A leak can open the floodgates

Re “Attack secrets, not leaks,” Opinion, Nov. 20

It’s apparent that David Greenberg hasn’t turned on TV news programs for months. If he had, he would have seen several ex-CIA spooks discussing the severe damage done by the Valerie Plame leak. When a CIA agent is outed, the opposition learns many things, including whether that agent is still in “deep cover” or not. Gone is the usefulness of the “company” that Plame used as a front organization. The fact that spy missions are often disguised by people in jobs such as those employed by Plame and others overseas is also revealed.

My 21 years in the Defense Department taught me that our government classifies too much. But agent names, methods and types of cover used in covert intelligence are not in that class. No leak of that substance can be justified.

DWIGHT DUSTON

Laguna Niguel