(4) Be vague or incomprehensible.

Fiers expertly followed this rule as well. When Senate panelist David L. Boren (D-OK) asked him if Gates knew that a plane, shot down in Nicaragua in 1986, was part of "North's operation," Fiers babbled, "Not--I don't have any reason that would make me think he had the details or knew specifically that the plane was part of a North/White House operation, in specific detail...."

You get the point.

Gates himself followed this rule in a 1987 deposition when asked if he was aware of North's dealings with the contras. He replied, "In an advisory capacity, no, certainly not in an operational sense."

What?

(5) Develop amnesia.

This is certainly the most useful and most commonly exploited guideline. Throughout past testimony and in written answers to the Senate committee's questions last week, Gates claimed to have "no recollection" of numerous meetings and documents.

Now, forgetting that he'd been informed about the Iran-Contra scandal is somewhat more serious than, say, forgetting someone's birthday.

As Thomas Polger, an ex-CIA official put it, "I'd like to think... that when somebody tells me that some of my high-ranking colleagues are engaged in a felony, that's a conversation I would remember." This much recall ability is the least we should expect from someone who wants to serve as America's chief spy.

(6) Trivialize the scandal.

This is the What-we-did-wasn't-so-bad defense. Fiers used it twice, first when explaining why Gates failed to respond to North's mention of his Swiss bank accounts. He said, "[I]t was interesting, it was thought-provoking, intriguing, but not something you stopped and dwelled on...." In other words, what's so strange about having Swiss bank accounts? I do all my banking in Switzerland, don't you?

The second time Fiers attempted to trivialize Gates' guilt was when he discussed the "broad universe" of people who understand the extent of the CIA's activities. Fiers admitted that Gates was a member of this informed group, but said that was o.k. "because there were a lot of people in that universe." That is to say, Hey, Everybody's doing it.

But that certainly does not make the CIA's unconstitutional covert activities any more acceptable. This was no small scandal, and many share the guilt.

The Washington Post states, "Never before has the agency faced the possibility of so many career officers being investigated by a grand jury and prosecuted."

But the fact that the scandal engulfed so many people does not make any of them less accountable. There is, certainly, enough guilt to go around, and Gates deserves his share.