Lies of Joe Wilson, Part V: Senior CIA Analyst Corrects the Record

CIA Press Release ^ | November 28, 2003 | Stu Cohen

[Enchante]

"The only government in the world that claimed that Iraq was not working on, and did not have, biological and chemical weapons or prohibited missile systems was in Baghdad."

Joe Wilson and his pals have done a tremendous disservice to every aspect of the public understanding of intelligence agencies, WMDs, and the Iraq war. I would hope that Valerie Plame is ashamed to show her face anywhere in the CIA, maybe that's why she took a year off, because any of her colleagues who are not themselves left-wing moonbats should thoroughly despise her and Joe. By hijacking the national debate to make it all about the "16 words" and Niger uranium, Wilson and the MSM have sapped all energy and focus from all of the real, serious issues of WMD proliferation. Far from contributing anything to understanding, Wilson is like a giant squid squirting black ink everywhere he goes.

[AZ_Cowboy]

Bump and ping, respectively.

[okie01]

Joe Wilson and his pals have done a tremendous disservice to every aspect of the public understanding of intelligence agencies, WMDs, and the Iraq war. I would hope that Valerie Plame is ashamed to show her face anywhere in the CIA, maybe that's why she took a year off, because any of her colleagues who are not themselves left-wing moonbats should thoroughly despise her and Joe. By hijacking the national debate to make it all about the "16 words" and Niger uranium...

One would think that Plame played a role, perhaps a major role, in the preparation of this particular NIE. At the very least, she would have been familiar with the consensus that Saddam had WMD.

As nuffsenuff pointed out on another thread, it's probable that Miss Valerie shared her knowledge about Iraqi WMD with husband Joe. Certainly, from October, 2002 thru February, 2003, Wilson was an outspoken proponent of Saddam's store of WMD.

Then, in a fit of partisan opportunism, this pair of "public servants" ignored any and every responsibility they had regarding national security...and began vigorously promoting a lie.

Traitorous? Yes, but not treason. Criminal? Perhaps, but prosecution is unlikely. Despicable? Oh, yes, definitely! Joe and Valerie are nothing more than liars and ingrates. A pair of certified losers. Yet, the MSM treats them like royalty...

[okie01]

A thorough discussion of the NIE applicable to Iraqi WMD is here.

I wonder if Miss Valerie had a hand in its preparation...

[Cautor]

"I would hope that Valerie Plame is ashamed to show her face anywhere in the CIA, maybe that's why she took a year off, because any of her colleagues who are not themselves left-wing moonbats should thoroughly despise her and Joe"

Well said! Well said indeed. I think the term "left-wing moonbats" fits the Wilson pair exactly. It's clear they've long been liberal Democrats (ref. support of Gore, Kerry, and American Coming Together), but when the Dems held sway, they supported the WMD theory. Only when Wilson came under the charm of Kerry did it seem he performed a triple double back flip on this. And the NY Slimes and the rest of the MSM fawned all over him, egging him on. As you say, I think they will both regret their perfidy for a long time to come.

[Bernard Marx]

Bookmark

[Sam Hill]

Thanks for posting this. I've never seen it before. You'd think it would have been posted all over the place, since the MSM is so interested in this burning issue. (I kid.)

As you know better tnan most, Wilson and Larry Johnson and Ray McGovern and those of that stripe, were working together to get out their propaganda very early on in the game.

A cabal of anti-American, anti-Semitic Democracy Now! creeps have driven the MSM's reports on this for more than two years.

This is Larry Burnett/Mapes/Rather to the Nth degree. They have succeeded where the Killian Memo failed. (And as you also know, these same clowns were supposed to appear on 60 Minutes but got bumped for the bogus TANG memo story.)

[Cautor]

"This is Larry Burnett/Mapes/Rather to the Nth degree. They have succeeded where the Killian Memo failed. (And as you also know, these same clowns were supposed to appear on 60 Minutes but got bumped for the bogus TANG memo story.)"

