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Bush wants to release the Saddam files but his intelligence chief stalls
THE WEEKLY STANDARD ^ | 03/20/2006 | Stephen F. Hayes

Posted on 03/11/2006 9:22:21 AM PST by kimosabe31

On February 16, President George W. Bush assembled a small group of congressional Republicans for a briefing on Iraq. Vice President Dick Cheney and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley were there, and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad participated via teleconference from Baghdad. As the meeting was beginning, Mike Pence spoke up. The Indiana Republican, a leader of conservatives in the House, was seated next to Bush."Yesterday, Mr. President, the war had its best night on the network news since the war ended," Pence said."Is this the tapes thing?" Bush asked, referring to two ABC News reports that included excerpts of recordings Saddam Hussein made of meetings with his war cabinet in the years before the U.S. invasion. Bush had not seen the newscasts but had been briefed on them.

Pence framed his response as a question, quoting Abraham Lincoln: "One of your Republican predecessors said, 'Give the people the facts and the Republic will be saved.' There are 3,000 hours of Saddam tapes and millions of pages of other documents that we captured after the war. When will the American public get to see this information?

"Bush replied that he wanted the documents released. He turned to Hadley and asked for an update. Hadley explained that John Negroponte, Bush's Director of National Intelligence, "owns the documents" and that DNI lawyers were deciding how they might be handled.

Bush extended his arms in exasperation and worried aloud that people who see the documents in 10 years will wonder why they weren't released sooner. "If I knew then what I know now," Bush said in the voice of a war skeptic, "I would have been more supportive of the war.

"Bush told Hadley to expedite the release of the Iraq documents. "This stuff ought to be out. Put this stuff out."

(Excerpt) Read more at weeklystandard.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 109th; bush; intelligencesummit; iraq; iraqdocs; negroponte; pence; prewardocs; saddam; saddamtapes; saddamtapesdocs; stephenhayes; wmd
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To: Echo Talon

They all reside under the same roof....United Nations. That is the hive.


41 posted on 03/11/2006 10:28:49 AM PST by processing please hold (Be careful of charity and kindness, lest you do more harm with open hands than with a clinched fist)
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To: Peach

What threads are you on???

I would like to join...


42 posted on 03/11/2006 10:30:09 AM PST by Txsleuth (Bush-Bot;WaterBucket Brigader;and fan of defconw)
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To: pbrown

I think the tapes would make Russia look the worst. Thats just my opinion from what I have heard so far from the tapes.


43 posted on 03/11/2006 10:30:52 AM PST by Echo Talon
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To: pbrown

I agree with you...this all points to the fact that Negroponte was the Ambassador to the UN for TOO long!!


44 posted on 03/11/2006 10:31:09 AM PST by Txsleuth (Bush-Bot;WaterBucket Brigader;and fan of defconw)
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To: Txsleuth

Oh, a bunch of them.

Later today I'm going to try and start a vanity thread and put it in activism.

It's time we stop fighting among ourselves and become activists again. It's probably a losing proposition, but...

This has been posted at least 3 times today and I've joined each thread. Not much feedback though. LOL


45 posted on 03/11/2006 10:33:39 AM PST by Peach
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To: Txsleuth

Yes. Have you heard if Norm Coleman has said anything about these tapes? I searched my bookmarks and didn't find anything about this subject in particular. I'll look again, I usually bookmark things concerning the OFF program.


46 posted on 03/11/2006 10:36:46 AM PST by processing please hold (Be careful of charity and kindness, lest you do more harm with open hands than with a clinched fist)
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To: InterceptPoint
The problem here is that the review process for a scenario where the information is fully vetted before release would take years. I think in this case it will finally dawn on them that the war effort itself will be helped much more by the public review of the tapes than by exploiting their intelligence value.

It's time for Rove to intervene and talk some sense into the dodo birds at CIA.

I believe it was DoD assets that found this stuff, they would be the ones to declassify it.

Normally there are only a few reasons why something is classified. One, it will reveal intelligence sources and methods, or will reveal what we know about the other side(s) that they might not know we know. The other main reason is that it would reveal capabilities or vulnerabilities of our side. Everybody knows we have the stuff and how we got it, so those reasons are out. Clearly it also would not reveal anything out the capabilities of our own equipment.

