Ambassador to address symposium in October

By Kirstie Hettinga
The Collegian

The Roger Tatarian Journalism Symposium is known for bringing recognizable names, such as Helen Thomas and Seymour Hersh, to the Fresno State campus. Joseph Wilson’s name may not be enough on its own, but when linked with wife Valerie Plame, Wilson’s name becomes indicative of scandal and the CIA.

On Oct. 13 Wilson will speak about the media outing of his wife, Valerie Plame, as a CIA agent at the Tatarian Symposium “War, Politics and the CIA.”

Wilson, a former ambassador to Iraq, and Plame came into the spotlight in 2003 when syndicated columnist Robert Novak identified Plame as a CIA agent. Novak’s column was in response to an article written by Wilson that criticized the Bush Administration and the war in Iraq.

Plame and Wilson filed a civil suit in July 2006 against members of the Administration for violating their constitutional rights and invasion of privacy.

Tommy Miller, coordinator of the symposium, said it would be full of political flavor. “You’ve got the issue of war and whether we should go to war or not and that lasting mystery agency, the CIA,” he said.

Miller said they asked Wilson to speak because it was a good story that had been kept alive through the media.

“Those who attend are getting more information than they can deal with, so they can decide for themselves where they stand on these issues,” Miller said.

The symposium will kick off with a discussion by journalists Warren Strobel and Jonathan Landay.

Strobel and Landay were among the first journalists to raise skepticism of the war in Iraq. Both were employed by the Knight Ridder Corporation and now work for McClatchy’s Washington D.C. bureau.

The symposium is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and will be highlighted by Wilson’s keynote speech. Wilson has also tentatively agreed to a book signing for his 2004 publication “The Politics of Truth: Inside the Lies that Led to War and Betrayed my Wife’s CIA Identity.”

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