Same, absolutely correct. They have succeeded for now with the help of the MSM, but I hope that the real facts will eventually come out as a result of the grand jury proceedings. In the mean time, I'm not holding my breath.

[nuffsenuff]

Holy Ridiculously Under-Reported by the MSM Goldmine, Batman!

More than ever I am convinced that Plame and her Husband took classified information on the inherent "doubts" of any intelligence estimate and used it to try to curry favor with the Dems.

And once again I reiterate that this is EXACTLY the strategy the memo written by someone on Rockefeller's staff outlined.

[nuffsenuff]

Do any of you have that memo bookmarked?

The one from Rockefeller's staff that a Republican "stole" off of a shared server?

It needs to be in this thread so we can compare the Dem's strategy vs the official CIA explanation.

[Sam Hill]

In case there is any doubt about the coordination, and who is doing it, notice the dates mentioned in this piece:

The Insiders Are Coming Out
By William Rivers Pitt
t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Tuesday 08 July 2003

On June 26 [2003], I conducted an interview with 27-year CIA veteran Ray McGovern...

One key question McGovern answered dealt with the rapidly expanding scandal surrounding Bush administration tampering with evidence of Iraqi weapons...

McGovern made a prescient prediction:

"To the degree that esprit de corps exists, and I know it does among the folks we talk to, there is great, great turmoil there. In the coming weeks, we're going to be seeing folks coming out and coming forth with what they know, and it is going to be very embarrassing for the Bush administration."

A New York Times article from Sunday July 6 quoted former US ambassador Joseph Wilson as saying...

t r u t h o u t - William Rivers Pitt | The Insiders Are Coming Out
http://truthout.org/docs_03/070803A.shtml
 

Ray McGovern (the head of VIPS and Ellsberg's partner with his group) had met with Wilson just a couple of days before June 26. (I think they appeared together on June 23rd, and maybe even before that.)

McGovern knew that this was coming from Wilson. (The next line in the article after McGovern's prediction is about Wilson.)

There is little room to doubt that McGovern helped Wilson coordinate his campaign of lies. He may have even given him some of his ideas--such as the forged documents line, since Wilson could not have seen them in actuality.

[Sam Hill]

Democrats Subvert War Intelligence (Remember "The Treason Memo"?)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1453971/posts

[Sam Hill]

 

2003 Iraq Forum Online June 14, 2003 Washington, DC Iraq Forum Home Program Schedule | Program Report (PDF: 173K) 2002 Iraq Forum Online

The Iraq Forum online is packed with a list of presenters, their photos, brief biographies and links to their audio presentations at EPIC's 2003 Iraq Forum. In some cases, you will find links to written transcripts and visual slide presentations. You can listen to the entire 2003 Iraq Forum including presenters and discussion by clicking here. EPIC hopes this event will continue to stimulate learning and discussion throughout the year and with it, a better situation for Iraqis and U.S.-Iraq relations.

 

 

Evening Public Lecture: A State of the Movement Address
EVENING KEYNOTE LECTURE

Ray McGovern was a CIA analyst for 27 years and is on the Steering Group of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity. He is co-director of the Servant Leadership School, an outreach ministry in inner city Washington D.C. Hear Ray McGovern now.Or download and listen.

Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, IV served as a member of the U.S. Diplomatic Service from 1976 until 1998. From 1988 to 1991, Ambassador Wilson served in Baghdad as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy. As acting Ambassador during "Desert Shield," he was responsible for the negotiations that resulted in the release of several hundred American hostages. He was the last official American to meet with Saddam Hussein before the launching of "Desert Storm." Ambassador Wilson graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1972. He has been decorated as a Commander in the Order of the Equatorial Star by the Government of Gabon and as an Admiral in the El Paso Navy by the El Paso County Commissioners. He is married to the former Valerie Plame and has four children. Hear Ambassador Joe Wilson now.Or download and listen.

This is from a cached page on Google, which is why there are so many highlights.

http://tinyurl.com/dpg7l

[nuffsenuff]

So this memo was written before November 6th, 2003...

