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| House probe clears administration of manipulating intelligence |
| 2004-02-12 |
| The House intelligence committee’s ongoing review of prewar intelligence has turned up no evidence that senior Bush administration officials distorted facts to strengthen the case for invading Iraq. Rep. Porter J. Goss, Florida Republican and chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, told reporters yesterday there is "absolutely no evidence that the intelligence was manipulated, distorted or in any way shaped or morphed to suit a preordained purpose." Mr. Goss’ committee is one of several panels conducting inquiries into the prewar intelligence, which the Bush administration used to back up assertions that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction and posed an immediate threat to the United States. Mr. Goss, speaking with reporters at the Capitol said "the most pressing question" raised by House Republicans has been why prewar intelligence regarding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq "wasn’t more on the mark. The answer, I think, probably is because we didn’t have enough dots on the table for the analysts to draw a clear enough picture for our policy-makers." During the mid-1990s, he said, the United States was focused on domestic issues and the link between the intelligence community and the White House was considerably less than it has been since September 11. "No only did we not invest in intelligence, we willfully disinvested in intelligence," Mr. Goss said. "We cut back the number of capabilities that we had on a global basis very dramatically." Mr. Goss, a former CIA case officer, said intelligence agents "have to do business with some very distasteful people." "You have to get next to them to get information," he said, adding that without people who have close access to the plans and intentions of the troublemakers "the chances of stopping something like a 9/11 are very difficult." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #2 not to waste band width or anything - but, for Fred's sake I'll post this challenge here too... I'd like to note that my $20 bet is still open (proceeds to Fred's tip jar). if anyone locates a quote from a senior administration official stating we have not found WMD's in Iraq. I pointed out yesterday that in these exchanges with Powell, there are no quotes even though the reporters worked hard on the copy to make it appear that the are. Same with the GW interview. $20 on the line for anyone who can give me a quote from the likes of GW, Powell, Rumsfeld, Cheny, Franks, etc ( must be serious source, in a position to know - ie: Scott Ritter and partisan hacks don't count. I'll be the judge of that, but I'm reasonable.). |
| Posted by: B 2004-2-12 7:29:10 AM |
| #1 You knew they would. Here's the left's spin on the same story from AP. GOP says Iraq intelligence failure caused by Clinton budget cuts . That's their straw man to be knocked down. Nothing in the article about no evidence that senior Bush administration officials distorted facts to strengthen the case for invading Iraq. |
| Posted by: GK 2004-2-12 6:43:22 AM |