FAIR GAME

Gentle Readers,

I saw the DVD of Fair Game and declare it to be worthy of watching. I confess I was bored during about the first 10 - 15 minutes of the movie, but then it became riveting as the human cost of the U.S. Government's deception became more and more apparent.

Fair Game, based on the book by Valerie Plame Wilson, depicts the story of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson (Sean Penn) and his wife, former CIA operative Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts). The CIA assigned Plame to work with Iraqi scientists and learn more about the Weapons of Mass Destruction that Iraq supposedly had.

As part of the operation, the CIA also sent Wilson to Niger to seek information. Plame did not send Wilson to Niger herself; she merely recommended that he could be of assistance to the operation and the CIA asked him to make the trip, which he did, without pay.

Plame and Wilson and a number of other officials learned that Iraq did not have WMD; however, Dubbya moved forward with the attack on Iraq, insisting on the existence of the weapons. Wilson then wrote an op-ed piece for The New York Times telling the truth, but, of course, not revealing that his wife worked for the CIA. In retaliation, certain members of the U.S. Government, Scooter Libby (Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff) among them, outed Plame, destroying her career. She was even described by some as a glorified secretary who had arranged to send her husband on this boondoggle -- as if a trip to Niger, considered one of the least livable countries in the world, is made for fun and games and eating wings at Hooters.

I knew about this case, but now I understand it much better. It's very interesting to listen to Wilson and Plame's commentary on the DVD. They stress the extremes to which the filmmakers went to achieve accuracy, and I enjoyed the interaction between this couple who went through hell together and lived to tell the tale. Watts and Penn are excellent in their roles.

Fair Game is definitely worth one hour and 48 minutes of your time.

Infinities of love,

Lola