From the Publisher: In 1991, President George H. W. Bush called Ambassador Joseph Wilson a "True American Hero." In 2003, senior officials in President George W. Bush's White House tried to intimidate critics and punish Wilson for what he knew (and finally made public) about the administration's lies before the invasion of Iraq. The disclosure of the undercover identity of Wilson's wife, CIA operative Valerie Plame, was an unprecedented and potentially criminal act. The Politics of Truth tells the revealing story of this courageous American diplomat and his pivotal career in foreign policy, from telling Saddam Hussein to leave Kuwait to confronting the White House leaks that have breached national security. With fearless insight and disarming candor, Ambassador Joseph Wilson recounts more than two decades in the U. S. Foreign Service under presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush Sr., and Clinton-from Angola to Iraq to Bosnia to Niger-here is an unprecedented look at the career of an American diplomat as well as an unvarnished account of our nation's foreign policy. Whether fostering peaceful democratization in African nations or facing down Saddam Hussein just days before the first Gulf War or accompanying Bill Clinton on his historic 1998 African tour, Wilson vividly chronicles history in the making. And on page after compellingly narrated page, he demonstrates the courage of his convictions in the face of volatile situations, violent conflicts, and vindictive governments. As the acting ambassador to Iraq, Wilson was the last American official to meet with Saddam before Desert Storm in 1990. He successfully parried the dictatorp1ss threats to use American hostages as human shields against U.S. bombing and was given a patriot's welcome by President George H. W. Bush on his homecoming. Yet today he finds himself in a battle with his own government. Why? Because he called a lie a lie. When President George W. Bush claimed in the now notorious sixteen words in his 2003 State of the Union address that "Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa," Wilson could not stand by silently. For at the request of the CIA he himself had traveled to Niger the previous year and found no evidence to support the rumor of a uranium deal. In a New York Times op-ed, "What I Didn't Find in Africa," he told the nation about that trip and his findings. The White House retaliated viciously. Seeking revenge against Wilson and trying to intimidate intelligence professionals who had begun telling reporters of prewar pressure to skew their analyses of the threat posed by Iraq, senior administration officials did the unthinkable: They disclosed the undercover status of Wilson's wife, CIA operative Valerie Plame, to members of the press. Columnist Robert Novak then published the leak, blew Plame's cover, and abetted the administration's possible violation of federal law. But Wilson still wouldn't back down. He withstood the personal attacks and called on the White House to acknowledge the truth about the sixteen words. In televised interviews and newspaper commentaries he argued that the administration had fabricated much more than the uranium claim, indeed had manipulated intelligence to bolster its case for invading Iraq. Now he continues his fight in this groundbreaking book as he reveals the dangers to the nation bred by officials in a war-hungry White House (Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Condoleezza Rice, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Karl Rove, and George W. Bush himself) in an alarming attempt to impose their will. Yet Wilson maintains faith in his fellow citizens and the American ideals he represented for two decades abroad. With inspiring fervor he urges all Americans to become involved in the vigorous process of democracy, for ultimately, he argues, the strength of the nation lies in the will of its people.