Valerie Plame

The Wilsons were distressed to learn that the Novak column was only the tip of the iceberg. A media counterattack had only just begun.

Caspar Weinberger, the former secretary of defense under Ronald Reagan, penned a Wall Street Journal editorial titled "The Anatomy of a Campaign:"

"Completely frustrated by their inability to belittle, sneer at, or just plain falsify about the victory of our troops in Iraq, opponents of the president are now reduced to using bits and pieces of non-evidence to contend that we did not have to replace the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein."

Weinberger's piece sought to undermine Wilson's African credentialscalling him a "very minor former ambassador."

The couple now went on their own offensive, with Joe taking part in a Vanity Fair profile. The photo that ran with it became was as notorious as the piece. It featured the couple in a convertible with Plame, looking mysterious and glamorous in a Hermes scarf and oversized, face-obscuring black sunglasses, seated next to Wilson. The article, however, only fanned further attacks. Plame wasn't a victim, her detractors claimed, she was seeking publicity.