Iraq war source's name revealed ( CurveBall named)

BBC ^ | Friday, 2 November 2007, 18:17 GMT | BBC Staff

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Iraq war source's name revealed

The US cited Mr Alwan's bio-weapon claims in its war argument

A US TV network has revealed the name of "Curveball" - an Iraqi man whose information was central to the US government's argument to invade Iraq.

The CBS show 60 Minutes identifies him as Iraqi defector Rafid Ahmed Alwan.

The programme says he arrived in a German refugee centre in 1999 where he lied to win asylum and was not the chemical expert he said he was.

His claims of mobile bio-weapons labs in Saddam Hussein's Iraq were backed until well after the 2003 invasion.

'Playing the system'

The CBS 60 Minutes programme airs on Sunday but material released on its web site says Curveball was "not only a liar, but also a thief and a poor student instead of the chemical engineering whiz he claimed to be".

It was a guy trying to get his green card essentially, in Germany, and playing the system for what it was worth Tyler Drumheller, former CIA official quoted by CBS

It also says it assumes Mr Alwan is now living in Germany under a different name.

The programme says he claimed to be a star chemical engineer at a plant that made mobile biological weapons in Djerf al-Nadaf.

However, its investigation showed he received only low marks in chemical engineering at university and was the subject of an arrest warrant for alleged theft from a TV production company he worked for in Baghdad.

The programme also includes footage of his wedding in 1993 in the Iraqi capital.

It quotes former CIA senior official Tyler Drumheller as saying: "It was a guy trying to get his green card essentially, in Germany, and playing the system for what it was worth."

German intelligence agents warned the US in a letter that there was no way to verify Mr Alwan's claims.

Colin Powell used the information in a speech to the UN

However, his information was used in a speech by then Secretary of State Colin Powell at the UN to back military action in Iraq.

The 60 Minutes report says the information was passed on by then CIA director George Tenet, who denies ever seeing the German intelligence letter.

The programme says Mr Alwan's story unravelled once CIA agents finally confronted him with evidence contradicting his claims.

Back in November 2005, Col Lawrence Wilkerson, the chief of staff to Mr Powell, told the BBC's Carolyn Quinn he was aware the Germans had said that they had told the CIA of the unreliability.

"And then you begin to speculate, you begin to wonder was this intelligence spun; was it politicised; was it cherry-picked; did in fact the American people get fooled?," Col Wilkerson said.

A presidential intelligence commission into the matter found that Curveball was a liar and an alcoholic.

[lonestar67]

I think Curveball is less of a liar than Mr. hardball.

[SteveMcKing]

So the BBC is judging alcoholics now. How convenient for them!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

So we have three (Reliable.../s) sources here.... CIA, 60 minutes and Powell’s sidekick Wilkerson.....

[stevem]

In the long run, I doubt anyone will ever really know the entire dynamic at work here. I seriously doubt I would ever look to "60 Minutes" for a definitive source.

Whatever the reason, it says right here that history will show it as a prescient invasion. The Battle of Iraq became a focal point in the terror war. Terrorists from every corner of the world flocked to Iraq as moths are are attracted to flames, with much the same result. Along the way three black holes of evil, Hussein and his two lads, were dispatched. It doesn't get any better than this, except a number of Americans, best of the best, sacrificed their lives in the effort.

I still wouldn't look to "60 Minutes" for an explanation of anything.

[phrogphlyer]

Isn’t this about the same thing that the left and the media (I know, same thing) accuse Libby and Cheney and whoever else of doing to Valerie Plame?

[OCC]

The programme also includes footage of his wedding in 1993 in the Iraqi capital.

Can't wait to see what relevance this has.

[WoofDog123]

“Along the way three black holes of evil, Hussein and his two lads, were dispatched. It doesn’t get any better than this, except a number of Americans, best of the best, sacrificed their lives in the effort.”

Long-term, the value and impact of this invasion will depend greatly on what type of government Iraq ends up happening, how much influence Iran has on the country, how overall Iran benefits from the deposing of Hussein, and just as important - does the US retain long-term unrestricted use of land-based air fields, as air-power projection capability was a big presumed benefit of the invasion.

[Brad from Tennessee]

Bush got the intelligence services he inherited from the Clintons. Bill Clinton changed the mission of the CIA from gathering information on U.S. enemies to gathering information on and conducting espionage against foreign corporations. He did this at the behest of major Democrat patrons.

http://www.papillonsartpalace.com/clinteons.htm

[Fido969]

So is 60 minutes going to mention that Tenent was Clinton’s boy?

[infidel29]

The MSM is still on WMD... how pathetic.

[DemEater]

“So is 60 minutes going to mention that Tenent was Clinton’s boy?”

Unfortunately W took ownership of him so he is as much W’s boy as Clinton’s.

[elpadre]

I seem to recall that not only German intelligence, but also the Brits and Italians all believed WMD’s were either ready or almost ready for use in Iraq and fed their info to CIA. There was widespread knowledge among the world’s intelligence services.

[Fido969]

Well, they could mention he was Clinton’s boy anyway.

[Eagles6]

I guess the fact that saddam's 2 sons-in-law defected and spilled the beans in 95? means nothing although it led to billybob's Operation Desert Fox. We still haven't accounted for all of the wmd and percursors that saddam admitted that he had.

Besides, this is old news except the name, which will probably get him killed. Of course that's cbs' intention.

[Mike Darancette]

The programme says he arrived in a German refugee centre in 1999 where he lied to win asylum and was not the chemical expert he said he was.

Ah, the Clinton years, they gave us so much.

[Dumb_Ox]

60 Minutes versus the Bush administration. Hard to tell who is less credible.

If the 60 Min claim is right, Mike Judge's Idiocracy is already here.

[skinkinthegrass]

....and yet, Saddam, used poison gas on the Kurds in the 80s....there's no disputing that!, it seems to be an 60 Minutes See_BS version, reverse "Tailwind" (It just didn't happen, the evidence says otherwise. )

[lentulusgracchus]

The CBS show 60 Minutes identifies him as Iraqi defector Rafid Ahmed Alwan.

I see CBS is still working hard to see to it that its political enemies die hard.

Presumably, they put up pictures of him, too, so jihadi hitmen can find him.

[Jason_b]

I don’t know what’s wrong with the CIA analysts, I saw the aerial photo of the supposed plant-the buldings around which trucks were supposed to be driving to get in the end of one building and exit the opposite end. There was a wall that everyone was concerned might block the trucks, but why didn’t anyone notice that there were no tracks? Trucks driving around would have worn a path that would have been visible, they leak oil slowly over time that mixes with the dirt and discolors it. No one looked at the picture and thought no-track means no trucks. Like they said, we were going to war anyway. But this episode makes the CIA look like a bunch of dunces. Is there ever any evidence to the contrary? And if our leadership is that determined to invade, why not just say we are doing it because we are unhappy with the current regime and we believe changing it is the right thing to do? Why insist on citing junk intelligence that is only going to be an embarassment later? Because by that time, after you look stupid, it is too late to make appeals to moral authority.