A reader makes a connection I had ignored. The Italian secret service was neck-deep in the Nigerien yellowcake forgery, and Italy has been one of the participants in irregular renditions. The Bush Administration backed Berlusconi all the way, even giving him a chance to address a joint session of Congress last month, just in time for his campaign kickoff back home.
What are the odds that Romano Prodi will decide to release whatever it is the Italian government knows about the forgeries and the renditions?
Josh Marshall discussed this based on his reporting: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/008191.php
And Marshall thought the chances were pretty poor, as I recall.