Iraq Intel manipulated by Pentagon for WH

[bluestar]

Well... finally the long buried Pentagon Inspector General's audit report of intel manipulation leading to the Iraq war is out, and surprise surprise (not !), the report faulted the Pentagon (especially the Rummy/Cheney OSP) on intel manipulation. Geez... I am shocked !!!

Report Says Pentagon Manipulated Intel
Report depicts Pentagon that purposely manipulated intelligence before U.S. invasion of Iraq

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2007
By ROBERT BURNS AP Military Writer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(AP)

(AP) A "very damning" report by the Defense Department's inspector general depicts a Pentagon that purposely manipulated intelligence in an effort to link Saddam Hussein to al-Qaida in the runup to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, says the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"That was the argument that was used to make the sale to the American people about the need to go to war," said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich. He said the Pentagon's work, "which was wrong, which was distorted, which was inappropriate ... is something which is highly disturbing."

The investigation by acting inspector general Thomas F. Gimble found that prewar intelligence work at the Pentagon, including a contention that the CIA had underplayed the likelihood of an al-Qaida connection, was inappropriate but not illegal. The report was to be presented to Levin's panel at a hearing Friday.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/...8N67L6O1.shtml

And the evidence continues to pile up against the Bush govt.... You gotta be impressed by the slow and meticulous manner by which the Democratic Congress is going about gathering and detailing its evidence against this govt. The game plan is ingenious... Gotta have patience... It'll make sense real soon....

Did you guys pay any attention to the Libby Trial and the role of VP Cheney on how a covert CIA officer working on WMD proliferation was exposed just to silence an Iraq War critic ? The whole sorry mess of the East and West wing of the WH is coming out in dribs and drabs.... Another nail in their coffin...

How about the Waxman hearings on Iraq ongoing now ??? Lots of sordid details being revealed, and many more to come....

Next would be the Katrina hearings...

And the grand-daddy of them all - the House Judiciary hearings....

The days of reckoning and accountability to the American public is coming and soon... I guess we'll see, won't we ?

[cpone]

Those reports in 1998 must have been manipulated as well.

[mmarshall]

Originally Posted by bluestar

Did you guys pay any attention to the Libby Trial and the role of VP Cheney on how a covert CIA officer working on WMD proliferation was exposed just to silence an Iraq War critic ? The whole sorry mess of the East and West wing of the WH is coming out in dribs and drabs.... Another nail in their coffin...

Well, you're running out of nails.....the "coffin" is never going to be nailed shut.
The Libby "trial", so far, has been a joke. None of the witnesses, especially Tim Russert, have been able to get their stories straight. The prosecution, so far, has been highly embarrased in the courtroom...in fact, they never should have brought up charges in the first place. They just don't have the evidence.

[bluestar]

Originally Posted by mmarshall

Well, you're running out of nails.....the "coffin" is never going to be nailed shut.
The Libby "trial", so far, has been a joke. None of the witnesses, especially Tim Russert, have been able to get their stories straight. The prosecution, so far, has been highly embarrased in the courtroom...in fact, they never should have brought up charges in the first place. They just don't have the evidence.

A joke ? Yeah.. on all of us to have these level of incompetent nincompoops running the show and trying to cover their behinds with lies....

As to the Libby Trial itself, obviously you have paid no attention cos it has been devastating for the defence.... In resting its case, the prosecution clearly showed how Cheney and Libby conspired to attack Wilson by exposing his wife's CIA status. In some ways the Libby Trial reminds one of the Al Capone trial by Elliot Ness. Al Capone, a mobster by all accounts had repeatedly beat the cops on prosecuting him for his nefarious lifestyle. A prosecutor - Ness - rather than go after Capone on racketeering charges, instead took a circuitous route of tax evasion through Capone's accountant, to charge and eventually convict Al Capone... I sense the same for Fitzgerald... He never truly came out to charge the VP for anything, but by getting his deputy on perjury/obstruction of justice charges, he was able to expose the VP to the world.... Great prosecutorial acumen....

