Rove or Kerry...who outed whom

While reading the following post keep these two things in mind. 1) Consider the source. NewsMax' stories have to be taken with a grain of salt often. 2) What the article discusses is easily verifiable...I just do not have the time to do so.

I have been staying away from this story intentionally...both sides are spinning away and facts are being given at an unusually low quantity. That said...

It seems that while Sen. Kennedy, Clinton and Kerry are calling for Karl Rove's dismissal and removal of security clearance because of allegedly leaking a CIA employee's name (Republicans say the employee was a secretary) Kerry did leak an agent's identity.

This article says that while trying to derail John Bolton's confirmation as UN ambassador Sen. Kerry (D-MA) leaked an undercover CIA agent's name.

Sen. John Kerry, who called for Karl Rove to be fired over allegations that he revealed the identity of CIA employee Valerie Plame, outed a genuine undercover CIA agent just this past April - even after the Agency asked that his identity be kept secret.

Kerry blew the cover of CIA secret operative Fulton Armstrong during confirmation hearings for U.N. ambassador nominee John Bolton.

Questioning Bolton, Kerry asked: "Did Otto Reich share his belief that Fulton Armstrong should be removed for his position?" - according to a transcript excerpted by the New York Times.
"The answer is yes," the top Democrat continued.

Emphasis added to point out where Kerry blew the cover.

Now, this Bolton character that the Democrats say is not qualified at least tried to maintain composure.

In his response to Kerry, Mr. Bolton did his best to maintain the agent's confidentiality, reverting to the Armstrong's pseudonym.

"As I said," he told Kerry, "I had lost confidence in Mr. Smith, and I conveyed that."

Now, it is true that Armstrong was previously identified. But he was in a different capacity at that time. The CIA because of the nomination asked that Armstrong's identity again remain hidden.

Two years earlier, Armstrong had been identified in news reports on his dispute with other officials over intelligence involving Cuba. But he was operating in a different capacity and his identity wasn't secret at the time.

"When the Bolton nomination resurrected the old accounts, however, the C.I.A. asked news organizations to withhold his name," the Times said.

The article gets the gem of the day award:

Apparently the CIA directive wasn't good enough for Sen. Kerry...

It seems that Kerry blew the chance to take responsibility for his mistake. He blamed everyone and everything else.

[Kerry], who outed Armstrong [against the request of the CIA]...later defended the move by saying his Republican colleague, Senator Richard Lugar, had also mentioned the name.

And besides, said Kerry, the secret agent's name "had already been in the press."

So, my position on the Karl Rove incident is officially this:
Rove's fate should be no stronger than Kerry's.