Former CIA Spy Valerie Plame to Speak at UA

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Former CIA covert operations officer Valerie Plame knows what it’s like to be a spy, and she’ll share her experiences with students and the community when she visits The University of Alabama March 31.

Plame, who famously had her cover burned by Bush White House official Lewis Libby, will share her experiences with students of Dr. Stephen Schwab, a UA adjunct assistant professor and former CIA analyst, as well as screen a documentary for the public, titled “Countdown to Zero” about her experiences as an “outed” spy.

Plame will screen the film at 7:30 p.m. in Farrah Hall, room 129, on Monday, March 31. The event is free and open to the public.

She has written a memoir about the end of her career with the CIA, titled “Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House,” as well as inking a deal with Penguin Group to publish a series of thrillers with a co-writer. “Blowback” was the first novel in that series, and it was published in October 2013. Copies of her books will be available for purchase.

Plame served the CIA at times as a non-official cover operative, going undercover in (at least) two positions in Athens and Brussels. While using her own name, her assignments required posing in various professional roles in order to gather intelligence more effectively.
Two of her covers include serving as a junior consular officer in the early 1990s in Athens and then later an energy analyst for the private company which the CIA later acknowledged was a front for certain investigations.UA’s history department is part of the College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships, Truman Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team.