And if you doubt Cheney's role in the Plame affair, all you gotta read is his handwritten note on this... its a deucy...

http://www.truthout.org/imgs.art_02/....notes.doc.jpg

Here are just a couple snippets of the trial information:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- On a tape played at his trial Tuesday Lewis "Scooter" Libby told investigators he thought President Bush authorized him to give a reporter information about CIA agent Valerie Plame.

"If the president tells you to talk about a document, it's declassified," Libby told Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald on March 24, 2004, during testimony before a grand jury that would eventually indict Libby for perjury and obstruction of justice.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/...eak/index.html

Some in the defense team believe the prosecutor's presentation has been strong and persuasive and therefore would open both Cheney and Libby up to a grilling when they were cross-examined, which would not help sway the jury, the source with knowledge of the discussions said.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/...eak/index.html

And if these doesn't help you, how about a listing of all the evidence presented/to be presented ? Just click the link below....

http://wid.ap.org/documents/libbytrial/index.html

Barring a last minute pardon from the WH, Libby is going to the slammer... no doubt about that.

[bluestar]

Originally Posted by cpone

Those reports in 1998 must have been manipulated as well.

Which reports were these, cpone ?

[cpone]

Originally Posted by bluestar

Which reports were these, cpone ?

You MUST be joking right?
All the reports from Intel on Iraq, Iran and North Korea from 1995 forward
The same Intel agency that gave the reports on Iraq after Bush came in.
In fact I DO BELIEVE the intel reports didn't change much at all.
This was even part of the debates during the 2000 elections.
Come on bluestar. You are being intellectually dishonest with yourself asking WHAT REPORTS man. Come on. You are smarter then that.

[bluestar]

Originally Posted by cpone

You MUST be joking right?
All the reports from Intel on Iraq, Iran and North Korea from 1995 forward
The same Intel agency that gave the reports on Iraq after Bush came in.
In fact I DO BELIEVE the intel reports didn't change much at all.
This was even part of the debates during the 2000 elections.
Come on bluestar. You are being intellectually dishonest with yourself asking WHAT REPORTS man. Come on. You are smarter then that.

There is a HUGE difference between the intel reports you refer to here and the one the Pentagon/WH used for the Iraq invasion. Maybe you have yet to actually open the link and read up on the specific facts of the IG's audit report on the Iraq War intel. Put succinctly, the Pentagon's OSP (Office of Special Plans) run by Doug Feith created much of the intel used by the WH to gin up the public support for the war. And where did Doug Fieth get his data from ? It was from culling bits and pieces of info that supported a pre-ordained Iraq invasion, while ignoring any info that led opposite to their policy intention.

Here's how the NYT Editorial described this "new" Intel the Bush govt used for war in Iraq.

Editorial: The Build-a-War Workshop

Published: February 10, 2007

It took far too long, but a report by the Pentagon inspector general has finally confirmed that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s do-it-yourself intelligence office cooked up a link between Iraq and Al Qaeda to help justify an unjustifiable war.

The report said the team headed by Douglas Feith, under secretary of defense for policy, developed “alternative” assessments of intelligence on Iraq that contradicted the intelligence community and drew conclusions “that were not supported by the available intelligence.” Mr. Feith certainly knew the Central Intelligence Agency would cry foul, so he hid his findings from the C.I.A. Then Vice President **** Cheney used them as proof of cloak-and-dagger meetings that never happened, long-term conspiracies between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden that didn’t exist, and — most unforgivable — “possible Iraqi coordination” on the 9/11 attacks, which no serious intelligence analyst believed.

The inspector general did not recommend criminal charges against Mr. Feith because Mr. Rumsfeld or his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, approved their subordinate’s “inappropriate” operations. The renegade intelligence buff said he was relieved.

