Ex-Diplomat's Surprise Volley on Iraq Drove White House Into Political Warfare Mode

This is a good background story from the New York Times which basically goes through the timeline on the Valerie Plame scandal, starting with the publication of Joe Wilson's editorial. This is the start of the first two paragraphs:

WASHINGTON, July 22 - President Bush was celebrating his 57th birthday at the White House on July 6, 2003, a muggy midsummer Sunday. He had played golf with old friends at Andrews Air Force Base on Saturday, followed by an early birthday party arranged by his wife. The weekend marked a rare lull in the presidential schedule, a welcome break before a grueling trip to Africa that would start on Monday.

But a former diplomat named Joseph C. Wilson IV had just delivered an unwelcome present. In an Op-Ed article for The New York Times, an interview with The Washington Post and an appearance on "Meet the Press" on NBC, Mr. Wilson accused the administration of twisting the facts about Iraqi weapons and leading the nation to war on false pretenses.

The rest of the story can be read here through the NY Times: