Richard Armitage blew the whistle on Valerie Plame and Joseph Wilson

It turns out that Richard L. Armitage, then a deputy secretary of state, probably was the first one to tell columnist Bob Novak that Valerie Plame, wife of Democratic Party political hack Joseph Wilson, was the CIA worker who in 2002 recommended Wilson for a CIA-paid trip to Africa.

On that African trip, Wilson was supposed to investigate whether Saddam Hussein recently had bought uranium from Niger. In his whole week (yeah, one week) there, Wilson found no evidence of a uranium deal. However, Ibrahim Mayaki, the former Nigerien prime minister, told Wilson that he had interpreted an Iraqi trade delegation’s 1999 proposal for “expanding commercial relations” as an offer to buy Niger’s uranium.

When he returned to the U.S., Wilson abused and misrepresented his findings. Appealing to opponents of Iraq’s liberation, he claimed his inability to uncover evidence that Saddam “bought” uranium also was evidence President Bush “lied” -- that is, made a “false” statement -- when Bush said in early 2003 that Saddam had “sought” uranium from Africa.

Publicity hound. By mid-2003, Wilson’s relentless dishonesty and reckless headline-seeking had many in Washington wondering who the hell at the CIA suggested Wilson for that Niger trip in the first place. Wilson had implied strongly and falsely that Vice President Dick Cheney personally sent him.

Well, Armitage seems to have blown the whistle on Plame and Wilson, and Novak published the truth: Wilson’s own CIA wife offered Wilson’s name for the CIA junket. (At the very least, her presence at that CIA office made it more likely a co-worker would suggest her husband for the trip.) She had abused her office by taking part in enlisting a relative who turned out to be more self-serving than straight-talking.

It’s a good thing that Armitage got the facts out, even if his revelation was accidental. It’s also good that others confirmed the facts of that mystery mission to Niger. Now we know why the CIA wasted our money on Wilson.

Frank Warner

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Oh, and let me renew my Five-Dollar Yellowcake Challenge.

I have $5 for the first person who can name one thing, anything, Joseph Wilson found on his 2002 trip to Niger that proved “false” President Bush’s 2003 State of the Union statement, “The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.”

It’s the safest five-dollar bill in my bank.

SEE ALSO: Why didn't they talk sooner? The case against Armitage, Fitzpatrick, Isikoff and Corn.

SEE ALSO: Libby leak case is about the war and how Wilson covered up for Saddam.

SEE ALSO: Senate Intelligence Committee report: What Joseph Wilson didn’t tell the public.

SEE ALSO: Valerie Plame and Joseph Wilson made sure we were 100% wrong on WMDs.