They Knew!
The Progress Report.
Posted August 5, 2004.
Misleader-in-chief George Bush is blaming 'intelligence failure' for hyping the threat posed by Iraq. But the evidence shows that the president is lying once again.
Earlier this week, President Bush made remarks implying he had no idea Iraq might not have nuclear weapons or definitive ties to al Qaeda. But as a new article in In These Times by the Progress Report's own David Sirota and Christy Harvey demonstrates, the Bush administration knew before the war that it was mis-stating the Iraqi threat. The article chronologically juxtaposes pre-war intelligence documents with the administration's pre-war statements to show that on each major charge, the Bush team ignored warnings that its case for war was weak, and dispels the argument that the intelligence community is to blame for the dishonesty about weapons of mass destruction and a purported Iraq-al Qaeda connection.
No Nuclear Weapons
Before President Bush gave his first major speech on Iraq's supposed nuclear arsenal in October, the White House had various pieces of intelligence warning that the claims were specious. For instance, a 1997 report by the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated there was no indication Iraq ever achieved nuclear capability. In February 2001, the CIA delivered a report to the White House that said: "We do not have any direct evidence that Iraq has used the period since Desert Fox to reconstitute its weapons of mass destruction programs." The report was so definitive that Secretary of State Colin Powell said in a subsequent press conference that Saddam Hussein "has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction." In the same month Bush gave his speech, his own State Department told the White House that evidence did not "add up to a compelling case." Nonetheless, in March of 2003, Vice President Cheney ignored another IAEA warning that the nuclear case was weak and said Iraq "has reconstituted nuclear weapons." Even after the invasion, when no nuclear material was found, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice claimed the nuclear assertions were "absolutely supportable," while White House spokesman Scott McClellan insisted: "There 's a lot of evidence showing that Iraq was reconstituting its nuclear weapons program."
No Chemical or Bio Weapon Threat
In September 2002, President Bush said Iraq "could launch a biological or chemical attack in as little as 45 minutes after the order is given." The next month, he claimed that Iraq "possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons." He said that "Iraq has a growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that could be used to disperse chemical or biological weapons." What he did not say was that the White House had been previously warned that these assertions were unproved. As the Washington Post reported, Bush "ignored the fact that U.S. intelligence mistrusted the source" of the 45-minute claim and, therefore, omitted it from its intelligence estimates. Bush disregarded the fact that the Defense Intelligence Agency previously told the White House it found "no reliable information" to prove Iraq was producing or stockpiling chemical weapons. Bush also neglected to point out that in early October 2002, the administration's top military experts told the White House they "sharply disputed the notion that Iraq's Unmanned Aerial Vehicles were being designed as attack weapons." Secretary of State Colin Powell also ignored these warnings and claimed to the United Nations on 2/5/03 that "There can be no doubt that Saddam Hussein has biological weapons and the capability to rapidly produce more, many more." What he did not say is that he was specifically warned by his own intelligence experts not to include these claims in his speech.
No Iraq-al Qaeda Connection
President Bush said on 9/25/02 that "you can't distinguish between al Qaeda and Saddam." He said this, even though top lawmakers from his own party, like Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), acknowledged weeks beforehand that "Saddam is not in league with al Qaeda" and that "I have not seen any intelligence that would lead me to connect Saddam Hussein to al Qaeda." Immediately after Bush made his initial claim, USA Today reported several intelligence experts "expressed skepticism" about the claim, with a Pentagon official calling the president's assertion an "exaggeration." No matter, Bush ignored these concerns and described Saddam Hussein as "a man who loves to link up with al Qaeda." Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the evidence was "bulletproof…accurate and not debatable." Only weeks later, Europe's top terrorism investigator reported "We have found no evidence of links between Iraq and al Qaeda." Nonetheless, Powell ignored this and stood before the United Nations and claimed there was a "sinister nexus between Iraq and the al Qaeda." A month later, Rice backed him up, saying al Qaeda "clearly has had links to the Iraqis."
The Progress Report is a publication of the Center for American Progress.
The Progress Report.
