American Conservative: CHENEY Behind Forgery 'It Was Feith NOT CIA, That Forged The Habbush Letter'

[kpete]

American Conservative: It was Feith’s office, not CIA, that forged the Habbush letter.
http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2008/08/07/suskind-revisited/

Ron Suskind’s new book alleges that the White House ordered the CIA to forge a letter from the head of Iraqi intelligence to Saddam Hussein linking the dictator to the 9/11 terrorists. The American Conservative’s Philip Giraldi argues today that “an extremely reliable and well placed source in the intelligence community” told him Suskind’s overall claim “is correct,” but that it was Douglas Feith’s Office of Special Plans — not the CIA — that forged the letter:
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/07/american-conservative-it-was-feiths-office-not-cia-that-forged-the-habbush-letter/

An extremely reliable and well placed source in the intelligence community has informed me that Ron Suskind’s revelation that the White House ordered the preparation of a forged letter linking Saddam Hussein to al-Qaeda and also to attempts made to obtain yellowcake uranium is correct but that a number of details are wrong.

The Suskind account states that two senior CIA officers Robert Richer and John Maguire supervised the preparation of the document under direct orders coming from Director George Tenet. Not so, says my source. Tenet is for once telling the truth when he states that he would not have undermined himself by preparing such a document while at the same time insisting publicly that there was no connection between Saddam and al-Qaeda. Richer and Maguire have both denied that they were involved with the forgery and it should also be noted that preparation of such a document to mislead the media is illegal and they could have wound up in jail.

My source also notes that Dick Cheney, who was behind the forgery, hated and mistrusted the Agency and would not have used it for such a sensitive assignment. Instead, he went to Doug Feith’s Office of Special Plans and asked them to do the job. … It was Feith’s office that produced the letter and then surfaced it to the media in Iraq. Unlike the (Central Intelligence) Agency, the Pentagon had no restrictions on it regarding the production of false information to mislead the public. Indeed, one might argue that Doug Feith’s office specialized in such activity.
http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2008/08/07/suskind-revisited/

A CIA counterrorism expert said that, in the run-up to war, Feith’s office recommended that the CIA’s finding of no link between Iraq al Qaeda relations “be ignored. Not challenged, not made the subject of a critical dialogue between policymakers and analysts, but ignored.”



http://thismodernworld.com/4420

[EFerrari]

1. Sounds right to me. Cheney/Rumsfeld were in a wrestling match with CIA.

That's the only reason that slime Feith was even possible.

[seemslikeadream]

2. Office of Special Plans

[TomInTib]

3. What does that make Suskind's account, then?

A false presentation?

[librechik]

7. I am perplexed. This isn't good for Ron's credibility. They do say he is correct about the forgery

However, the Pukkkes will use the confusion to smear him, no doubt. Thus cancelling out the whole episode (mediawise) if previous experience serves.

How unfortunate. This coulda gone somewhere!

[Voice for Peace]

8. maybe his sources misled him intentionally.

since they're now denying what they told him, right?

[librechik]

9. exactly--it does seem like a burn

altho Ron says they were still onboard until the day after publication. Something happened, he said.

Cheney is something, all right

[yardwork]

24. Similar to what happened to Dan Rather with the Natl Guard memos

Rove helps out with these double-secret twisty-turny con jobs. Give someone credible something that is essentially true and reveals something embarrassing and illegal that bushco has done. BUT make sure that the documentation contains deliberate errors, so that the entire story can be debunked, thus neutralizing the truth. Have agents standing by to do the debunking within minutes or hours of the public report.

In Dan Rather's case, it was documentation proving that W was AWOL from the National Guard during Vietnam. The story is true, but the documents given to Dan Rather were faked. They were similar to the originals, but fake so that Rather and the true story about W's shirking duty could be neutralized. Looks like the same thing happened here.

[defendandprotect]

27. As an aside . .

the objections to the Rather documents are nonsense ---
most of us are aware of the print and capabilities of type at that time
and the "problems" with them were false.

[leveymg]

12. Suskind seems to have had problems w/these sources in the past

When I read Suskind's account of the forgery, something didn't quite feel right about it -- not too long ago he may have been spun by sources about another important case.

Let me know what you think about this: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/12/13/134311/17/385/421664

Abu Zubaydah was the first "high-value" al-Qaeda figure captured in March 2002. He had been at bin Laden's side going back at least to the early 1990s. He ran several major militant training camps on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, where he trained thousands of jihadists, including six of the 9/11 hijackers. Zubydah is identified by U.S. intelligence as the author of the plan to attack the USS Cole, and was a key organizer present at an al-Qaeda planning summit held in Kuala Lumpur in early January 2000 at which the Cole and 9/11 attacks were mapped out in detail.

