Blogoland

Rush railed against it. The froth-mouths dampened their chins. The long-knives were out:

Kerry Blows CIA agent's cover!

Or not.

Remarkably, and to her credit, Michelle Malkin, of all people, discovered that the pseudonymous employee discussed in John Bolton's confirmation hearings, was in fact, already outed.

Here's the relevant portion of the NYT article from Jan. 5, 2003:

Mr. Reich, officials said, was among several foreign policy officials who complained to the White House about government intelligence assessments on Cuba, in particular the work of the analyst, Fulton T. Armstrong, the national intelligence officer for Latin America.

According to several officials, Mr. Armstrong has written skeptically about Cuba's importance as a military threat, its intention to develop offensive biological weapons and its continued inclusion on the State Department's annual list of countries that sponsor terrorism. Mr. Armstrong, a career Central Intelligence Agency analyst who now serves on the National Intelligence Council, an advisory body for the director of central intelligence, also worked on the National Security Council in the Clinton administration.

But Mr. Armstrong's supporters respond that he has been targeted by ideologues who would distort the intelligence process to get the kind of analysis they want. These officials said that while Mr. Armstrong had sometimes ruffled feathers with his outspoken style, he was widely respected as an analyst and trusted by George J. Tenet, the director of central intelligence.

But that didn't stop the AP from running, and The Times from posting under the lead story on its website, this tantalizing hed: "Senators May Have Blown Agent's Cover"

Oh well.