What are the chances that all this was going on around the same time frame and it wasn't coordinated?

[Sam Hill]

I've never seen anything to definitively peg when it was written. I seem to recall that there are some things in the context which narrow down the time frame.

[nuffsenuff]

The article states that Fox broke it on November 6th.

I couldn't have been written long before that.

[Albertafriend]

Re: #13: Please note date- June 14, 2003 -- one month before Novak's article.

Note also bio on Wilson -- "He is married to the former Valerie Plame."

When was this put on the web?

[Shermy]

Myth #11: Joe Wilson, etc. etc. thought Iraq had no WMDs.

[cwb]

"And the NY Slimes and the rest of the MSM fawned all over him, egging him on. As you say, I think they will both regret their perfidy for a long time to come."

---

Let's also remember the NY Times role in perpetuating the WMD story. Besides Judith Miller, there was an entire team of reporters detailing this story. The story below appeared just days after Bush's Inauguration...and if you read between the lines, they are challenging Bush to do something about this threat.

One of the worst hypocrises that should be noted is that Carnegie was one of the groups that had the nerve to later come out with another report claiming Bush exaggerated the WMD threat:

Carnegie - Jan. 22, 2001]
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace [left-wing think tank], NY Times, William Cohen| Jan. 22, 2001
Posted on 06/06/2003 6:20:51 PM EDT by Ragtime Cowgirl
 
Iraq Resumes WMD Activities, New York Times Reports Monday, January 22, 2001
Press reports that Iraq has rebuilt chemical and biological weapons plants bombed by the United States in late 1998 present newly-inaugurated President George W. Bush with a serious non-proliferation challenge. A New York Times report that Iraq has rebuilt chemical and biological weapons-capable plants at Falluja demonstrates the continued threat posed to regional stability by Saddam Hussein.

A recently released Department of Defense report "Proliferation: Threat and Response: 2001" stated that Iraq "may have begun program reconstitution" of its chemical and biological weapons capabilities. The news story focuses on alleged development of these weapons at Falluja, an industrial complex west of Baghdad, and specifically mentions production of chlorine and ricin.

Chlorine is a dual-use chemical that, if weaponized, is a choking agent that destroys lung tissue. Ricin is a protein toxin produced from castor beans (ricin constitutes approximately 5% of the waste from castor oil production) that causes a variety of symptoms culminating in circulatory and respiratory failure in victims.

The reports and allegations highlight the fact that Iraq continues to block U.N. inspections of its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs, as required by the Gulf War cease-fire. Created by the U.N. Security Council in the aftermath of Iraq's defeat, the U.N. Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM) inspected and dismantled much of Iraq's infrastructure for building WMD. However, its activities took place against a background of increasing Iraqi hostility towards the inspections that culminated with UNSCOM being kicked out of Iraq in December 1998.

In December 1999 the Security Council voted to establish a new U.N. presence in Iraq, the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC). By September 2000 UNMOVIC, led by former International Atomic Energy Agency Director Hans Blix, was assembled and prepared to begin inspections.

Iraq continues to prevent any inspectors from entering the country, and insists that it has disarmed to the extent called for by U.N. resolutions. With the will of the Security Council to continue sanctions and inspections wavering, UNMOVIC remains in limbo.