We’re sure he was. But there is no comfort in knowing that his dirty work was approved by his bosses. All that does is add to evidence that the Bush administration knowingly and repeatedly misled Americans about the intelligence on Iraq.

To understand this twisted tale, it is important to recall how Mr. Feith got into the creative writing business. Top administration officials, especially Mr. Cheney, had long been furious at the C.I.A. for refusing to confirm the delusion about a grand Iraqi terrorist conspiracy, something the Republican right had nursed for years. Their frustration only grew after 9/11 and the C.I.A. still refused to buy these theories.

Mr. Wolfowitz would feverishly sketch out charts showing how this Iraqi knew that Iraqi, who was connected through six more degrees of separation to terrorist attacks, all the way back to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

But the C.I.A. kept saying there was no reliable intelligence about an Iraq-Qaeda link. So Mr. Feith was sent to review the reports and come back with the answers Mr. Cheney wanted. The inspector general’s report said Mr. Feith’ s team gave a September 2002 briefing at the White House on the alleged Iraq-Qaeda connection that had not been vetted by the intelligence community (the director of central intelligence was pointedly not told it was happening) and “was not fully supported by the available intelligence.”

The false information included a meeting in Prague in April 2001 between an Iraqi official and Mohamed Atta, one of the 9/11 pilots. It never happened. But Mr. Feith’s report said it did, and Mr. Cheney will still not admit that the story is false.

In a statement released yesterday, Senator Carl Levin, the new chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who has been dogged in pursuit of the truth about the Iraqi intelligence, noted that the cooked-up Feith briefing had been leaked to the conservative Weekly Standard magazine so Mr. Cheney could quote it as the “best source” of information about the supposed Iraq-Qaeda link.

The Pentagon report is one step in a long-delayed effort to figure out how the intelligence on Iraq was so badly twisted — and by whom. That work should have been finished before the 2004 elections, and it would have been if Pat Roberts, the obedient Republican who ran the Senate Intelligence Committee, had not helped the White House drag it out and load it in ways that would obscure the truth.

It is now up to Mr. Levin and Senator Jay Rockefeller, the current head of the intelligence panel, to give Americans the answers. Mr. Levin’s desire to have the entire inspector general’s report on the Feith scheme declassified is a good place to start. But it will be up to Mr. Rockefeller to finally determine how old, inconclusive, unsubstantiated and false intelligence was transformed into fresh, reliable and definitive reports — and then used by Mr. Bush and other top officials to drag the country into a disastrous and unnecessary war.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/10/op...in&oref=slogin

I guess you can say that the war in Iraq was a "Feith-based initiative"

[cpone]

I want to go into this point here:

But the C.I.A. kept saying there was no reliable intelligence about an Iraq-Qaeda link. So Mr. Feith was sent to review the reports and come back with the answers Mr. Cheney wanted. The inspector general’s report said Mr. Feith’ s team gave a September 2002 briefing at the White House on the alleged Iraq-Qaeda connection that had not been vetted by the intelligence community (the director of central intelligence was pointedly not told it was happening) and “was not fully supported by the available intelligence.”

This took me 2 minutes to find because I KNOW the link was made FAR BEFORE BUSH:

06 November 1998
TEXT: US GRAND JURY INDICTMENT AGAINST USAMA BIN LADEN

United States District Court
Southern District of New York

New York -- A U.S. Federal Grand Jury in New York on Nov. 5 issued an
indictment against Usama Bin Laden alleging that he and others engaged
in a long-term conspiracy to attack U.S. facilities overseas and to
kill American citizens.


The indictment noted that Al Qaeda, Bin Laden's international
terrorist group, forged alliances with the National Islamic Front in
Sudan and with the government of Iran and with its associated group
Hezballah to "work together against their perceived common enemies in
the West, particularly the United States."


Additionally, the indictment states that Al Qaeda reached an agreement
with Iraq not to work against the regime of Saddam Hussein and that
they would work cooperatively with Iraq, particularly in weapons
development.


