Countdown's great interview with Former CIA special agent Jack Rice

[Pirate Smile]

This has quotes that would be excellent for LTTE, e-mails, etc. because he is a former CIA agent and he points out the implications of playing politics with National Security.



The video is up at Crooks and Liars.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/07/15.html#a3958


Transcript from MSNBC's Countdown last night:

"We're joined now by former CIA special agent Jack Rice, who is now the host of his own radio show on WCCO in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Good evening to you, Jack.

JACK RICE, FORMER CIA SPECIAL AGENT: Good evening, Alison.

STEWART: At the time she was outed, Valerie Plame was working for a CIA front company, and obviously she didn't work there alone. Can you explain the ripple effect of her outing?

RICE: Well, this is potentially huge, because what happens now is, everything that she touched, every person that she touched, every asset that she may have come across, is now potentially exposed. Every intelligence organization in the world will now go back and scour their files to see if she was ever in their country, was ever involved with anybody, and try to wrap up every operation. The potential is huge.

STEWART: And you're talking about in terms of five, 10 years ago, even.

RICE: Oh, certainly. Because if you can get a good operation going, if you have a good asset that has very good access, that person can be involved for years, decades, potentially. And you open those people up. I'm not just talking about physically for her directly, but for all of those assets, and sadly, for the intelligence that some of those assets may provide.

STEWART: In your experience, is something like this, the outing of a CIA agent or operative, has it ever happened?

RICE: Well, there's been one prosecution in the past under this statute that everybody's been talking about. But it's a very rare circumstance. It doesn't happen that often. So when it does, it can be a big deal, and it should be a big deal. This should be nonpartisan.

STEWART: Is it likely that national security has been compromised because of this?

RICE: I think it's very possible. We'll never completely know. Ideally, I hope it hasn't been. But at the same time, what happens here is, if we ever, either side, either political party, start using politics over what's right, over patriotism, we're going to have a very serious problem in this country.

STEWART: And in terms of that ripple effect you talked about, in terms of things being compromised and people's situations being compromised, and their assignments being compromised, how could the damage be repaired?

RICE: I think in this case, what needs to be done is, it needs to be addressed. It needs to be treated as seriously as it should.

Look, if we—if you look at this two ways, you can look back and see what this may have done. You can go back and see what she may have done, and you can look at those assets. That is one implication.

There's a second implication, at what may happen in the future, what happens for any future operations, what other CIA or other intelligence operatives may be willing to do in the future.

If there's a perception that you're going to see people in blue pinstripe suits in Washington wrapping themselves in the flag and talking about God and country while they're exposing CIA and intelligence operatives, you're going to have a real hard time convincing CIA officers to get out into the field and risk their lives for those people.

STEWART: Jack Rice, a former CIA special agent. Thank you so much for your time and your perspective tonight.

RICE: Thank you, Alison."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8551679/

[blm]

1. I sent it to the editorial page editor of my local newspaper.

I want him to ponder it when he writes his Sunday editorial.

I know for a fact that he's Republican, but, let's see where his conscience takes him.

[SoFlaJet]

3. Randi Rhodes needs to see that one

it confirms alot of what she's been teaching us since it first happened-when she was only on down here

[Pirate Smile]

6. Let us know if he has an attack of honest thought which breaks

through the partisan BS.

[SoFlaJet]

2. If that last statement

wasn't a shot across the bow to the republicans I've never seen one-wow

[CityZen-X]

4. How About A CIA & Military Coup?

[blm]

7. No kidding. The CIA good guys need to secure the voting machines from the

GOP fixers.

Dems win when the machines aren't rigged by GOP operatives.

[faithnotgreed]

5. so glad this was on. thanks for the transcript

[Pirate Smile]

8. kick