How stupid is this?

By Clarice Feldman

Robert Novak reports in detail that the CIA doesn't seem to know even now what Plame's status was at the agency. How dumb is that?

DCI Heyden told Novak and others Plame was "undercover", not covert. He told Waxman she was "undercover". An attorney at the CIA apparently changed that to "covert". The explanation is that all agency employees are all either "undercover or covert". Novak continues:

The CIA gave me a lot more than either Toensing or Hoekstra received. Toensing's letter to Hayden[to state whether or not Plame was covert within the meaning of the Intelligence Identity Protection Act] has gone unanswered. On March 21, Hoekstra again requested the CIA to define Mrs. Wilson's status. A written reply April 5 from Christopher J. Walker, the CIA's director of congressional affairs, said only that "it is taking longer than expected" to reply because of "the considerable legal complexity required for this tasking."

Mike Hayden was brought into the CIA as an intelligence professional when President Bush fired Porter Goss, who had retired from Congress to go to Langley at the president's request. Goss thought he had a mandate to clean up an agency whose senior officials delivered private anti-Bush briefings during the 2004 campaign. The confusion over Valerie Plame's status suggests the CIA gave Waxman what he wanted, even if the director of central intelligence seemed confused.

It suggests to me the agency is seriously misnamed.