The Story: A Reporter's Journey, by Judith Miller, published by Simon and Schuster,2015

Judith Miller’s story about her life in journalism is all about professionalism. As an investigative reporter for the New York Times, Judith Miller covered key stories leading up to the outbreak of the Iraq War in 2003. Her coverage of the illusive issues of Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction was pivotal to the unceasing debate about the wisdom of launching the Iraqi War.

Her career began with the New York Times in 1977. She modestly asserts that she was hired because the paper needed to hire more women as a consequence of a lawsuit by the women of the Times alleging sex discrimination. In hindsight, the Times belatedly picked a winner. A determined woman of character, Judith went on to spend twenty-eight years with the Times.

If being at the center of the controversy over Saddam Hussein’s Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) wasn’t enough to put Miller center stage, what happened as a consequence of the Valerie Plame investigation was enough to put her behind bars—literally. It started with Vice President Cheney asking the CIA about reports that Iraq had secretly tried to buy uranium ore (yellowcake) from Niger. The CIA asked Valerie Plame’s husband, Joseph C. Wilson, IV, a former ambassador to Gabon, to verify the report. Further complicating matters was the fact that President Bush referenced the allegation about uranium ore in his 2003 State of the Union speech. Then Robert Novak wrote a story for the Chicago Sun-Times informing readers that Wilson’s wife, Valerie Plame, was a CIA officer who was directly involved in sending her husband to Africa. But why was Valerie Plame exposed? Was it mere background rumors, or was it an attempt by the Bush Administration to undermine the findings of Ambassador Wilson who had written an op-ed for the Times discrediting the story about Iraq’s attempts to purchase yellowcake?

Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald was then appointed to investigate the disclosure of Valerie Plame’s identity which was a violation of the 1982 Intelligence Identities Protection Act. Judith Miller became a target of suspicion given that she had conducted an interview with Scooter Libby, Vice President Cheney’s chief of staff, at which time a classified study about Iraq’s suspected possession of Weapons of Mass Destruction was discussed. At some point in the conversation with Scooter Libby, the travel to Niger by Ambassador Wilson may have also been discussed, as well as the fact that Valerie Plame was a CIA officer, but what worried Miller was not Valerie Plame and her husband, but, rather the fact that she and Libby had discussed classified information about WMD. To protect Libby as a source, Judith has made a personal pledge not to disclose his identity.

Judith Miller spent eighty-five days in jail, refusing to reveal Libby’s identity until he issued a waiver which ultimately resulted in her release. Ironically, she was praised for her courage in going to jail by some and criticized by others for not having remained in jail until the government granted her an unconditional release. Much of the criticism, however, was a veiled attack on Miller for her earlier reporting on WMD, viewed by many of her colleagues as giving the Bush Administration a pretext to invade Iraq. Miller honestly addresses the issue and does not shy away from conceding that her reporting on WMD prior to the Iraq invasion failed to fully verify factual issues that are, to this day, passionately contested. This, arguably, is an impossibly high bar for any reporter or newspaper.

Miller’s critics have been harsh in their assessment of her role and motives. Excessively so, it would seem. Miller was a reporter of courage by any standard. In the course of her reporting career, she covered a formidable range of national security stories with tenacity and commitment. She deserves to be recognized and commended for her contributions to the Story.