Posted on 02/10/2006 12:48:28 PM PST by Bigoleelephant
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration deliberately misused or ignored intelligence analysis in the buildup of the 2003 invasion into Iraq, according to a former top intelligence official.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
From American Thinker:
"Walter Pincus leads off with yet another story from an Ex-CIA official whining about the Administration not taking the professionals’ sage advice. This time, the whiner is Paul R.Pillar:
“The former CIA official who coordinated U.S. intelligence on the Middle East until last year has accused the Bush administration of ‘cherry-picking’ intelligence on Iraq to justify a decision it had already reached to go to war, and of ignoring warnings that the country could easily fall into violence and chaos after an invasion to overthrow Saddam Hussein.”
Pillar was the top analyst at the CounterTerrorismCenter for most of the 1990s. In April 2001, he published a book, Terrorism and U.S. Foreign Policy (published by the Brookings Institution). In this book he argued that weapons of mass destruction were less likely to pose a threat than more conventional threats, that terrorism would not ever go away, and that we should work instead to contain it.
He opposed tough approaches to terrorism as too simplistic, arguing for international cooperation and diplomacy. He obviously would be a man more comfortable with John Kerry or any other Democrat in the White House than he would be with the President America twice elected.
Pillar has long been a front line warrior in the CIA’s war on President Bush.
As to his “cherrypicking” charge, just in case you forgot, Pillar’s boss,the head of the CIA, told the President the WMD issue was a “slam dunk”. And the only question I recall which elicited that assurance was “Are you sure?”
In any event, this latest Pincus offering, reminds me of another ex-CIA official, Larry Johnson, who in July, 2001 said terrorism wasn’t a big threat in an op ed in the New York Times just before terrorists attacked us. And then made a splash again claiming Valerie Plame had been “outed” in retaliation and her career ruined—-claims as solid as his assertion that terrorism posed no threat to the U.S."
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1575978/posts
Not this Sh*t again.
There go those "former administration officials" again.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
Paul Pillar's boss disagreed two and a half years ago:
"The judgments presented in the October 2002 NIE were based on data acquired and analyzed over 15 years. Our judgments were presented to three different administrations and routinely to six congressional committees. And the principal participants in the production of the NIE from across the entire U.S. intelligence community have sworn to Congress, under oath, that they were not pressured to change their views or to conform to administration positions."
http://www.cia.gov/nic/articles_wp_iraq_wmd.htm
That's why I post here, for this kind of information. Thanks.
The CYA nee CIA....
We know there where Clinton admins who did not like what Clinton did or did not do ... why wasn't there much press about that? (Ok, I know the answer.) In addition where are these Clinton people now .... dead, disgraced or committed, maybe ....
Beat me to it...LOL
Sorry, misspoke: the Vice Chairman of the NIC was not really his BOSS - more of a superior.
Pickin' cherries is not that easy.
"The Bush administration deviated from the professional standard not only in using policy to drive intelligence, but also in aggressively using intelligence to win public support for its decision to go to war,"
"Aggressively" what's that other than a Dem talking point? This guy is spinning memes like crazy. Sign him up for the lecture circuit.
When should "intelligence" not be used to win public support?
They were certainly asleep at the wheel during the 90's. How does he justify that?
How come all of these guys are TOP officials? Don't any of the flunkies have anything to say?
These ex-officials are nothing more than disgruntled ex CIA employees. They were nothing more than bodies holding down a slot and doing nothing. In addition, they were anti-Republican administration because they knew they would be outed and ousted. Phooey on them!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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