| Issue 11 | Volume 144 | Tuesday, November 17, 2015 | theavion.com |
Comedian Bill Burr Finishes Blue & Gold Week Jaclyn Wiley Copy Editor
Billy Nguyen/The Avion Newspaper Moderator Marc Bernier Interviews Former CIA Operative Valerie Plame during a session of the President’s Speaker Series, on Nov. 10. Despite having been betrayed by the Federal government, Ms. Plame strongly advocated intelligence as a career, and maintains the CIA is a fantastic employer for those looking at global security and intelligence as a profession. Ms. Plame answered questions from Mr. Bernier and the audience, ranging from her personal life to how the scandal impacted her family. Her new book Fair Game is available now.
President’s Speaker Series: Moderator Marc Bernier Interviews Former CIA Operative Valerie Plame
Micah Knight Managing Editor On the evening of Tuesday, Nov. 10, the IC auditorium was filled with the largest crowd it had held this semester for the last President’s Speaker event of the semester. Former CIA Operative Valerie Plame Wilson came to speak about her book, Fair Game: How a Top CIA Agent Was Betrayed by Her Own Government, and the events surrounding it. Event moderator, Marc Bernier, interviewed Mrs. Wilson for about 45 minutes before opening a question and answer session with the audience. Mr. Bernier began by asking Valerie how she became a CIA employee. She explained that her father and brother served in the military, and that she wanted to do something worthwhile with her life in public service. As an Operations Officer for the CIA, she recruited foreigners as an intelligence specialist, and eventually found her specialization in nuclear weapon intelligence. Valerie loved her job; she got paid to travel the world and do very interesting, meaningful work.
After the events of 9/11 rocked the United States, the government wanted to know about the countries the terrorists originated in, Afghanistan and Iraq – their capabilities, and what further threat they might pose to the US. The CIA had very little intelligence on Iraq at the time, so they rushed to gather intelligence on the nation. In February 2002, a rumor circulated the intelligence community that there was a sale of partially-refined uranium from the African nation of Niger to Iraq, which would indicate that Iraq was developing Weapons of Mass Destruction. Valerie’s husband, former ambassador Joe Wilson, was tasked to determine if there was any validity to the rumor, and returned saying the report was bogus. The idea of nuclear weapons in Iraq was forgotten until January 2003, when President Bush stated in his State of the Union address that “The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa,” spearheading the war on Iraq.
The CIA reacted to the statement by sending operatives to Africa to re-verify this claim that they had already determined was false. The United States invaded Iraq in March 2003. In July 2003, an opinion piece was printed in the New York Times by Valerie’s husband Joe Wilson, titled “What I didn’t find in Africa,” which claimed that the Bush Administration’s reports of nuclear weapons in Africa were not true and that the United States was not invading Iraq for the reasons that the government was publishing. Eight days later, a rebuttal article was published in The Washington Post, titled “Mission To Niger,” which revealed Valerie as a CIA operative, classified information that was leaked by senior government officials, and claimed that she suggested he go to Africa – an accusation of nepotism. The article utterly ruined Valerie’s career in the CIA and sparked The Plame Affair, a criminal investigation that concluded with a senior government official convicted of lying to investigators. Now that it is wellknown that nuclear weap-
ons of mass destruction were never found in Iraq, Valerie explained that the United States government was likely looking for a reason to crack down on terrorism and the events of 9/11 created a “perfect storm” that led to the war in Iraq. Between the time her cover was blown in 2003 and when her involvement in the affair was closed when she testified before Congress in 2007, Valerie’s security
was very tenuous. At one point, Al-Qaeda was targeting her and three other high-level CIA officials. She asked for government protection but was refused it. Nevertheless, she decided to remain in the country with her kids despite the threat. In 2007, she published a memoir to tell her story to the world. The book was also adapted into the movie “Fair Game,” which was released in 2010. Continued on A6 >>
On the night of Sunday, Nov. 8, hundreds attended the final event of Blue and Gold Week - The Comedy Show featuring Bill Burr. Touch N Go Productions hosted this event in the ICI Center. This show, intended for adult audiences only, was a rousing success. A comedian from Chicago, opened for Burr, joking about reality shows, dating, her experiences with child support and political protests and the tendency of drug-using celebrities to die while naked. She was well received and warmed the audience up for Burr. Burr covered many topics during his routine, including alligators, advances in robot technologies, helicopters, Kanye West, cruise ships, guns and drones. One of the most memorable parts of the routine was when Burr detailed the four aborted plane landings he’s experienced during his comedic career. Few could keep a straight face while Burr described his annoyance with the voices of the pilots, which were calm and collected despite the fact that they had just avoided a landing at the last moment. Blue and Gold Week is the annual Embry-Riddle Homecoming celebration, with this year’s theme being “Road Trip.” This year, there were many activities for students, faculty, and staff to enjoy, including Bingo, Air Jam! and a concert by Smallpools.
Propellers To Close Nov. 24
Andy Lichtenstein/The Avion Newspaper Propellers Restaurant will be permanently closing its doors on Nov. 24 to make room for the new Student Union. The campus establishment will be replaced with a food truck that will serve many of the same offerings as the longtime icon of the Daytona Beach campus. Propellers Express will open in January.