcha go-get-em affairs do remind an observer on how very FRENCH these lactating lefty journalists seem to be. Every breathless episode evoking frissons of anticipation and certitude of fulfillment.

But in reality, these scribblers are concierges checking for the slightest deviation from political correctness, little old ladies at the word processor/bluetooth.

I suggest that Fitzgerald either drop the new Grand Jury or interview the journalists like Kristof, Mitchell, Russert, and Woodward in his truffle-snuffling manner. Looks like a new piece of furniture has been installed inside the Beltway.

What a colossal snipe hunt instigated by a bureaucratic mistake! The FSOs were correct anticipating that Wilson would ratchet his assignment to Niger into a self-serving career move----Richard Clarke, take note that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.