According to the indictment, Bin Laden's group also tried to recruit
Americans to travel through the United States and the West to deliver
messages and to conduct financial transactions to aid their terrorist
activities. The indictment also states that Al Qaeda used humanitarian
work as a conduit for transmitting funds to affiliate terrorist
groups.


The indictment also claims that Bin Laden's supporters purchased land
for terrorist training camps; bought warehouses where explosives were
stored; transferred bank accounts using various aliases; purchased
sophisticated telecommunications equipment; and transferred money and
weapons to Al Qaeda and affiliated terrorist organizations.


The indictment also states that beginning in 1993, Al Qaeda began
training Somali tribes to oppose the United Nation's humanitarian
effort in Somalia. In October, members of Al Qaeda participated in an
attack on U.S. military personnel where 18 soldiers were killed and 73
others wounded in Mogadishu. In another reference, the indictment
noted that an unnamed "co-conspirator" transported weapons and
explosives from Khartoum to Port Sudan for transshipment to the Saudi
Arabian peninsula.


The Grand Jury document, which usually does not provide a great amount
of details in advance of a prosecution, also stated that Bin Laden and
"others" tried to develop chemical weapons and attempted to obtain
nuclear weapons components in 1993.


The indictment noted that Bin Laden issued his Declaration of Jihad
with the aim of recruiting others to "kill Americans and encouraged
other persons to join the jihad against the American enemy."


Following is the text of the indictment:



(Begin text)



UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

- V-

USAMA BIN LADEN,

a/k/a "Usamah Bin-Muhammad Bin-Laden,"

a/k/a "Shaykh Usamah Bin-Laden,"

a/k/a "Mujahid Shaykh,"

a/k/a "Abu Abdallah,"

a/k/a "Qa Qa,"



Defendant



COUNT ONE



Conspiracy to Attack Defense Utilities of the United States



The Grand Jury charges:



Background: Al Qaeda

....

4. Al Qaeda also forged alliances with the National Islamic Front in
the Sudan and with the government of Iran and its associated terrorist
group Hezballah for the purpose of working together against their
perceived common enemies in the West, particularly the United States.
In addition, al Qaeda reached an understanding with the government of
Iraq that al Qaeda would not work against that government and that on
particular projects, specifically including weapons development, al
Qaeda would work cooperatively with the Government of Iraq.

[EmeraldLexuSC3]

Originally Posted by bluestar

There is a HUGE difference between the intel reports you refer to here and the one the Pentagon/WH used for the Iraq invasion. Maybe you have yet to actually open the link and read up on the specific facts of the IG's audit report on the Iraq War intel. Put succinctly, the Pentagon's OSP (Office of Special Plans) run by Doug Feith created much of the intel used by the WH to gin up the public support for the war. And where did Doug Fieth get his data from ? It was from culling bits and pieces of info that supported a pre-ordained Iraq invasion, while ignoring any info that led opposite to their policy intention.

Here's how the NYT Editorial described this "new" Intel the Bush govt used for war in Iraq.



http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/10/op...in&oref=slogin

I guess you can say that the war in Iraq was a "Feith-based initiative"

Of course they forget how many of the left's heroes were singing the words "Saddam and Osama" in the 90's and beyond. Short memory you suppose!?!
Well here's a little refresher:

We have solid reporting of senior-level contacts between Iraq and al-Qaida going back a decade.
- George Tenet 2002

there was that relationship that went from opposing each other to not opposing each other to possibly working with each other.
- Patrick Fitzgerald 2004

Certainly there's a connection between Iraq and al Qaeda
- General Wesley Clarke 2002

In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members ... It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons.
- Sen. Hillary Clinton 2002

I want to be real clear about the connection with terrorists. I've seen a lot of evidence on this. There are extensive contacts between Saddam Hussein's government and al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. I never could reach the conclusion that [Saddam] was part of September 11. Don't get me wrong about that. But there was so much smoke there that it made me worry. And you know, some people say with a great facility, al Qaeda and Saddam could never get together. He is secular and they're theological. But there's something that tied them together. It's their hatred of us.
- Sen. Joe Lieberman 2003

There is a mountain of evidence to prove that Saddam did indeed have contacts with al-Qaeda. Unfortunately for the left, none of it is "inappropriate".

