For those who still think the outing of Valerie Plame was no big deal

At the time Dick Cheney told Scooter Libby to leak Valerie Plame's name to the press, he may have known exactly what he was doing.

It's no secret that Cheney is one of the Administration neocons with a lust for war. Iraq hasn't quenched his thirst, so he wants more -- more meaning Iran.

And if Valerie Plame was working on tracking distribution and acquisition of weapons of mass destruction technology to and from Iran, her findings might mean that Iran's potential violations could be presented to the United Nations and make war with Iran unnecessary, right?

And that would make Dick Cheney very upset, right? Especially if he REALLY, REALLY wants to go to war with Iran?

Well, folks, it looks like that's exactly what happened:

The unmasking of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson by White House officials in 2003 caused significant damage to U.S. national security and its ability to counter nuclear proliferation abroad, RAW STORY has learned.

According to current and former intelligence officials, Plame Wilson, who worked on the clandestine side of the CIA in the Directorate of Operations as a non-official cover (NOC) officer, was part of an operation tracking distribution and acquisition of weapons of mass destruction technology to and from Iran.

Speaking under strict confidentiality, intelligence officials revealed heretofore unreported elements of Plame's work. Their accounts suggest that Plame's outing was more serious than has previously been reported and carries grave implications for U.S. national security and its ability to monitor Iran's burgeoning nuclear program.

While many have speculated that Plame was involved in monitoring the nuclear proliferation black market, specifically the proliferation activities of Pakistan's nuclear "father," A.Q. Khan, intelligence sources say that her team provided only minimal support in that area, focusing almost entirely on Iran.

[snip]

Three intelligence officers confirmed that other CIA non-official cover officers were compromised, but did not indicate the number of people operating under non-official cover that were affected or the way in which these individuals were impaired. None of the sources would say whether there were American or foreign casualties as a result of the leak.

Dickie, you're doing a heck of a job.