Joseph Wilson, a former U.S. ambassador to Iraq and husband of ex-CIA agent Valerie Plame, will be the keynote speaker for the 4th annual Roger Tatarian Journalism Symposium,  “Truth, War & the CIA,” on Friday, Oct. 13, at California State University, Fresno.

Wilson and Plame are at the center of a controversy about classified information allegedly leaked to media by the Bush administration that identified Plame as a CIA agent. Wilson contends exposing his wife’s status was retaliation for criticism of the Bush administration’s reasoning leading up to the war in Iraq.

In 2004, Wilson published “The Politics of Truth: Inside the Lies that Led to War and Betrayed my Wife's CIA Identity.” It is an autobiographical account of his more than two decades of foreign service and why he went public with criticisms of the administration.

The couple filed suit alleging Vice President Cheney and several top White House officials ruined their reputations.

“We’re fortunate to have Ambassador Wilson come here to share his side of the controversy. It should be a lively morning,” said Tommy Miller, the Tatarian Endowed Chair at Fresno State and coordinator of the symposium.

The three-hour event, which is free and open to public as well as the campus community, begins at 9 a.m. in the Satellite Student Union (near Maple and San Ramon avenues). It is presented by the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism and the Roger Tatarian Endowment for Journalism, established to the late Fresno State journalism professor and former editor-in-chief of United Press International.

The 2006 symposium will include a panel discussion with two veteran reporters – Warren Strobel and Jonathan Landay from the McClatchy Company’s Washington news bureau – who will discuss the challenges of investigative reporting during wartime.

Strobel and Landay both have covered foreign affairs for at least 15 years and teamed last year to write “How the Bush Administration Went to War in Iraq,” which won a National Headliners Award.

Dr. Gary Rice, a professor in Fresno State’s Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, will moderate the discussion.

Free parking will be available in Lots N, O and P.  (See map and other event updates at www.FresnoStateNews.com).

For more information, contact the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism at 559.278.2087.