[leftiesareloonie]

The headline of the story is definitel a crock. But Bush's "anger" and his orders to "find someone who will verify the story: if the CIA can't because he "knows" its true isn't acting on bad intelligence. It's ignoring the intelligence and going with his gut and then "lying" about the basis of his belief, which wasn't any intelligence report, but just his own gut feelings.

Lots of people, and not just on the left, might fear that's a pretty thin basis for taking a nation to war.

I'm not even guess whether this Wilkinson guy is credible. But if what he claims is true then it's kinda scary. And Bush's goose might well be cooked.

But we'll see. If no one else comes forward, then I predict the whole thing blows over.

But what might be going on here is that the CIA doesn't want to be the "fall guy" and they may be staging something of a coup -- a scary thought in itself.

[William McKinley]

It's ignoring the intelligence and going with his gut and then

Provide some proof that what this guy [Terrance J. Wilkinson] claims actually happened.

[Steve_Seattle]

In my opinion, the "quote" provided by Wilkinson doesn't pass the smell test. It doesn't sound like Bush. But above all, the vague intelligence report from Africa was hardly a major factor in the decision to go to war, which was primarily based on the 12-year-long charade with inspections and sanctions, unaccounted for weapons stocks, and ongoing discoveries like the banned Iraqi missiles discovered as recently as January of this year, not to mention Saddam's record of aggression and human-rights abuses. However, those who are seriously concerned about investigating exaggerated claims for war can go into FR's archives and look up Kosovo. The exaggerated claims of "genocide" in that case did not bother most - if any - Democrats, nor did they lead to a "Watergate" for Clinton.