Question: Did Kerry receive the same Iraq intelligence as Bush?

[ludwigb]

when he was sitting on the Foreign Relations Committee in the lead-up to Iraq. I need to know one way or another for a debate.

[soleft]

1. He said that he did on Letterman

[Media_Lies_Daily]

7. Do you recall exactly what he said on the Letterman Show?

[soleft]

11. IIRC Letterman asked him if he had the same intelligence as Bush

Kerry said yes, but the problem was that Bush was impatient, and if he had waited and let the inspectors finish, we wouldn't have had to go to war

[sonicx]

12. democrats shouldn't let that RW talking point stand

they DIDN'T have the same report as bush.

even common sense can tell you this. bush is 'president' and can see anything he wants. kerry's a senator and has to get unclassified versions.

[CarolynEC]

2. But... Cheney has said the White House had intelliegence....

... that even the 9-11 Commission hadn't seen.

I think the answer to the question, in a debate, is that the Bush administration hasn't played it straight with us on anything, so who knows whether they've shared all the intelligence or not?

[Media_Lies_Daily]

6. The White had intelligence from Iraqi sources that had a...

...definite agenda to convince the U. S. to invade Iraq. As we have seen, they were willing to say and do anything to make that happen...and the NeoCons were all to willing to listen to anything that would give them the excuse they needed to invade.

[sonicx]

3. no, the unclassified version (congress's) had...

sanitized language. it made it seem like saddam definitly had weapons.

[MidwestTransplant]

4. That's what I am wondering

Did the Senate not get the un edited report...are you certain?

[sonicx]

9. i don't have links on it, but randi rhodes

has mentioned this several times. i'll see if i can find something...

[sonicx]

10. I found something: "CIA Whites Out Controversial Estimate on Iraq Weapons"

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB129/

[never cry wolf]

15. Here you go, from GD2004 today

Kerry had the unclassified version.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x892076

[MidwestTransplant]

16. Thanks!

[Media_Lies_Daily]

5. It's my understanding that members of Congress were NOT given...

...the CLASSIFIED version of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE). They were given instead the UNCLASSIFIED version of the NIE which eliminated language which would have convinced most members of Congress that Iraq did not have WMDs, and they had NO ongoing efforts to build them.

[KC21304]

8. We know who decided what info even got to the intelligence

community. And they weren't intelligence folks. They were PNAC members and their minions.

[BrotherBuzz]

13. Kerry saw the OSP version....

[LSK]

14. no he did not

He was given the "cliff notes" version. Bush was citing that Congress was full of leaks at the time and didnt want to give info to the "enemy".