Despite his categorization by US and allied intelligence as a very important al Qaeda leader, and long period in positions of responsibility within al Qaeda, it is now claimed -- rather implausibly -- that he had long been insane. Zubaydah's story, however, has not been adequately documented, as he's had no access to the courts. The primary source for information about his psychological state has come from a book by Ronald Suskind, whose sources appear to have spun the story to make it seem that Zubaydah was insane before his capture, in an apparent effort to cast doubt on the details that have emerged from other sources about his role within al-Qaeda. Most notably, Abu Zubaydah worked closely with Luai Sakka, identified as a double-agent working with U.S. and Syrian intelligence. See, http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/12/10/133754/60/799/420257

What has been acknowledged is that Zubaydah was the first GWOT prisoner held by the U.S. to be waterboarded, a form of torture involving partial drowning and the cutting off of oxygen to the brain. The neuropsychiatric effects of partial drowning and oxygen deprivation are well-documented in medical literature. The common results of partial or short periods of oxygen deprivation are dizzyness, disorientation, and memory loss. When blood oxygen levels fall below a certain level, the result is loss of consciousness, death of brain cells, permanent neurological damage, and if prolonged for more than a couple minutes, death. The logical conclusion is that Zubaydah, described as insane by U.S. intelligence sources, suffered lasting psychological and neurological damage as the result of waterboarding and perhaps other forms of torture while in custody. See, tp://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x245566

[Gabi Hayes]

13. did you read State of War, by James Risen? I have it lying it around somewhere,

and it goes into great detail about Zubaydah, but I can't remember what it said about his mental state, though it does go into it.

Zubaydah was tortured, and videotaped, which tapes disappeard (''...clearly intended to have one effect: to make it impossible for Bush to veto the bill prohibiting the CIA from torturing.''), so who are you going to believe?

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/06/absence-of-torture-tape-librarian-a-feature-not-a-bug/

that said, I don't really care whose version is correct, unless it has the effect of muddying the waters to the point that this avenue of inquiry is stopped in its tracks.

that's exactly what they want, obviously

but the equally obvious fact is that the LETTER existed, and was just too conveniently released, both in its timing, and in all the loose ends it tied together, just like the Niger forgeries.

so, are they going to get away with it again?

[leveymg]

15. The only thing that seems certain, now, is that the Iraqis didn't write it

and that someone connected to this Administration did. That's enough to appoint a federal prosecutor and convene a Grand Jury to find out.

Most likely, that won't happen until early next year. Maybe, that's for the best.:popcorn:

Yes, I have it lying around here, buried under a pile somewhere. I'll dig for it. Thanks.

[leftchick]

18. who did Feith work for?

The OVP, so this story is very credible. Shit we all knew about the OSP via Mother Jone's The Lie Factory 6 freakin years ago!

[Jack Rabbit]

23. The suspects have to discredit Suskind completely

They can't have anybody thinking there was a forgery, or at least not one they forged or otherwise knew was forged.

When the rationales for invading Iraq fell apart, the next plan was to blame the CIA for "faulty intelligence." Of course, those of us who already knew about the OSP never believed that.

This was not a failure of intelligence. This was a failure of propaganda. The neoconservatives couldn't keep the lid on this thing long enough to launch their empire. Just as the Thousand Year Reich lasted on twelve years, the New American Century lasted only six.

[defendandprotect]

31. Suskind's account about "forgery" is correct . . . but first attempt to get CIA to do it failed. ...

and Feith did it ---

Probably last shot by Cheney to try to intimidate CIA and involve them --

Cheney -- with Tenet's help -- had been really leaning on CIA anlaysts who

had the courage to not lie for him. Tenet had been along for the ride on this,

but letting Cheney do most of the talking, it seems.

However, when it comes to this, it seems Tenet wasn't going to go that far.

Therefore, Cheney had to move on to Feith --

but I think he desperately wanted the CIA to go his way ---

[Ghost in the Machine]

4. Feith & Cheney are both PNACers - they were trying to build their New American Century

in the wake of their "new Pearl Harbor"...

Follow the PNAC trail... Cheney, Feith, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Condoleeza Rice, Jeb Bush, etc.....

See the list of PNAC Signatories here: http://www.congressunderfire.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=114&topic_id=7&mesg_id=7&page=

[zbdent]

5. this is too rich ...

so, is this person willing to go on record? Under oath?

(I doubt it, but one could hope ...)

"Mr. Suskind is lying. I was ordered to do so by the Vice President, your honor."

