White House Didn't Gain CIA Nod for Claim On Iraqi Strikes

[Nambe]

Top Stories - washingtonpost.com

The White House, in the run-up to war in Iraq (news - web sites), did not seek CIA approval before charging that Saddam Hussein could launch a biological or chemical attack within 45 minutes, administration officials now say.

The claim, which has since been discredited, was made twice by President Bush, in a September Rose Garden appearance after meeting with lawmakers and in a Saturday radio address the same week. Bush attributed the claim to the British government, but in a "Global Message" issued Sept. 26 and still on the White House Web site, the White House claimed, without attribution, that Iraq "could launch a biological or chemical attack 45 minutes after the order is given." ---

Virtually all of the focus on whether Bush exaggerated intelligence about Iraq's weapons ambitions has been on the credibility of a claim he made in the Jan. 28 State of the Union address about efforts to buy uranium in Africa. But an examination of other presidential remarks, which received little if any scrutiny by intelligence agencies, indicates Bush made more broad accusations on other intelligence matters related to Iraq.

For example, the same Rose Garden speech and Sept. 28 radio address that mentioned the 45-minute accusation also included blunt assertions by Bush that "there are al Qaeda terrorists inside Iraq." This claim was highly disputed among intelligence experts; a group called Ansar al-Islam in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq and Jordanian Abu Musab Zarqawi, who could have been in Iraq, were both believed to have al Qaeda contacts but were not themselves part of al Qaeda. ---

[aquart]

1. Lied again!

It's like he's an addict or something.

[Elidor]

2. Pretty well puts the lie to Tenet's mea culpa

It's hard to stay on top of all the bullshit these guys are throwing off. There's a different story line for every player.

[baffie]

3. Whew! They're FINALLY talking about the other lies

I know some of us were wondering if the Nigerian uranium would end up being a distraction, when in fact SOTU was chock-full of lies.

[indictrichardperle]

5. Joe Isuzu in the middle of the great depression and vietnam

thats a trifecta for 2004 that has Rove changing his depends.

[Journeyman]

4. There's those euphemisms again. . .

"But an examination of other presidential remarks, which received little if any scrutiny by intelligence agencies, indicates Bush made more broad accusations on other intelligence matters related to Iraq."


". . .more broad accusations . . . "

When are they going to start calling it what it was: Bush* LIED!

[ewagner]

6. Old Saying

With all this horseshit, there's gotta be a pony in here somewhere........

[sam sarrha]

7. rats leaving the burning ship.........

its getting to where the media and politicians want to distance themselves from him. he is obviously out of the loop and proving earlier alligations of being unconcerned about his actions, and unconnected... hes just there for the party.

[lazarus]

8. dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=23626&mesg_id=23626&page=