The Democrats were absolutely convinced of that fact back when Clinton was in office.

Even Bill knew there was a connection when the indictment was issued against Osama.

But conveniently, everyone seems to have a memory loss. And the MSM continues to aid and abet that memory loss by ignoring their own past judgements.

And according to today's NYT's, there was never ANY intelligence to indicate Saddam and Osama were buddies. Nope....Nada...Nothing......

Apparently it's all a figment of our imagination.

[bluestar]

cpone:

The Grand Jury indictment of OBL is what it is - an indictment. No evidence had yet been offered in a US court to confirm all these accusations. Yet you use this libreally like its a FACT. OBL is our enemy... he created 9/11 attack on us, has gone hiding along with many of his lieutenants... We have epxended 100s of billions of dollars looking for him without success. He probably spent 100K to attack us, we have spent 100X that and counting... But rather than focus on him, we went after Saddam. At what cost.... Saddam may be gone, but his legacy lives on... Its now our problem, isn't it ? Cherry-picking intel like the Cheney/Rummy cabal did is just plain wrong. The PNAC plan worked to perfection, except that they failed to account for the Iraqis part in their plan. They figured it was a cake walk to Baghdad, eh ? It was going to take days to control the country, and all of $10 billion paid from Iraqi oil proceeds.... How ingenious !!!

Emerald:

What can I say ? You seem to be quoting a bunch of politicians... What do these quotes mean ? None of these politicians launched war against Iraq based on these assertions. And despite all these quotes, there were clear evidence that led away from these ones... Many of these politicians looked the other way in making these statements. So they were all wrong.... Just like Dr David Kay, former Head of ISG said to Congress.... "We were all wrong", he famously said. But it does not excuse the cherry-picked intel and the drum-beat to war the Bush/Cheney govt made to the world. The war is one thing, the incompetence in managing the war is another. This is the bane of this govt... even if you ignore the lies that took us to war. How about the sheer terrible management of the pre- and post occupation ???

Now that Iraq is in chaos.... Afghanistan is probably lost.... How can you cover up incompetence in waging and managing wars ? Start another war in another Middle Eastern country. Third-time lucky, eh ? Go long, Go Short, or Go Home....

[EmeraldLexuSC3]

Is there really any point in trying to argue with you and those who think the Bush administration "cooked up" pre-war intelligence?

Either one believes that the Bush administration, prior administrations, and pretty much every other intelligence agency in the world were involved in a massive conspiracy to falsify intelligence and remove Saddam Hussein or you don't.

Still, contrary to the impression left by the editorial in the NYT, the intelligence community as a whole believed, correctly, that there was a relationship between AQ and Iraq!

Grant you that there was a gross failure of intelligence, and not just in the U.S. but among intelligence agencies around the world.

And yet, the Democrats (with the help of their friends in the media) continually return to this BUSH LIED, PEOPLE DIED!!! meme which, conveniently, does seem to distract attention away from the fact the 95% of Democrats have no plan, no alternative, and nothing serious to add to the debate other than the tired old talking points.

[marshmallo]

Now there is a revelation. They lied and everyone else pays
the price...

