Joseph Wilson is a highly decorated senior diplomat with extensive experience both in Africa and Iraq. It is hard to imagine anyone more qualified than Joe Wilson to fulfill Dick Cheney's request to look into allegations that Saddam Hussein was attempting to acquire yellowcake from Niger.

Be that as it may, need to know is simply an additional layer of compartmentalization that applies to those who hold an active security clearance. You cannot see any and all documents classified Secret simply because you hold a Secret clearance.

Access to classified material requires both the appropriate security clearance, and the need to know.

A secret agent is just that. The very nature of her work is classified. Outing Victoria Palme endangered not only her life and those of her contacts, it also jeopardized years of extremely important work. Those responsible for leaking such highly classfied information are nothing less than cowardly, vindictive hypocrites.

You have the need to know that.

S