NEEEEEIIIIIIGH!
A lot of us believe the same thing, and more and more documents keep appearing that support our “conspiracy theory”.
That is a “talking point” which has been debunked. The first review was never chartered or directed to look at what the administration did with the information. You won’t find something if you’re not looking for it. The second investigation, going on now, is supposed to look for cherry picking and “doctoring”. It is telling that the administration, specifically Cheney, was trying to delay and obstruct this second review, and withhold information. That is why the Democrats pulled that “closed door” session.
I would love to see the scanned pdf file of that. I could add it to the collection.
I do understand the point that Phase II (the investigations into what was done with the intelligence) has not taken place. To be fair about it, the statement above was indeed made and is newsworthy result of the Phase I investigation. At the point when the conclusions were made for Phase I there had not been found evidence to support that politicking influenced the gathering of intelligence. The summation of the NIE made (what appears to me to be) a strong case for military intervention in Iraq. The fact that most of the reasons provided were inaccurate, false, or overblown is important as well, but does not relate to the question of the Administration’s part in (what I think to be) our reckless push towards war.
Again you are right that the book is not closed on the Administration’s use of the information, but it is not fair to dismiss that conclusion as irrelevant.
I meant directly indict.
A slippery point, which the Bushiviks have enhanced with weasel-think.
Such a case can be made, that the Bushiviks did not influence the “gathering of intelligence”. However, there is good reason to believe that their agenda influenced the interpretation of intelligence. The parameters of the Phase I investigation were very precisely set to avoid any issue of how said gathered intelligence was utilized by the Bushiviks, and to what end. That was to be the purpose of Phase II, you will recall.
(I think the structure of the investigation was a calculated political gamble on both sides. The Republicans figured they could get away with foot-dragging and stone walling if they had to, even if it didn’t look very good, it was a damn sight better than giving the Dems a forum to ask embarassing questions. But that wouldn’t look very good, so they offered a deal: an investigation, but strictly limited to keep the focus away from the White House. The Dems probably figured that, even so, the revelations about intelligence failures would be enough, half a loaf, so to speak.
The Pubbies got their talking point: “investigation found no influence on intelligence gathering!”. They gambled it would be sufficient. The Dems gambled that once the ball started rolling, it would gather momentun. The Dems got the better odds, but the Pubbies had no other choice…)
Why would they bother when they could set up their own special intel shops like the Office of Special Plans and the Policy Counter Terrorism Evaluation Group?
They didn’t have to monkey w/ the USIC. They just set up their own groups to provide the items needed to sell the war. Never mind that the items were often previuosly rejected by the USIC as unreliable or outright false.
The DOD ODP’s OSP and PCTEG and their special relationship w/ INC’s ICP (run by a known Iranian agent who later facilitated the betrayal of vital classified national security info from Team Bush to the Iranian regime) are part of the SSCI’s Pahse II investigation as well.
PatX is far too modest and reticent to toot his own horn (or it may result from some lack of spinal flexibility, but no matter…)
He has his very own blog!
http://irrationallyinformed.com/
Joe Bob 'luc says: Check it out! Very little in the way of chop-socky, but if you want cites!: mi companero’s got them big time and down town.
Kudos and plaudits should rain down upon his head. And money. And soon.