Finally Telling My Story

I'm Valerie Plame Wilson and I'm excited to be here and blog about my book Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House, which goes on sale Monday, Oct 22. When my publisher sent me the finished copy earlier this week, it was thrilling. It felt like a new chapter (forgive the pun) has begun on the journey that has taken some incredible twists and turns since July 14, 2003, when my covert identity was exposed and ended a career that I loved. I've written honestly about my life: why I went to work for the CIA, my paramilitary training, the sort of operations we developed and ran to find intelligence on Iraq's alleged WMD programs in the run up to the war, as well as personal information, such as my battle with postpartum depression and the difficulties I had going from a private to a public persona literally overnight. My publisher, Simon and Schuster, decided to print the blacked out redactions demanded by the CIA and hopefully those passages (or lack thereof) speak for themselves and the extent to which the CIA thought the material in the book was classified.

Watching myself on 60 Minutes was surreal -- who can ever get used to seeing themselves on TV? I guess the book tour has really started and it will be a crazy week ahead. After four and a half years and everyone else in world talking about me, it feels good to finally be able to tell my story myself. It's a story about the consequences of speaking truth to power and the critical importance of holding our government to account for its words and deeds. I'm off to bed, because I have an early wakeup call tomorrow to do the Today Show. I look forward to sharing my reactions and stories with you from the road over the next few days. I will be posting throughout the week and appreciate your comments and support.

Comments

[Mike37]

Hang the treasonous bastards ! If this had happened under Clinton there'd have been mass executions.

[968lookout]

Where can I find a schedule of your book tour? You should post one on this site.

[dyinguscitizen]

Oh yes, and if you were ugly, you would still be pretty, for what is on the inside.
American Citizen MALE

[dyinguscitizen]

The years governed by the Bush Administration have been the darkest period in American history. Even during times when our fate was uncertain, we still had values to carry us through. George Bush has proven to the American Citizenry that values are defenseless against a tiny psychopath with an agenda to reward the only people who ever gave him credence, those who wanted something and used him to get it. I would feel sorry for George Bush if he hadn't been so headstrong about destroying my country. He is the psychotic, pathetic offspring of a professional politician who has no loyalty to anything, his children included.

I'm not a huge fan of all CIA tactics any more so than I am a fan of crooked cops. But I love honest cops, and I love honest secret agents if they are on the side of American Citizens. I salute your courage to tell the truth in the process of exposing the most corrupt, cowardly, despicable, and pathological Presidency to ever disgrace and defraud our great citizenry. BTW, I am not a Democrat, a Republican, an Independant, or a member of any other party. I'm just an American Citizen.

[visionar7]

People seem to express this situation as if because this admin made nothing of it ..that it is nothing....This was no less than treason....against not only a cia agent, but our country, by our own presidential cabinet.....in the old days people would have been hung for such acts. Bush and Cheney seem to gget away with everything! I'm wondering if after this administration is gone...if any criminal charges on the so many treasonous things they have done will anything ever be done to them legally

[splashy]

You and your husband really came off very well on 60 Minutes! Glad to see you can finally speak out freely.

I particularly enjoyed when Couric tried to say that the wives of the right wingers that attacked you were not CIA, and your husband kept insisting that there is no way we can know that, and that THEY were not outed, attacked or investigated as you were. Kudos to you both for standing up for yourselves against these criminals!

[broezekiel]

Can't wait to read your book! Also, I would like to thank you and express my gratitude for, not only your public service, but also for the courage you have demonstrated throughout this whole sordid and contemptable mess that our "fearless" leadership brought down on you and your family. Thank you!

[realist333]

The "outing" of Valerie Plame was a stupid act, but so was Joe Wilson's blurting out of his personal views on the African uranium charade.
Professional diplomats articulate the policies of their government. Period.
Wilson will never again find employment in the foreign service of any government.

[shurshot]

What an ironic screen name you have chosen !!

