FAIR GAME

Bought Valerie Plame Wilson's book (Fair Game) yesterday. Well written and hard to put down. Have to put it down because I have a case that must be done today. But, if I can get the case done, I can read more this weekend.

The book is a little difficult to follow. She's an excellent writer, but the CIA redacted huge passages (sometimes pages at a time) and that sometimes interferes with following her reporting. There is also an excellent afterward which was not written by her and which she didn't know about prior to the book being published. The publisher hired another writer to write the afterward. Everything the CIA redacted was public record so if you read the afterward, you can fill in the blanks. You just have to do a tad more work.

Nevertheless, one cannot help but be impressed by how hard these people work to become case officers and, in her case, NOCs. Nor can one help but be impressed by the amount of energy, effort and money the government invested in training these people. Likewise, one cannot help but be horrified by the utter waste of money and the utter lack of respect for her life and the lives of all the foreign nationals she recruited over the years to serve this country. Without doubt her "outing" has led to loss of life for those foreign nationals who spent years providing necessary intelligence to and for this country.

It's a fascinating book and she has lived an incredible life providing remarkable service to this country. I wish her the best and hope she can live in safety in Santa Fe. At least the georgraphy of New Mexico probably works to allow her to see enemies coming.

It's a book that will fascinate you if you choose to read it. I recommend it highly. Many of my family and friends will not choose to read it because it reports behaviors they don't want to acknowledge happened within our government. But, for anyone who chooses to read it, you will be better educated and wiser. Far wiser!