Fury over Pentagon cell that briefed White House on Iraq's 'imaginary' al-

[indigobusiness]

By Julian Coman in Washington
(Filed: 11/07/2004)


A Senior Pentagon policy maker created an unofficial "Iraqi intelligence cell" in the summer of 2002 to circumvent the CIA and secretly brief the White House on links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qa'eda, according to the Senate intelligence committee.



The allegations about Douglas Feith, the number three at the Department of Defence, are made in a supplementary annexe of the committee's review of the intelligence leading to war in Iraq, released on Friday.

According to dramatic testimony contained in the annexe, Mr Feith's cell undermined the credibility of CIA judgments on Iraq's alleged al-Qa'eda links within the highest levels of the Bush administration.

The cell appears to have been set up by Mr Feith as an adjunct to the Office of Special Plans, a Pentagon intelligence-gathering operation established in the wake of 9/11 with the authority of Paul Wolfowitz. Its focus quickly became the al-Qa'eda-Saddam link.
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Most remarkably, on September 16, 2002, two days before the CIA was to produce its postponed assessment, Mr Feith's cell went directly to the White House and gave an alternative briefing to Vice-President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, and to the National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice's deputy.

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/07/11/wsept11.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/07/11/ixnewstop.html

[Miss Authoritiva]

1. Okay, so the Republicans go after Tenet and the CIA and

the Democrats go after Feith (and probably Wolfowitz). And I'm wondering: who cut the checks for this "unofficial Iraqi intelligence cell"? You know, the fax machines, PowerPoint slides, FedEx deliveries, travel expenses, the Mr. Coffee machine, the yellow Post-It notes. The "petty cash" in Washington seems to flow freely and fund all sorts of, well, intriguing intrigue.

Gee, did Feith really want to grow up to be Ollie North?

[indigobusiness]

2. Appears so

good point

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

3. The Telegraph, eh? WHERE IS THE FREAKING US MEDIA ON THIS?

[indigobusiness]

4. In a group hug over Martha

but give it time.