[Ghost in the Machine]

6. Let's not forget Cheney's attempt at politicizing the DOJ 30 years ago...

"Cheney's political career began in 1969, as an intern for Congressman William A. Steiger during the Nixon Administration. He then joined the staff of Donald Rumsfeld, who was then Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity from 1969–70.<10> He held several positions in the years that followed: White House Staff Assistant in 1971, Assistant Director of the Cost of Living Council from 1971–73, and Deputy Assistant to the president from 1974–1975. It was in this position that Cheney suggested in a memo to Rumsfeld that the Ford White House should use the Justice Department in a variety of legally questionable ways to exact retribution for an article published by The New York Times investigative reporter Seymour Hersh."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Cheney#Early_White_House_appointments

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=3385713

kicked & recommended

[leftchick]

10. I thought of OSP and Feith immediately

and wondered why Ron has not mentioned both. He needs to read MJ's "Lie Factory" for background.

[JerseygirlCT]

11. That makes more sense, actually. nt

[Gabi Hayes]

14. looked up Giraldi to see if he's got any cred, and found this:

The view that 9/11 has "changed everything" is unfortunately all too true. It has unleashed American paranoia, institutionalized mistrust of foreigners, and created a fantasy universe in which a US beset by enemies must do anything and everything to counter the alien threat. If it were a sane world, it would be difficult to imagine why anyone would believe that a Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act is even necessary. The United States has spent hundreds of billions of dollars in strengthening law enforcement and intelligence capabilities against terrorists and has every tool imaginable to investigate and make arrests. It has created a whole new bloated and dysfunctional branch of government in the Department of Homeland Security. What is not needed is groups of congressionally empowered vigilantes roaming the country at will looking for "homegrown terrorism."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/philip-giraldi/the-violent-radicalizatio_b_74091.html#

seems to be on the right page, writing against the never ending WOT bill pushed by Con. Harman

[leveymg]

16. Phil's a stand-up guy.

He told me, "Cheney should be put in jail." And, I believe, Giraldi knows exactly what Dick's going to be charged with.

[annabanana]

17. This rings true. It reminds me of the "visits" to the CIA

that Cheney made.. It makes sense to me that he wasn't ultimately satisfied with what they were giving him, and after all.. "Useful" Intel was the raison d'etre for the OSP... That was the whole point of the operation..

[TexasObserver]

19. I've felt a long time is was FEITH behind the forgery, with Wolfy & Cheney's auspices

[Jack Rabbit]

20. This falls into place

I had this problem with Suskind's book (or what I've read about it) in that Tenet acted to forge a letter that undermined his own case.

Feith seems to have bought into the silly idea that Saddam was a threat to Israel. If it is true that Feith believed that, it might explain Feith's willingness to help Cheney (and Bush) lie the nation to war. On the other hand, if it were actually true, Feith would not have had to forge anything or even make up stories in the OSP. If Saddam wasn't really a threat to anybody, he certainly wasn't a threat to Israel.

If there's one thing of which I've become convinced, it is that General Franks had Feith sized up perfectly.

[skip fox]

21. I would believe this long before I'd believe the director of CIA would order such.

:)

[defendandprotect]

29. Tenet was helping Cheney intimidate and pressure CIA analysts . . .

he might not have been ready to deal with anything in writing actually order them to

lie -- but he was helping Cheney in pressuring them.

[robertpaulsen]

22. Richer's own testimony in Suskind's transcripts implicate Cheney through Scooter.

Suskind's CIA source Richer on the record: "almost all that stuff came from one place only: Scooter"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3752171

[drgonzosghost]

25. Could Pelosi actually be smarter than we think?

You know, waiting until these ass clowns are out of office might be the best way to get convictions in the first place. AND no power of the pardon to prevent anybody from serving well deserved time.

[defendandprotect]

26. This story is also getting lost in the Edwards scandal and the weekend . ..

and Congress going off on vacation . . !!

[defendandprotect]

28. Makes more sense this way, but think they still kept trying to involve CIA . . .

with Tenet's continued help --- but fortunately, the analysts weren't going to lie for

Cheney --- which is some heartwarming truth that they can't corrupt everyone ---

and Cheney was sure trying with the CIA analysts.

Visiting the CIA -- which was unusual -- pressuring analysts with Tenet along with him.

CIA continued to say clear that Iraq was "no threat" ---

[DearAbby]

30. Question...This forgery mentions the Yellow Cake Forgery

If this was forged within the white house, and planned there...could it be that the Niger Yellow Cake forgery was also planned out in the same place?

[stubtoe]

32. kpete, you're an absolute treasure. Keep 'em coming.

I suspected Feith had his filthy little paws in this somehow.