[cpone]

The Grand Jury indictment of OBL is what it is - an indictment. No evidence had yet been offered in a US court to confirm all these accusations. Yet you use this libreally like its a FACT. OBL is our enemy... he created 9/11 attack on us, has gone hiding along with many of his lieutenants... We have epxended 100s of billions of dollars looking for him without success. He probably spent 100K to attack us, we have spent 100X that and counting... But rather than focus on him, we went after Saddam. At what cost.... Saddam may be gone, but his legacy lives on... Its now our problem, isn't it ? Cherry-picking intel like the Cheney/Rummy cabal did is just plain wrong. The PNAC plan worked to perfection, except that they failed to account for the Iraqis part in their plan. They figured it was a cake walk to Baghdad, eh ? It was going to take days to control the country, and all of $10 billion paid from Iraqi oil proceeds.... How ingenious !!!

LMFAO.... Was it not you that condemned Delay on an Indictment? LMFAO...

When things are presented for an indictment you need to have some proof man. The fact that you are even trying to are trying to placate this is lame.

The information on and iraq/obl link was there man even during the Clinton admin which is MY POINT. but you again side tracked completely. Its almost impossible to debate with you man.

sheesh.....

[bluestar]

Originally Posted by cpone

LMFAO.... Was it not you that condemned Delay on an Indictment? LMFAO...

When things are presented for an indictment you need to have some proof man. The fact that you are even trying to are trying to placate this is lame.

The information on and iraq/obl link was there man even during the Clinton admin which is MY POINT. but you again side tracked completely. Its almost impossible to debate with you man.

sheesh.....

I don't quite get your angst here... An indictment is a one-sided decision handed down by a grand jury. Yes, the Hammer Delay got indicted and resigned from Congress. He must be really crooked isn't he ? His seat in Sugarland was lost to the Dems... no thanks to his crooked ways...

But back to this intel you seem to tout around. Was Saddam Hussein's purported purchase of yellow cake an intel provided to Clinton ? Was Saddam Hussein's purported alliance with 9/11 hijackers an intel provided to Clinton ? But more importantly, let us review the real intel we all seem to have forgotten here:

On August 6th 2001, the President was presented with a CIA briefing on Al Qaeda's intent to attack inside the United States. What exactly did the President do about this warning ??? When the hijackers attacked, where was NORAD ??? Where were the defenses specifically setup for exactly that purpose - defence against an air attack against our major public or political centers ??? And even on 9/11, where was Bush, but maybe more importantly, where was Cheney ????

Intel that was presented on a platter of gold to Bush was totally ignored. He failed woefully to do his duty as President - defend this country against terrorists even with a sound warning from the CIA. So now you righties want to blame the same CIA for bad intel, eh ???? You can conveniently forget the "good" intel that was rejected or totally ignored... that led to the death of 3,000+ of our citizens, right here on our own soil....

Sorry, you gotta come up with better excuses than some 1998 intel that went nowhere...

[cpone]

"But back to this intel you seem to tout around. Was Saddam Hussein's purported purchase of yellow cake an intel provided to Clinton ?"

Read the indictment that ties SADDAM and his funds going to Organization in Al-Quaeda THAT WAS DURRING the Clinton admin.

On August 6th 2001, the President was presented with a CIA briefing on Al Qaeda's intent to attack inside the United States. What exactly did the President do about this warning ??? When the hijackers attacked, where was NORAD ??? Where were the defenses specifically setup for exactly that purpose - defence against an air attack against our major public or political centers ??? And even on 9/11, where was Bush, but maybe more importantly, where was Cheney ????

This has been talked over to death and if you can't get it then. You won't get it now.

Intel that was presented on a platter of gold to Bush was totally ignored.

LMFAO... And he acts on Intel from the previous admin on a GOLDEN PLATTER about Iraq and you Chastize him for it. LMFAO>...

You are unbelievable.

Had he NOT acted and Saddam Produced a weapon you would ***** about that too. LOL...

There is not reasonable ground with you blue. There really isnt.
I digress.
You win man. Everything is horrible. World Sucks. Clinton did EVERYTHING right. Bush has done EVERYTHING wrong. 9/11 was an inside job and Hillary is the answer for it all.

You got it