Carl Ford, people! Remember him?

Some people have already written about Friday's NYT article about the State Department Memo,  that deals specifically with how Wilson wound up going to Niger and which Powell took to Africa with him.  But I don't think anyone's mentioned the MOST interesting thing. . .
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/16/politics/16memo.html?hp&ex=1121572800&en=6d88216f8e1a7671& amp;ei=5094&partner=homepage

When Mr. Wilson's Op-Ed article appeared on July 6, 2003, a Sunday, Richard L. Armitage, then deputy secretary of state, called Carl W. Ford Jr., the assistant secretary for intelligence and research, at home, a former State Department official said. Mr. Armitage asked Mr. Ford to send a copy of the memorandum to Mr. Powell, who was preparing to leave for Africa with Mr. Bush, the former official said. Mr. Ford sent it to the White House for transmission to Mr. Powell.

more!

My first question is why there even WAS a memo that centered upon Plame and her role in sending Wilson to Niger.  

Second question, who AUTHORED the memo or, rather, who REQUESTED it.

Third question, why did Armitage think it was so important that he called Ford AT HOME to make sure that Powell got it?  Especially since it was written on June 10.    

The assumption from the NYTimes seems to be that whoever saw that memo could have leaked it.   I think there's another explanation why it's so important. . .

REMEMBER CARL FORD?  He just happens to be the guy who testified at the Bolton hearings who said Bolton was a "kiss-up, kick-down, guy." and . . ."I have never seen anyone quite like Mr. Bolton," Ford testified under oath. "He abuses his authority with little people

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7462527/

I think Bolton did the oppo research and instigated the memo (there was a connection between what he was working on and Plame's area) Armitage may have seen it but not attached much importance to it at the time.   (Remember the lengths to which Powell had been kept out of the loop.)   THEN when Wilson's article came out, Armitage realized why it was written and how it was going to be used.  Which is why at that point he got it to Powell, through Ford.  One or all of them saw the lengths to which the WH was going to go to discredit Wilson.   Including outing a CIA agent.  Maybe Powell or others even got in a tussle with Rove about using it at that point, who knows?

But we do know THIS. . .the piece of the puzzle that has always bugged me. . .

Washington Post
Sunday, September 28, 2003

Yesterday, a senior administration official said that before Novak's column ran, two top White House officials called at least six Washington journalists and disclosed the identity and occupation of Wilson's wife. Wilson had just revealed that the CIA had sent him to Niger last year to look into the uranium claim and that he had found no evidence to back up the charge. Wilson's account touched off a political fracas over Bush's use of intelligence as he made the case for attacking Iraq.

"Clearly, it was meant purely and simply for revenge," the senior official said of the alleged leak.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A11208-2003Sep27&notFoun d=true

I think that senior official is Armitage or Ford or maybe even Powell and that Fitzgerald's investigation is a HELLUVA lot more than who leaked Plame's name and job.   As soon as Wilson turned in his report, which didn't agree with what they wanted, they started PLANNING how to discredit him if it ever came out.  They PLANNED on outing her.  It's called conspiracy.  

•  My money's on Armitage.

  Check out this really fascinating Washington Note article on Armitage's philosophical orientation and view of the wielding of power:

  Richard Armitage had a small team of folks constantly watching Bolton and trying to end-run him before he did too much damage in his various crusades. Armitage reportedly resents years of tension not between himself and Bolton, but rather that Bolton so frequently tried to undermine Powell or tried to keep him uninformed about some particular matter or other so that Powell found himself often "surprised" at morning staff meetings because of things Bolton had done, not done, had promulgated, or hidden -- at odds with the rest of the State Department.

  Armitage alerting Powell to another potential Bolton sledgehammer may very well be why he would alert Powell, on a fine Sunday morning, to this memo.  

  Bolton may have engineered the (mis)writing of the INR Plame/Wilson memo, based on an INR analyst's notes of a meeting that took place nearly a year prior, at the behest of the WHIG, who were going to do a work up Wilson in mid-March 03. (Remember, Wilson had been speaking out behind the scenes for months on the Iraq uranium pursuit).

  Armitage may have been trying to alert Powell to the Cheney/Bolton plan to discredit Wilson by means that could have potentially backfired on the case for war that Powell helped make.

  A few interesting quotes from Armitage, who clearly likes the word "clearly":

  Well, I think clearly there is a...

  DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, clearly, though it is U.S.-appropriated money and our ambassador will make the final decision, clearly
  this is something we'll work out with the Ministry of Finance...

  DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Clearly, terrorist elements

  Clearly, he likes that word.  A bunch more to be googled.  Not that that's so unique, but he, unlike Ford, would be privy to what the crazies were up to with the media, via Powell.  And he would be willing to speak out based on his sense of honor and loyalty to Powell and country.  

  Really - read the Washington Note article - it's good stuff.

  Not for nuthin', but I believe Adam Levine, former WH press aide, talked to the grand jury.  I'm just saying.  What if Ford sent the doc. to the WH when  Fleischer and Bartlett were travelling to Africa w/ the Prez, McClellan on vacation.  What if Levine gave the doc. to Miller, based on instructions from AF1?

  by 2lucky on Fri Jul 15, 2005 at 06:52:50 PM PDT

•  Interesting

  Very Interesting diary.

  Just want to add that in all the noise about Rove and Novak the following points are also being somewhat overlooked.

  1. Two (2) administration officials "called" AT LEAST six (6) reporters. So IF Rove is one, who is the other!! If Cooper and Novak are 1 and 2 who are the other 4!! And note that the admin officials are said to have initiated the calls

  2. Have Mike Allen and Dana Priest (the authors of the Sept WaPo article quoting a "senior administration source") been asked to testify to the identity of their source. This person obviously knows what went on inside the White House as far as an attack plan.

  3. Novak was asked by the CIA (according to the WaPo article) not to mention Wilson's wife. He still chose to do so.
     

  by taonow on Fri Jul 15, 2005 at 07:22:39 PM PDT