Jason Leopold: Democrats Have Proof Pre-War Intel Was Manipulated

[sabra]

http://www.pww.org/article/view/8137/

Democrats Have Proof Pre-War Intel Was Manipulated

Author: Jason Leopold, t r u t h o u t | Investigative Report


Senate Democrats have dug up additional explosive evidence over the past week that they say will help prove the Bush administration deliberately manipulated pre-war Iraq intelligence that was used to convince Congress and the public to support a pre-emptive strike against the Middle East country in March of 2003.

Specifically, Carl Levin, the senior Democrat who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, is interested in permanently debunking the administration's assertion that it "mistakenly" included the 16-word reference in President Bush's January 2003 State of the Union address claiming that Iraq tried to purchase yellowcake uranium - the key component to building an atomic bomb - from Niger. Levin's aides said the administration knew months before that the veracity of the allegations was dubious because it was based on forged documents.

...

In conversations and correspondence with Waxman, ElBaradei said he personally had tried to contact Stephen Hadley, then Deputy National Security Adviser, and aides to former Secretary of State Colin Powell, warning them not to rely on the Niger documents as evidence of the Iraqi threat, but was continuously rebuffed. He said the White House officials pledged to cooperate with United Nations inspectors but repeatedly withheld evidence from them.

...

Four months later, Hadley, as well as former CIA Director George Tenet, took responsibility for allowing the Niger uranium claims to be included in Bush's speech. Aides to Levin said that when the bipartisan investigation is complete there will be ample proof that the Bush administration, specifically, Hadley, Cheney, and other top officials, knowingly manipulated intelligence to fit their agenda in launching a war.

Remember Condi's response from 03:

The president quoted a British paper. We did not know at the time—no one knew at the time, in our circles—maybe someone knew down in the bowels of the agency, but no one in our circles knew that there were doubts and suspicions that this might be a forgery. (NBC: Meet the Press, June 8, 2003)

Those 16 words is biting Bushco in the ass, big time...

[DoYouEverWonder]

1. Can I take off my tinfoil hat now?

Seems everything we said about BushCo and Iraq is turning out to be true.

[sabra]

3. Indeed. And that scares me...

[BJW]

10. No! No! Keep it On and Stay Tuned!!!

[NanceGreggs]

2. Don't you LOVE it when ...

... the web of lies spun by this administration spins itself into an ever-tightening noose around their own necks!

[patrice]

4. So is it any wonder Hadley is the one saying Murtha is wrong?

Do you suppose people notice that sort of thing?

[highnooner]

5. This is but one piece of evidence...

There need to be a few other pieces to PROVE a smoking gun here. The DSM seems to be another. What else is there?

[BJW]

9. Well paper evidence of ulterior motives

and pre-war packaging of propaganda points would be good.

[sabra]

6. Hadley must be sweating, as it appears he was Woodward's source too...

[papau]

7. Excellent info! :-)

:-)

[sabra]

8. Thanks, I believe these info is correlated to "phase 2"...

[blm]

11. Kickin for truth.

.

[NewJeffCT]

12. thanks

good stuff. hopefully, we can get it out there.

[bonito]

13. Kick and rec. !

[bonito]

14. Kick, for added viewing. n/t