It has become increasingly apparent that some of Vice President Dick Cheney’s top staff could soon be indicted for their conspiracy to out Valerie Plame as a covert CIA agent – a clear violation of the relevant statute, if not an act of treason. Even if he is not indicted, Cheney will have to resign – any excuse that he did not know what his highest-level staff was up to will be declared lame on arrival.

The real story here, of course, is not the fact that a felony was committed in revealing the identity of a covert CIA agent. The real story is that a group of administration officials, headed by Dick Cheney, orchestrated a crime against humanity in exaggerating and fabricating evidence that Saddam Hussein was trying to procure nuclear weapons, all to form a pretext for an invasion that has cost almost 2,000 American and countless other lives, the enormous cost of which is to be financed by our children and grandchildren, and which has created a no-win situation that will tax and occupy us for years to come.

Cheney’s inevitable resignation and Bush’s disgrace will only scratch the surface of retribution for this enormous travesty.

Jonathan Harris, Auburn