Posted August 5, 2004.
Misleader-in-chief George Bush is blaming 'intelligence failure' for hyping the threat posed by Iraq. But the evidence shows that the president is lying once again.
Earlier this week, President Bush made remarks implying he had no idea Iraq might not have nuclear weapons or definitive ties to al Qaeda. But as a new article in In These Times by the Progress Report's own David Sirota and Christy Harvey demonstrates, the Bush administration knew before the war that it was mis-stating the Iraqi threat. The article chronologically juxtaposes pre-war intelligence documents with the administration's pre-war statements to show that on each major charge, the Bush team ignored warnings that its case for war was weak, and dispels the argument that the intelligence community is to blame for the dishonesty about weapons of mass destruction and a purported Iraq-al Qaeda connection.
No Nuclear Weapons
Before President Bush gave his first major speech on Iraq's supposed nuclear arsenal in October, the White House had various pieces of intelligence warning that the claims were specious. For instance, a 1997 report by the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated there was no indication Iraq ever achieved nuclear capability. In February 2001, the CIA delivered a report to the White House that said: "We do not have any direct evidence that Iraq has used the period since Desert Fox to reconstitute its weapons of mass destruction programs." The report was so definitive that Secretary of State Colin Powell said in a subsequent press conference that Saddam Hussein "has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction." In the same month Bush gave his speech, his own State Department told the White House that evidence did not "add up to a compelling case." Nonetheless, in March of 2003, Vice President Cheney ignored another IAEA warning that the nuclear case was weak and said Iraq "has reconstituted nuclear weapons." Even after the invasion, when no nuclear material was found, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice claimed the nuclear assertions were "absolutely supportable," while White House spokesman Scott McClellan insisted: "There 's a lot of evidence showing that Iraq was reconstituting its nuclear weapons program."
No Chemical or Bio Weapon Threat
In September 2002, President Bush said Iraq "could launch a biological or chemical attack in as little as 45 minutes after the order is given." The next month, he claimed that Iraq "possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons." He said that "Iraq has a growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that could be used to disperse chemical or biological weapons." What he did not say was that the White House had been previously warned that these assertions were unproved. As the Washington Post reported, Bush "ignored the fact that U.S. intelligence mistrusted the source" of the 45-minute claim and, therefore, omitted it from its intelligence estimates. Bush disregarded the fact that the Defense Intelligence Agency previously told the White House it found "no reliable information" to prove Iraq was producing or stockpiling chemical weapons. Bush also neglected to point out that in early October 2002, the administration's top military experts told the White House they "sharply disputed the notion that Iraq's Unmanned Aerial Vehicles were being designed as attack weapons." Secretary of State Colin Powell also ignored these warnings and claimed to the United Nations on 2/5/03 that "There can be no doubt that Saddam Hussein has biological weapons and the capability to rapidly produce more, many more." What he did not say is that he was specifically warned by his own intelligence experts not to include these claims in his speech.
No Iraq-al Qaeda Connection
President Bush said on 9/25/02 that "you can't distinguish between al Qaeda and Saddam." He said this, even though top lawmakers from his own party, like Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), acknowledged weeks beforehand that "Saddam is not in league with al Qaeda" and that "I have not seen any intelligence that would lead me to connect Saddam Hussein to al Qaeda." Immediately after Bush made his initial claim, USA Today reported several intelligence experts "expressed skepticism" about the claim, with a Pentagon official calling the president's assertion an "exaggeration." No matter, Bush ignored these concerns and described Saddam Hussein as "a man who loves to link up with al Qaeda." Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the evidence was "bulletproof…accurate and not debatable." Only weeks later, Europe's top terrorism investigator reported "We have found no evidence of links between Iraq and al Qaeda." Nonetheless, Powell ignored this and stood before the United Nations and claimed there was a "sinister nexus between Iraq and the al Qaeda." A month later, Rice backed him up, saying al Qaeda "clearly has had links to the Iraqis."
The Progress Report is a publication of the Center for American Progress.
posted by BLONDIE at 2:43 PM
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