Richard Armitage greets me with an apology when I arrive at Cafe Milano. The former deputy US secretary of state is already seated with a coffee. I join him and order a glass of Pinot Noir. Armitage wants to gossip – a favourite pastime at this chic Georgetown Italian restaurant.

Wearing a dark blue suit, white shirt, and sky blue tie, he looks exactly the business consultant that he has become since leaving government. Armitage, a former navy officer and Vietnam war veteran, has long been a player in Washington, having held top positions in the State Department and Pentagon. Since leaving government (along with his boss and friend, secretary of state Colin Powell, in 2004), Armitage has become best-known as one of the officials who leaked the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame to the media in 2003.