I’m arguing that some people (present company excepted, of course) who never had any use for the CIA, and indeed, looked at it with distaste, … discovered this newfound concern for the CIA.

I find it grimly ironic that there are people on the far-left vigorously defending the CIA, while there are people on the far-right equally vigorously attacking it.

But, then, I find many things about our current situation grimly ironic (for instance, as we’ve discussed before, how — somewhere along the line — the neoconservatives abandoned realpolitik for idealism in foreign policy, or how the Republicans morphed into the party of “Borrow and Spend”).

Did they not serve a purpose, or have employees, or house dangerous terrorists?

Are you arguing that the revelation of the existence of these “black sites” put the lives of those CIA employees in jeopardy?

Or are you arguing that the revelation is a setback in the WarOnTerror (because, damnit, we need to have places where we can torture suspected terrorists away from the prying eyes of the Red Cross)?

Those are rather different arguments, no?

Here’s one story:

As calls for intelligence-related reviews grow on Capitol Hill, Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., said Thursday his committee will study several specific leaks of classified information, including a Nov. 2 Washington Post story that discussed the existence of secret CIA prisons overseas.

The story said the “black sites” were in eight countries, including democracies in Eastern Europe. Hoekstra would not confirm the story’s accuracy or whether the prisons exist.

“The depth of the leaks that we have seen in the intelligence community over the last 12 to 18 months have done irreparable harm to our ability to effectively conduct the war on terror,” Hoekstra said.

Here’s another:

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) yesterday called on the intelligence committees of both chambers to initiate a joint investigation into the leak of potentially classified information following a newspaper story about secret CIA prisons.

…In their letter, Frist and Hastert wrote: “The leaking of classified information by employees of the United States government appears to have increased in recent years, establishing a dangerous trend that, if not addressed swiftly and firmly, likely will worsen. The unauthorized release of classified information is serious and threatens our nation’s security. It also puts the lives of many Americans and the security of our nation at risk.”

Now, these are Republicans, true, but then, it is Democrats who are mostly screaming bloody murder about Plame.

Just for the record, I AM NOT saying it is okay to out a CIA agent for partisan purposes (and again, I stress than no one is accused of that by the Special Prosecutor – not spin, fact), but I am calling attention to ‘selective’ outrage (while admitting I sometimes engage in it myself – what can I say? I often fail to live up to my own standards)…