Letter Wrong
On Plame Story

I read with interest the letter to the editor (Nov. 22) in which the writer expressed surprise that you would "buy into the Valerie Plame-Wilson story" about her being "outed" from her CIA cover. The writer stated that the story has been discredited because Ms. Plame was not a covert undercover agent at the time but an overt civil servant employee of the agency.

All the press reports I have read about the incident on both sides of the issue state that Ms. Plame was officially under cover at the time, and was not publicly or openly affiliated with the CIA. What I think your letter writer was getting at is that Ms. Plame may not have been carrying out covert operations at the particular time when her cover was blown. This may indeed be correct.

But there is a serious problem with the foregoing point. Even during periods between covert assignments, it is imperative to guarantee cover protection to intelligence officers who in the past have conducted clandestine operations, or who may operate clandestinely in the future.

After all, if an officer who has operated clandestinely in hostile areas is later revealed publicly as CIA, hostile intelligence services will surely review and investigate all his or her past contacts and activities while overseas, with a greatly enhanced possibility of uncovering covert sources and operations.

And, if an officer may, in the future, operate clandestinely in hostile areas but is previously known as CIA, hostile services will certainly focus on that officer when he or she is later sent abroad—despite any later "cover." It should be obvious that if anyone is ever known publicly as CIA, his or her future usefulness as a clandestine operator becomes virtually nil.

I am a retired senior operations officer in the CIA's Clandestine Service. In my career I have lived, traveled and operated for many years under cover, sometimes in very dangerous situations. Even when I was at times not engaged directly in operations, it was essential to maintain my cover. The purpose was to protect me, to protect my past operations, and to protect my future operational activity abroad. It was only after I retired that I was allowed to proclaim my CIA affiliation, and only after a determination was made that, in my particular case, security wouldn't be compromised.

The outing of Valerie Plame is a very serious matter. If ignored it would set a very serious precedent. If one wants to deliver a deathblow to America's human source intelligence collection capability, the way to do it is to weaken cover protection. I'm afraid that your letter writer is absolutely wrong in his facts and in his reasoning.

Christopher D. Costanzo

Bethel

Past president, N. E. Chapter,

Association of Former

Intelligence Officers

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