CIA Admits Didn't Give Full Weapons Data To UN - NYT

[DuctapeFatwa]

The CIA admitted it didn't provide the U.N. with information about 21 of 105 sites in Iraq singled out by U.S. intelligence before the war as highly suspected of housing illegal weapons, The New York Times reported in its Saturday edition.

The acknowledgement, in a Jan. 20 letter to Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., contradicts statements before the war by both CIA Director George Tenet and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, the Times said.

Tenet and Rice said the U.S. had briefed U.N. inspectors on all of the sites identified as "high value and moderate value" in the weapons hunt, the Times reported.

The statments came amid Congressional debate about giving U.N. inspectors more time to complete their search before the invasion, and helped bolster the White House case that it was fully cooperating with the inspectors and providing them with the best possible information.

http://framehosting.dowjonesnews.com/sample/samplestory.asp?StoryID=2004022122160000&Take=1

[drthais]

1. and SO

I suppose we will find those pesky WMD's
in one of those hidey holes then? hmmm
...how convenient

don't mean to sound paranoid here
but I am waiting for the 'plant' anytime now

[Old and In the Way]

2. Those were obviously the places where this administration thought

they'd find the WMD. Sure they could have given the UN this information, but then they'd have had no reason to invade. These sites were held back to give Bush the "evidence" to cover his invasion.

[GreenGreenLimaBean]

3. Why does Rice still have her job?

I'll answer that myself. Rice is an African American Women and
bush* needs the photo-op potential she brings him.

But then again, incompetence in the bush* administration is a
prerequisite for employment.

[Paschall]

5. It's also because Rice is a stalwart neo-con ideologist

After snubbing the UN--and perhaps witholding information in order to further discredit the UN after the invasion and discovery of WMD at the "secret" sites--, Rice is now lending a hand in trashing the CIA:

"Asked about the contradiction between the CIA current account and Rice's letter, a NSC spokesman said 'Dr. Rice provided a good-faith answer to Senator Levin based on the best information that was made available to her,' the Times reported."

[JoFerret]

11. Because she is a liar

and fits right in.

[California Democrat]

4. On the other hand....

It seems unlikely that the UN would have actually acted on the information. They would have probably held a meeting, discussed a resolution for a month or two, and then condemned Israel for something or another.

In the meantime, any possible value from the intelligence (if there was any value) would have been shot.

[Paschall]

6. Blix and Elbaradei were in Iraq conducting investigations

They asked repeatedly for all US data and did act on it. Blix's final report to the UN--which by ill-luck of the calendar came after the invasion--in part covered his findings at sites identified by the US, sites where he found no trace of WMD.

[ze_dscherman]

7. Wasn't the US OBLIGED to give all information to the UN?

But who cares anymore?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

8. Resulting in a $1,000,000,000 price tag for America.

For the search.

There's also the matter of $200,000,000,000 (and countless lives)spent on the effort to get that search team in Iraq.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

9. Interesting that I don't see Tenet directly quoted anywhere...

...but this article has also attempted to lump him into the same category with Rice. IMHO, Rice is a category all by herself...unless you include the rest of the NeoCon lying dogs.

The NeoCon Junta continues to attempt to deflect blame away from themselves. Why they're attempting to blame the CIA is beyond my ability to understand. Every single time they've tried to cast Tenet and/or the CIA in a negative light since the Valerie Plame outing something damaging to the NeoCons has appeared in the press.

Want someone or some group to blame? Try the NeoCons in conjunction with their pet intelligence filter, the OSP.

[Toots]

10. Republican motto ~ Better to ask forgiveness than permission

This seems to be the MO of this Administration. "Just do it" if it turns out wrong the deed is already done and what can they do about it. Standard Operating Procedure. Shoot first ask questions later.

[Bozvotros]

12. This is huge...

More evidence this war was coming no matter what. Why else would the CIA lie except at the request of Cheney-Bush? They were trying to have it both ways. Using the OSP to exaggerate, magnify and distort the evidence to make it more ominous and then making the inspectors job more difficult by hiding and withholding the best evidence it did have. Smirk then took it further by twice asserting loudly and publicly that Saddam threw the inspectors out. This needs to be worked into our candidates stump speeches at every stop. Make it clear that Bush is a liar, cheater and thief. Its not as if we don't have lots of evidence to that effect.