Former CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson emphasized the importance of citizen participation in democracy and warned against an overreaching government in a speech Thursday night in the Ward Building.
"My story is about our democracy, which is only as strong as the willingness of its citizens to participate," Plame said. "This administration had used fear and intimidation to perpetuate its agenda. This is a danger to our democracy."
In 2003, conservative political columnist Robert Novak identified Plame as a CIA operative in The Washington Post. This came after Plame's husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, wrote a column in The New York Times describing the administration's exaggeration of evidence of Iraqi attempts to purchase enriched uranium ore in the lead-up to the Iraq invasion.
What followed was a two-year investigation into Novak's original sources, which resulted in the conviction of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby for obstruction, perjury and lying to the FBI. President Bush later commuted Libby's sentence.
Plame reflected on her emotional state during the height of the leak investigation, noting her utter confusion and what she viewed as incompetence within the Bush administration.
"I had this sense of cognitive dissonance - what I'm hearing is not matching up with what I know," she said. "Senior administration officials betrayed our national security."
Plame is currently on tour promoting her new book, "Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House," in which she describes her life as a CIA agent and her husband's legacy, as well as details her experience during the infamous revelation of her identity.
Plame spoke about an arduous book publishing process with the government closely hovering over the editorial decisions - and sometimes getting into the murky areas of ethics and legality.
"I knew publishing this book would be more difficult than others they [the CIA] had received," Plame said. "But at times, it got really strange, and it was starting to move into censorship and First Amendment territory, without a doubt."
Despite Plame's media stardom and former career at one of the government's most secret agencies, she now lives with her husband and two children in Santa Fe, N.M.
"To be perfectly honest, I would be rather home spending time with my children than giving talks on my work with the CIA," Plame said.
Plame had genuine intentions of helping the country despite the controversy that often lingers around many of the CIA's operations, said Christina Bartol, a freshman in the School of International Service.
"There's such a perception of the CIA as being a secretive and shady organization," she said. "But [Plame] was in the CIA because she wanted to do something good for her country."
Jane Granville, a freshman in SIS, said Plame is a revered figure who sets the standard high for all aspiring females pursuing a career in public service.
"She is definitely admirable," Granville said. "She is a female who kept her femininity while doing so well in her job and rising through the ranks of he CIA."
The Kennedy Political Union, Women's Initiative and the Women and Politics Institute sponsored the event.