In his inaugural address, Bush pledged to do more to confront the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction.
Bush's foreign policy advisors have stated both publicly and privately that they wish to shore up flagging international support for economic sanctions on Iraq. Even as the Bush administration forms its Iraq policy, U.S. and British fighters remain on patrol in the no-fly zone, periodically drawing the fire of Iraqi air defense installations as the battle of wills between Washington and Baghdad continues.

~~~

Iraq Rebuilt Weapons Factories, Officials Say 
Source: New York Times
Published: 1/22/01
 
By STEVEN LEE MYERS and ERIC SCHMITT
ASHINGTON, Jan. 21 — Iraq has rebuilt a series of factories that the United States has long suspected of producing chemical and biological weapons, according to senior government officials. The new intelligence estimate could confront President Bush with an early test of his pledge to take a tougher stance against President Saddam Hussein than the Clinton administration did.

The factories — in an industrial complex in Falluja, west of Baghdad — include two that were bombed and badly damaged by American and British air raids in December 1998 to punish Mr. Hussein for his refusal to cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors, the government officials said.

The new intelligence estimates were mentioned, but without any such specific details, in a report on weapons threats released on Jan. 10 by the outgoing secretary of defense, William S. Cohen. It warned that Iraq had rebuilt at least its weapons infrastructure and may have begun covertly producing some chemical or biological agents. Last week, the officials provided details on what they said was the reconstruction of the two factories, and the resumption of the production of chlorine at a third in the same complex.

The factories have ostensibly commercial purposes, but all three were previously involved in producing chemical or biological agents and were among those closely monitored by the United Nations inspectors, the officials said. One of the rebuilt factories, for example, is making castor oil used in brake fluid, the Iraqis say, but the mash from castor beans contains a deadly biological toxin called ricin, the officials said.

~~~~

While officials have previously disclosed that Iraq had rebuilt missile plants destroyed in the 1998 strikes, the Jan. 10 report released by Mr. Cohen was the first public acknowledgment of the resumption of work at suspected chemical and biological plants.

"Some of Iraq's facilities could be converted fairly quickly to production of chemical weapons," the report said at one point. It went on to warn, "Iraq retains the expertise, once a decision is made, to resume chemical agent production within a few weeks or months, depending on the type of agent."

[Enchante]

It becomes obvious that this "Iraq Forum Online" is not some impartial and objective group but rather a far-left activist group, co-sponsored by "Voices in the Wilderness" and other far-left groups which worked hard to try to end sanctions long before the 2003 Iraq War. Thus, Joe Wilson was pals with the far-left 'movement' to undermine US policy and end sanctions (thus ending all economic containment of Saddam's WMD efforts) before he ever emerged as the public face of the "Niger uranium" issue.

A review of both the 2002 and 2003 programs of this group shows that it considers itself the 'movement' (activist, not academic) to first end sanctions and now end the US 'occupation'..... thus undermining Wilson's pretence that he was coming forth against the Bush administration as some dispassionate objective professional.... the previous year's (2002) event characterized the group as part of the "anti-sanctions movement" and it is led by a leader and co-founder of "Voices in the Wilderness"--

http://vitw.org/who_we_are/

And let's not forget that the previous (2002) "Iraq Forum Online" featured none other than the infamous Scott Ritter who was far into moonbat-land by that time.... and look at the list of far-left sponsoring groups -- and the fact that the 2003 "Evening Public Lecture: A State of the Movement Address"

Evening Public Lecture: A State of the Movement Address PEACE in IRAQ: VISION and CRITIQUE of the US ANTI-SANCTIONS MOVEMENT
Kathy Kelly, Co-Founder, Voices in the Wilderness Hear Kathy Kelly now. (23:06 min)

Ilham Heather Al-Sarraf, Ph.D., Iraq Civil Action Network Hear Ilham Al-Sarraf now. (21:00 min)
Scott Ritter, Retired Marine Captain, former UNSCOM Chief Weapons Inspector

Hear Scott Ritter now. (21:55 min)

Listen to the discussion. (25:56 min)
Listen to the Closing Remarks. (7:12 min)

Co-sponsoring Organizations: Arab American Institute, American Friends Service Committee, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Focus on American and Arab Interests and Relations (FAAIR), Friends Committee for National Legislation, American-Arab Anti-Descrimination Committee, American Muslims for Global Peace and Justice, Church of the Brethren Washington Office, Mennonite Central Committee USA-Washington Office, Muslim American Society, NETWORK, Pax Christi, Peace Action, Veterans for Peace, Voices in the Wilderness, and Women's Action for New Directions. For a chronological view of the 2002 Iraq Forum, with additional talks and speakers including Scott Ritter, Louis Fisher and Kathy Kelly, see the Iraq Forum Schedule.