WP (Pincus): Kennedy Says Bush* Skewed Iraq Data

[kskiska]

By Walter Pincus
Saturday, March 6, 2004; Page A15

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) yesterday accused President Bush and his administration of manipulating and distorting intelligence to justify attacking Iraq, and he asked why CIA Director George J. Tenet did not correct the official administration line in the months leading to war.

"Tragically, in making the decision to go to war in Iraq, the Bush administration allowed its wishes, its inclinations and its passion to alter the state of facts and the evidence of the threat we faced from Iraq," Kennedy said in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations.

Kennedy, an active presence in the presidential campaign of Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), devoted part of his critique to Tenet, who in a speech last month answered criticism of his agency's prewar conclusions that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. Among other things, Tenet said the CIA judgments given to top administration officials included caveats and disclosure of areas where analysts disagreed. Intelligence analysts, he said, "never said there was an imminent threat" posed by Iraqi weapons.

"Tenet," Kennedy said yesterday, "needs to explain to Congress and the country why he waited until last month -- nearly a year after the war started -- to set the record straight. Why wasn't CIA Director Tenet correcting the president and the vice president and the secretary of defense a year ago, when it could have made a difference, when it could have prevented a needless war, when it could have saved so many lives?"

The White House dismissed Kennedy's speech as an election-year attack unsupported by facts.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34879-2004Mar5.html

[Khephra]

1. CSPAN 1 is playing this speech for the first time

RIGHT NOW (11 PM ET).

There's a thread on the speech here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1199748

[kskiska]

2. Thanks, Khephra

I put it on.

[I AM SPARTACUS]

3. morans in the white house actually said "attack unsupported by facts"...??

...they should know one of them "attacks unsupported by facts" when they see 'em...

[Gloria]

4. Q & A on now.....Kennedy is boiling mad.......and a reporter asked

about "high crimes and misdemeanors"....

Kennedy says the Admin. words themselves are indictments....

Watching Kennedy explain how it was easy for him to vote against Iraq (along with Byrd, also on the committee)....he said it was the military men, who predicted what would happen that convinced him....said the Senate was misled......

Anyway, he's supporting Kerry.....so, when does Kerry go on the attack or does Kennedy do the heavy lifting until after the upcoming hearings???

Also...as for VP--Clark was the one who was really hammering on the pre911 story, and of course, he commented for CNN on the war itself...

Clark's credibility on this is mandatory to add weight to Kerry....He really should be on the ticket....(unfortunately, not on the top....)

Kennedy said to a reporter about this and the election..."vote John Kerry".....let's see what Kerry does with this...both in terms of his own statements AND putting Clark on the ticket.....

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

5. Well, Duh, Ted. Duh.

Thanks for getting it out there, though.