Over the past couple of days I've read and listened to a number of reports about the outing of Valerie Plame. I have found three themes:

Legal: Whether the leaks are treason or not seems to hinge on the intent of the leaker. This may keep people out of jail. The intent was not to damage the security of the country, they say. Their intent was to damage the credibility of a critic who, in their view, was the traitor for trying to undermine the "only" strategy that would protect this country from Islam. This is where the nits will get picked if, in fact, the leakers are exposed.

Motivation: Somehow, the motivations of Wilson, Plame, and the CIA is offered as a justification for the leak, or at the least, a strong mitigating factor that makes the leak Not That Bad. This excuse, beside being stupid and adolescent, shows the arrogance of the neocons. What this excuse really shows is that they believe that defense of their ideology is more important than adherence to the laws of the land.

Of course they sent Wilson -- they needed their expert in African WMD on the ground, and he was her cover.

Political: These leaks are appalling, especially coming from those who profess to be the ones who can best defend the security of the country. For these people, the outing of a covert operative, no matter how marginal or inconsequential, solely for partisan gain, is the height of hypocricy. First they diss the CIA for its lack of humint, and then they act to further weaken the capability.

This is not about a blow-job. That Bush did has not expressed moral outrage followed up with a serious investigation shows either his complicity or his weakness and lack of control. Neither is good.