While accusations abound regarding the Joseph Wilson/Valerie Plame/CIA/White House controversy one thing is clear, it is a very serious situation that will have very serious consequences for whomever is responsible. But therein lays the question, who actually is responsible? At this point all we can do is wait to see what the Justice Department investigation, an investigation mandated by protocol, uncovers. But, it should be pointed out that there are many variables and reasons enough for both sides to have perpetrated the leak.

The first thing that we need to verify is whether Ms. Plame was actually a NOC or not. A NOC is a CIA operative that is working under non-official cover. For example, if she were working in a foreign country for the CIA but identified herself as working for ExxonMobil she would be a NOC. This does not however mean that she would have been operating as a spy in the classic sense, it simply means she would have been deceptive as to her affiliations. Further, we have to verify whether or not her NOC status had been deactivated if in fact she ever was classified as such. From all reports she was assigned to an analyst position to report and confirm issues regarding proliferation of unconventional weaponry. If her assignment is that of an analyst and the CIA had devalued the need for her actions to be considered covert then most of this would have to be considered moot.

One of the scenarios up for consideration is that the Bush Administration intentionally released Ms. Plume’s name into the mainstream media because her husband publicly rebuked their stance on the issue of Saddam Hussein’s attempts to procure "yellowcake” uranium from Niger. Wilson has on several occasions pointed the finger at Presidential Adviser Karl Rove although he has no evidence to substantiate his claim. Even though this seems to be the scenario being shopped around by the Democrats and the liberal operatives in Washington DC, its likelihood is questionable. For someone with the enormous amount of political savvy such as Rove possesses to commit such a political blunder is highly unlikely. Yet it is interesting that Wilson would target someone who is important to President Bush’s re-election, especially after it was disclosed that he is a contributor to Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry and had been a staunch supporter of Al Gore’s failed 2000 presidential campaign.

Another scenario that is starting to pickup steam is the assertion that Ms. Plame’s name was covertly released by members of the DNC and/or the liberal establishment in an effort to create a political issue custom made to benefit the Democrats going into the 2004 presidential election. While this scenario holds about as much water as the aforementioned scenario it is not without merit. With the economy recovering faster than the Democrats would have liked and the rifts between the United States and the European allies and Russians starting to be controlled, the issues the Democrats can slam the president on during the upcoming mudslinging festival known as the presidential election are starting to become few. As we have seen in the past, you cannot count anything out in politics and this scenario just may turn out to have a bit more merit than originally suspected. Wilson has been quoted as saying, "Neo-conservatives and religious conservatives have hijacked this administration, and I consider myself on a personal mission to destroy both," and that he wants to see Karl Rove led from the White House in handcuffs. This type of rhetoric not only lends credence to the notion that he very well could have set this entire situation up himself but that he could very well have altered the facts of his investigation regarding the "yellowcake” uranium to spite the Bush Administration. At the very least it demonstrates his hatred for the president and anyone who embraces hatred embraces the ability to do anything no matter how unsavory.

Then there is the distinct possibility that Ms. Plame’s status, employer and vocation were widely known and thus not as covert as those issuing the allegation might be willing to admit. Several reports from around Washington DC point out quite frankly that there were a plethora of people that knew of Ms. Plame’s situation and who could have quite easily provided the information for which the White House is being accused. Should this be the case, it would be quite a stretch for the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982 to apply to Ms. Plame and this situation specifically. In this scenario the only motivation would be political and the act itself could hardly be considered criminal in nature.

The one thing that is ironic though is that we now have Tom Daschle (D-SD), Carl Levin (D-MI), Joseph Biden (D-DE) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) sending a letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft requesting an independent counsel to head up the investigation. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) have also chimed in about the possibility. The irony lays in the fact that every one of these liberal political operatives couldn’t get rid of the independent council’s office fast enough when the legislation providing for its existence expired in 1999. Handicapped by their own lack of foresight these Democrats and liberal icons are now faced with the prospect of looking like hypocrites, incompetents or both.

Obviously the Democrats would like to see an independent council appointed to carry out an investigation with hopes that he or she would conduct a politically bloody inquiry lasting well into November of 2004 and perhaps beyond. The idea that such a scenario could play out can only strike a chord with the malicious amongst the Democratic Party, and herein lays the quandary. It is too perfect. It is centered on the idea that someone seasoned in politics at the highest level would be stupid enough to be that vindictive. While the Democrats and liberals of this country love to believe that President Bush, Republicans, and conservatives in general are that stupid, past actions and the facts of this matter indicate otherwise in a fairly convincing fashion.

Common sense leads me to believe the scenario that will turn out to be the most legitimate will be the one with the most politics attached and right now that pendulum has swung to the left, far to the left.

Frank Salvato is a political media consultant and the managing editor for The New Media Journal.us. He is a contributing writer for The Washington Dispatch, GOPUSA, OpinionEditorials, Men’s News Daily, Canada Free Press & AmericanDaily. His pieces are regularly featured in Townhall.com. He has appeared as a guest on The O’Reilly Factor, The Kevin Matthews Radio Show (Chicago) and The Brad Messer Radio Show (San Antonio). His pieces have been recognized by the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention and are occasionally featured in The Washington Times and The London Morning Paper as well as other national and international publications.