The neighbor didn't know Valerie's job

One of the lines of defense we are hearing from the Bush spin cycle is that Rove could not have broken the law because it was an "open secret" that Valerie Plame worked for the CIA.

Well, this is a lie because the CIA considered her to be a covert agent, and if anyone with clearance who knew about her status were to have leaked it, that would have been a crime as well.  

At the same time one needs to ask whether or not Joe and Valerie Wilson kept this information secret from those around them.  We know from Joe Wilson's public statements that the answer is "no one knew"

According to the Wall Street Journal

"A key department memo discussing Joseph Wilson's Niger trip was classified 'Top Secret,' and the passage about his wife's CIA role was specially marked 'S/NF' -- not to be shared with any foreign intelligence agencies."

And more recently an article in USA Today
a neighbor who lives next door to Joe and Valerie Wilson did not have a clue about her affiliation with the CIA.  According to his account,

When I first met Joe and Valerie, I quickly got to the classic Washington question: What do you do? Joe explained that he was a former ambassador to a number of African countries, who had worked in both the Bush I and Clinton administrations.

Valerie's answer was more than a little vague. She quickly said she was a consultant. As a fourth-generation Washingtonian, I have learned that when someone says, "I'm a consultant," that is a cue to back off, as it usually means the person is unemployed or "between engagements."

•  We all know she was covert.

  But on the other hand, what does your neighbor do for a living?

  I have no clue. But the odds are that that doesn't mean they're covert CIA operatives.

  by Kagro X on Sun Jul 24, 2005 at 07:30:02 PM PDT

  •  my next door neighbor is very quiet...

    he's probably a serial killer.

    by Trix on Sun Jul 24, 2005 at 07:39:47 PM PDT

    •  Um

      I don't think that's a profession although Judge Judith Scheindlin defines robbing banks as a "source of income".  

      by SoCalLiberal on Sun Jul 24, 2005 at 07:58:07 PM PDT

    •  Now that's an unfair stereotype.

      I'm friends with many quiet people and only a few of them are serial killers.

      by pattyp on Sun Jul 24, 2005 at 08:12:48 PM PDT

  •  I actually do know

    What all my neighbor's but one does.  I think she's a hooker, but everyone says she works in Hollywood.  Same difference, I say.

    by fabooj on Sun Jul 24, 2005 at 07:57:09 PM PDT

  •  I actually know that.

    I thought about your question and was surprised to find that I actually know what most of my immediate neighbors do. One is a married couple, the husband a policeman and the wife a stay-at-home mom. Another lady is a retired librarian who volunteers 2 days a week at a local thrift shop, and whose daughter lives at the end of our block. Next door to the librarian is an older retired couple. Another guy is a roofer (although that was pretty much a no-brainer since he drives a company truck), but I'm not sure what his wife does. Another neighbor is a DJ part-time; not sure what his, or his SO's, full-time jobs are. A random assortment of people living a few houses down give the distinct impression of being drug dealers. The dude on the corner is employed as the bane of my existence since moving here because he lets his dog run loose all over the neighborhood (despite repeated warnings by Code Enforcement) and it always craps in my yard. Wanker. (The neighbor, not the dog.)

    Of course that doesn't mean any or all of them aren't also covert operatives, terrorists, serial killers, Amway salespeople, etc.

    by pattyp on Sun Jul 24, 2005 at 08:09:54 PM PDT

  •  My neighbor... hmm...

    I don't know. Unless "locking thier poor cat indoors all the time" is a job. But my neighbors have a huge, unfriendly 8 foot fence around thier entire yard, so I don't really think they want to get to know me.

    by Admiral Santa on Sun Jul 24, 2005 at 08:33:43 PM PDT