It should never have been classified in the first place, assuming it even is, rather than just not being released to the public. Now analysis of it is another issue, but the documents themselves should be posted somewhere for everyone to see and draw their own conclusions.(Of course translation would be required, since likely they are in the Arabic of Iraq)

47 posted on 03/11/2006 10:38:48 AM PST by El Gato
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To: Echo Talon
I think the tapes would make Russia look the worst.

The same Russia that's helping Iran with their nuclear plans, yet, Negroponte doesn't want to 'EMBARRASS' them.

48 posted on 03/11/2006 10:39:28 AM PST by processing please hold (Be careful of charity and kindness, lest you do more harm with open hands than with a clinched fist)
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To: kimosabe31

What allies besides the Brits and Aussies do we really have?


49 posted on 03/11/2006 10:40:22 AM PST by texasmountainman (proud father of a U.S. Marine)
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To: texasmountainman

Poland, and there are others.


50 posted on 03/11/2006 10:41:39 AM PST by processing please hold (Be careful of charity and kindness, lest you do more harm with open hands than with a clinched fist)
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To: kimosabe31
If Bush really wants it released he has the power to just release it.
He has the command authority to declassify anything with the stroke of a pen.

So9

51 posted on 03/11/2006 10:44:46 AM PST by Servant of the 9 (" I am just going outside, and may be some time.")
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To: FBD
It's probably all about diplomacy.
They don't want to embarrass some of our erstwhile allies in the WOT.
I guess we need these same allies to deal with Iran.
My guess is it's Russia we are protecting from embarrassment so that they'll cooperate on Iran

52 posted on 03/11/2006 10:48:10 AM PST by NeoCaveman (The shark has been jumped)
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To: Peach

I agree with you....if all of the energy used to fight with each other the last few weeks was used to contact our Congressweinies...we could have accomplished much more.

BUT, sometimes this forum is a good place for people to vent..but, it shouldn't be towards other freepers.

I hope your thread will allow some venting..there are a lot of things that freepers might need to vent about...and it would hit a chord with others, and then we can use that to plan our "attacks" on the people that DO affect our lives every day.

You are a beacon here at FR...keep on shining, Peach!


53 posted on 03/11/2006 10:52:12 AM PST by Txsleuth (Bush-Bot;WaterBucket Brigader;and fan of defconw)
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To: pbrown

Not off hand...I would think he would be interested...

You might go to the Weekend Preview thread...there are a LOT of freepers that have a boatload of links on that thread..

Maybe if you asked there...someone will have it.

I will ping you...


54 posted on 03/11/2006 10:53:53 AM PST by Txsleuth (Bush-Bot;WaterBucket Brigader;and fan of defconw)
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To: Txsleuth

Thanks, Txsleuth. I'm remember that Freepers were honored by the House Impeachment managers for their role in the impeachment proceedings. Freepers drove the agenda on that one and really provided a lot of support to the Impeachment Managers. The party was shown on C-Span.

I'd love to see us get back to research and activism; it's what we do best.


55 posted on 03/11/2006 10:53:58 AM PST by Peach
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To: Txsleuth

remember s/b remembering :-)


56 posted on 03/11/2006 10:54:13 AM PST by Peach
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To: All; GailA
For those of you that do not have it. In 2003, this was a master list on the oil for food program.

Too many FReepers put this list together for me to name individually.

Oil for food master list

57 posted on 03/11/2006 10:54:39 AM PST by processing please hold (Be careful of charity and kindness, lest you do more harm with open hands than with a clinched fist)
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To: kimosabe31
Bush wants to release the Saddam files but his intelligence chief stalls!

His intel chief is not president, GET IT??

58 posted on 03/11/2006 10:55:18 AM PST by VOYAGER
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To: Txsleuth

Thanks, I'll be waiting.


59 posted on 03/11/2006 10:55:26 AM PST by processing please hold (Be careful of charity and kindness, lest you do more harm with open hands than with a clinched fist)
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To: pbrown

You can bet your bottom dollar that the 'allies' that Negroponte doesn't want released...will be in there. That thread is covered with links.


60 posted on 03/11/2006 10:58:21 AM PST by processing please hold (Be careful of charity and kindness, lest you do more harm with open hands than with a clinched fist)
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