This International Dateline episode includes four segments: The Plame Game, Martin Walker Interview, Taysir Allumi: Shooting the Messenger?, and Geoffrey Robertson Interview.

The Plame Game
The recent indictment of Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, US Vice-President Dick Cheney's chief of staff is the most serious political scandal to hit the Bush White House in its 5-year reign. Now, with enquiries continuing, there's speculation the controversy will embroil Karl Rove, the President's key policy advisor. For George Bush and Dick Cheney, the whole affair has become a simmering political volcano. Dateline's Thom Cookes revisits the origins of this scandal, which date back to 2001, and also speaks with Italian journalist, Elizabetta Burba, who first received the forged documents that took us one step closer to war and triggered a chain of events leading to the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame, the indictment of Scooter Libby, and further investigations into the President's man Karl Rove.

Martin Walker Interview
Martin Walker, the Washington editor of United Press International, talks with Dateline about the political fallout that is rocking the White House; examing the impact, which resulted from the Fitzgerald investigation as well as speculation over the origins of the Niger documents.

Taysir Allumi: Shooting the Messenger?
In the Arab-Muslim world, the dangers for journalists reporting the war on terror have been a hot topic ever since Al Jazeera correspondent Taysir Alluni, was arrested and accused of being a member of al-Qa'ida. Alluni's trial in Spain was recently completed and a verdict brought down. As the Australian government's new terror laws approach post-haste and civil liberties groups lament their arrival, Bronwyn Adcock's story from Spain has chilling resonance. She travelled to Madrid to follow the arrest and trial of one of Al Jazeera's acclaimed journalists; Taysir Alluni. With a bin Laden interview scoop under his belt, he reported for the Arabic network from the front line in Afghanistan and Iraq. But did he overstep the line as a journalist? Did he collaborate with the enemy? Or has the current climate of fear stifled his journalistic independence? The judge decides...

Geoffrey Robertson Interview
Dateline's George Negus meets with prominent international barrister, human rights advocate and UN judge, the London-based Australian Queens Counsel Geoffrey Robertson.

About International Dateline 

SBS Dateline, which began in 1984, is Australia's longest-running international current affairs program. It has a well-earned reputation for authoritative and incisive reporting. Dateline has taken the traditional way of producing TV current affairs and turned it on its head. Reporters who used to travel with a cameraperson and sound recordist now travel alone and have the responsibility of both filming and reporting their stories. The reporters became video-journalists, gaining access to people and places that the conventional camera crews cannot.