White House cooked books (lots of links)

[9215]

The White House "cooked" the intel reports. There were stories all over the place. Maybe George Tenet can save some time and money by having a peek at these:

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/4234549.htm>

"........These officials charge that administration hawks have exaggerated evidence of the threat that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein poses -- including distorting his links to the al Qaeda terrorist network -- have overstated the extent of international support for attacking Iraq and have downplayed the potential repercussions of a new war in the Middle East......."

<http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,807286,00.html>
"President Bush's case against Saddam Hussein, outlined in a televised address to the nation on Monday night, relied on a slanted and sometimes entirely false reading of the available US intelligence, government officials and analysts claimed yesterday. ......."


<http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-cia11oct11.story>

CIA Feels Heat on Iraq Data

"WASHINGTON -- Senior Bush administration officials are pressuring CIA analysts to tailor their assessments of the Iraqi threat to help build a case against Saddam Hussein, intelligence and congressional sources said."


http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A36348-2002Sep18¬Found=true <http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A36348-2002Sep18¬Found=true>
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/02/04/wirq04.xml/>
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2727471.stm>
<http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/story.jsp?story=376732>
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A14056-2002Oct24¬Found=true <http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A14056-2002Oct24¬Found=true>
<http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/2002-10-24-oped-bamford_x.htm>
<http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=379087>

[DoctorMyEyes]

1. Thanks! I'm bookmarking this! n/t

*

[lkinsale]

2. This one sums up the situation particularly nicely...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/2002-10-24-oped-bamford_x.htm

I can't see the date on it, though.

[catzies]

3. That date-thing was weird, wasn't it?

But they put the date in the archived link, fortunately. 10/24/02. That makes it even sweeter.

[lkinsale]

4. 10-24-02? Let's look this over again!...

Maintain CIA's independence, By James Bamford, for USA TODAY OCTOBER 24, 2002!!!

This confirms what Knight-Ridder reporters found: "A growing number of military officers, intelligence professionals and diplomats privately have deep misgivings about the administration's double-time march toward war," the news service reported recently. "They charge that the administration squelches dissenting views and that intelligence analysts are under intense pressure to produce reports supporting the White House's argument that Saddam poses such an immediate threat to the United States that pre-emptive military action is necessary."

In the case of Iraq, the consequence of a serious manipulation of the truth could be the loss of thousands of American lives. Fortunately, CIA Director George Tenet has apparently managed to keep the CIA on the straight and narrow during the debate over Iraq.

Although close to President Bush, Tenet has, nevertheless, maintained a degree of independence. One example is the letter he recently sent to the House-Senate committee looking into the 9/11 attacks. In it, the CIA argued that it is unlikely Iraqi President Saddam Hussein would initiate a chemical or biological attack against the USA, unless he is first provoked by an American military strike.

Not exactly the message the White House was trying to send.
(more)

Everybody knew it in October, fer pete's sake!

[9215]

7. ?

What was the date issue with Bamford's article?

[nolabels]

5. Thanks for the links

I hope some other people are saving some of this stuff, just in case,........ oh well never mind. Thank goodness for things like mirrors and off shore data stores, etc. Not no geek but what's going on did seem predictable, thanks again you guys

[Karenina]

6. Punt!

:kick: