Posted on 11/06/2003 9:30:07 AM PST by PJ-Comix
An opportunity to avoid war lost by the Bush administration or an opportunity taken advantage of by ABC News to push its anti-war agenda? ABC led Wednesday night with “an ABC News investigation” of what Peter Jennings characterized as “what appears to be an opportunity lost” to work with “a man who was in the process of trying to broker a deal that might have avoided war with Iraq.”
Brian Ross proceeded to recount how in the weeks before the war a Lebanese businessman forwarded an offer from Saddam Hussein’s intelligence chief to allow U.S. agents to travel freely around Iraq to confirm Iraq’s disarmament and to turn over an al-Qaeda terrorist living in Iraq. The offer never made it as high as the Deputy Secretary level, and, in a point skipped by ABC’s very vague story, did not include Hussein’s removal from power. But Ross mocked Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s claim that there was no way to avoid war: “Ten days later the war began as U.S. officials said there was no other option.”
After Kate Snow relayed how the White House and Pentagon said Hussein had 12 years to comply with UN resolutions and didn’t need to use “questionable channels,” Ross retorted: “Well, Peter, it still leaves unanswered questions now being raised in Congress of whether the U.S. did push hard enough to avoid war.”
With the words “Peace Opportunity” on screen, Jennings teased: “On World News Tonight, an ABC exclusive: The man who says he could have made a deal to avoid war with Iraq. In the back channels, at the highest level.”
Jennings opened the November 5 broadcast: “We begin tonight with an ABC News investigation of what appears to be an opportunity lost. This is about a man who was in the process of trying to broker a deal that might have avoided war with Iraq. He was the middle man between Saddam Hussein's chief of intelligence and senior advisers to the Pentagon, including the man sometimes called 'the architect of the war' who has confirmed the story. The invasion of Iraq is history now, but this report from ABC's Brian Ross fills in the details of the debate that continues.”
Ross recounted how Imad Hage, a “prominent Lebanese-American businessman,” said he secretly met with Iraqi intelligence officials just days after Secretary of State Colin Powell laid out the U.S. case for war at the United Nations in February. Hage told ABC that he was approached by an Iraqi intelligence official six weeks before the war.
Hage insisted: "Based on my meeting with this man...I think an effort was there to avert war.”
Ross explained that a week later, in mid-February, Hage went to Baghdad to meet with Hussein's intelligence chief, General Tahir Haboush, who would later be labeled the Jack of Diamonds in the deck of cards depicting the most-wanted members of Saddam Hussein's regime. Ross noted that he’s still at large.
On February 20 Hage sent the offer, to allow for Iraq’s disarmament to be confirmed by U.S. agents on the ground, to the Pentagon. Hage said he also offered to turn over a top al-Qaeda terrorist, Abdul Rahman Yasin, whom Haboush said had been in Iraqi custody since 1994.
Then in March, Ross maintained, Hage met in Britain with Richard Perle, a member of the Defense Policy Board, a meeting Perle confirmed did occur. Perle told ABC that the CIA advised him to not pursue the matter and the process ended with only a deputy to Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz having heard about it.
Ross noted: “Ten days later the war began as U.S. officials said there was no other option.”
Rumsfeld, March 20: "The American people can take comfort in knowing that their country has done everything humanly possible to avoid war and to secure Iraq's peaceful disarmament."
Jennings then went to Kate Snow at the White House who passed along how Bush officials pointed out that Hussein had many chances over 12 years to avoid war. She also read this statement from the Pentagon: "Iraq and Saddam had ample opportunity through highly credible sources over a period of several years to take serious action to avoid war and had the means to use highly credible channels to do that -- nobody needed to use questionable channels to convey messages."
But that wasn’t good enough for Ross. Jennings prompted him: “A final thought from you, Brian?” Ross shot back: “Well, Peter, it still leaves unanswered questions now being raised in Congress of whether the U.S. did push hard enough to avoid war.”
ABC News.com has posted a rundown of its supposed scoop. While it is vague, it’s a lot more detailed than what aired. For the article, “Thwarted Talks: Did the U.S. miss a chance to avoid war with Iraq?”, see: abcnews.go.com
Hey Petah! My aunt Mollie told me that a high level Iraqi told her that Saddam was willing to surrender peacefully before the war broke out. You wanna run a story about that?
They ID MEET with the intermediaries. That's not being reported by ABC.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3245407.stm
Click here: From the BBC....Here
Meanwhile, it is reported in America that the influential Pentagon advisor Richard Perle was contacted by an intermediary representing the Iraqis in the days before the war.
The New York Times says the contacts could have been an attempt to get a message from Saddam Hussein relayed to Washington.
Among the information that the Iraqis appeared to want to provide was that they had no weapons of mass destruction.
The New York Times says Mr Perle met an intermediary - a Lebanese businessman - but nothing came of the contacts.
Are you really serious? Im very disheartened, and here it is in the afternoon and none of the local news even mentioned it. I have made calls, faxes and emails, what have you done? Besides flame me, I mean.
He also claimed to have received a surrender/peace offer fom Iraqi officials after the war that came to nothing.
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