Joe Wilson's "blurtings" may have been personal(what the hell does that mean ?); but they were accurate and truthful. This just has to be preferrable to "articulating the policies of our government" when such policy was based on cherry picking lies. Can you say: "Colin Powell" ? How's that for a reality check ? Your "reality" is the same as that found on "The Survivors". I'll bet that you beleive that "we don't torture", too.

[Traveller]

"never, never, never, never, never. never.........give up! T

[kevenseven]

Ms. Plame,

Seeing as there is a chance that you will read this, I wanted to ask you to address the only element of this sorry tale of treason and hubris on the part of the NeoCons that could remotely be adjudged a falsehood on the part of yourself or Ambassador Wilson.

I refer to the period between the SOTU 2003 and The Ambassador's OPED in July.

During that time The Ambassador was trying to get the State Department and by extension, the Administration, to recognize publicly that the 16 words were bogus.

In that time he had a conversation on background with Pincus of the WaPo. Pincus subsequently reported that a source had seen the Bogus Italian Documents, and had claimed to know them to be bogus due to the dates and signatures.

Apparently the Ambassador did not see the documents until late in the time line of this crime. I am inclined to believe that some slight misunderstanding or minor memory issues can easily explain this one.

But once I have this last cleared up, to my understanding, there is no impeachment of your stories.

My wife has snatched my copy of Fair Game from me, which is the explnation of my having this time to write this open letter to you.

Thank you both for your service to this country that I love. I'll see you at a book signing.

[DebbyBodkin]

Valerie Plame Wilson brings an important message to the world... doing the right thing and showing her children and others the importance of speaking out with responsibility and accountability. Robert Novak is obviously a member of the good 'ol boy networks that set out to punish and silence Joe Wilson for speaking what he believed to be truths. And, nothing is more painful than witnessing the political powers target family members to silence one of their critics.

I hope that each and every high school and college student will read Fair Game. Betrayals of trust should never be swept under the rugs of the so called rich and politically connected with self-serving agendas. The Republicans will do what they can to twist Fair Game in their favor... but they will fail.

[shurshot]

Robert Novak should be in federal prison.

[PartyPartyParty]

Ms. Wilson,

My favorite part of your 60 minutes interview:
"[George W. Bush] is not a man of his word."

Thank you!!!!!!!!

[pj9002]

THANKS MR & MRS WILSON. HOPE YOU CONTINUE TO SPEAK OUT AS YOU PROMOTE THE BOOK. YOUR STORY BEGS FOR THE IMPEACHMENT OF THE CHENEY / BUSH-LEAGUE LIARS. NANCY PELOSI, ARE YOU AWAKE?

[Quzi]

I can't wait to read your book, Valerie! I am so proud of you and Joe for hanging in there -- I can't even imagine the pressures you've been under. But I do know those crooks took so much away from you and your family (monetarily and otherwise) I supported your legal case, and I've prayed for you, your family and for America. It is shameless and frightening what this criminal White House has done to our country and to you! I am proudly an independent voter that believes in truth and justice for all.

God bless you and keep you strong -- you rock, Valerie!

[cruisepuppy7452a]

Valerie deserves a medal for her integrity, honesty, ethics, morals. Val didn't lie, Val didn't cover anything up, alter facts or try to embellish th truth. She told the truth. People got caught becuase of it, which is what is suppose to happen. What happened to her is unconsionable. That a president would dare allow the outting of a CIA agent, try to lie, cover it up, act in collusion with a VP, is treason. Thier acts are more proof this administration belongs in federal prison and must be disbanded asap. They have no regard for the law, rules of law, thier own federal employees, the American people, those who stand to protect us.
Valerie outted those who deserved to be outted. The damage done to the CIA and its people is palpable. Bush knew it, Cheney knew it, didn't care. Treason. Val, not only do I plan to read your book, I hope to make it visable on the big screen. You go Girl.