Quotes from Valerie Plame

There is not adequate whistleblower protection.

She was very kind to us when Joe and I went through the darkest days of the leak of my name in 2003. And, of course, Joe worked in the Clinton White House.

After President Obama's election in 2008, there was a widespread hope that it would mark an end to unseemly partisan nastiness.

Regarding Wikileaks, I have profound ambivalent feelings about it. I am a firm believer in a strong intelligence service. There's a need for classified information.

I'm not terribly confrontational, but I've gotten better at holding my ground.

According to the 2000 'Report of the U.N. Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation,' the long-lasting effects of nuclear testing can be qualified in simple scientific terms: 'Radiation exposure can damage living cells, causing death in some of them and modifying others.'

We need the best and the brightest to go into public service.

I come from a family in which public service was something to aspire to.

I was working for the CIA and prohibited from speaking publicly.

When we were subjected to a vicious character assassination campaign orchestrated by senior White House officials and championed by their allies in the right-wing echo chamber, Hillary reached out to us. Her counsel during that tumultuous period was as timely as it was wise.

It's lonely. That's why, in many ways, the CIA is the world's biggest dating agency, I think. I imagine it's much like two actors that get married because they understand that universe. You know, I'm pretty sure the agency's divorce rate is rather high.

To my knowledge, no one has died from a cyberattack... but there is a gray area between peace and war.

The great thing about fiction is you can fix things and make things better.

The options are war versus peace, and I am delighted that, so far, it appears that peaceful negotiation has won the day.

Of course, when you're a parent, that's your paramount concern, for your children, and there were some very credible and frightening threats, and the agency declined to provide any security, and it felt like a betrayal all over again. It was really painful.

When I was happily married and found myself pregnant, I just thought that this would be just the next, normal chapter. I was absolutely thrilled. So what a surprise it was when it turned out to be the hardest thing I've ever done.

We in no way are naive to think that just because Russia and the United States agree to reduce their arsenals, that everyone else will fall in line.

So many times, genuine health workers and genuine NGO folks are really just trying to help other humans in whatever capacity they can. But they are perceived as being CIA, and therefore, it blocks their effectiveness.

North Korea is the errant teenage child, aren't they? Or toddler - they're holding their breath until they get their way.

I think the Bush Administration was bound and determined on regime change, and we will be paying the price of that for some time to come.

I find it really hard to relate to the Bond women or Angelina Jolie in 'Salt.' And of course it's informed by my experiences and the people I've met along the way and the places I've been.

My father was an air officer in the Second World War. My brother was a marine in Vietnam. When I was given this opportunity, I leapt at the chance because I thought it would be a hell of a lot more interesting than what my friends were doing.

I did a book event with a former colleague, Bob Bauer, and was so relieved that he said I got all the CIA stuff right.

One characteristic that I hope I never relinquish is an intense curiosity about the world around me.