[ExI] Regarding Wickedness (was beowolf)

[spike]

> bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of Eugen Leitl
> Subject: Re: [ExI] Regarding Wickedness (was beowolf)
> 
> On Sun, Nov 25, 2007 at 09:36:29AM -0800, spike wrote:
> 
> > Tenet argues in Storm that it was a failure on both sides of that poker
> > match: we didn't realize that Saddam was bluffing, and Saddam didn't
> realize
> > that we were not.
> 
> Spike, you really need to read "A Pretext for War" by Bamford (his "Puzzle
> Palace" and "Body of Secrets" are perhaps more familiar, and give
> longer views on the intelligence business).
> 
> --
> Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> http://leitl.org


http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig6/zeese1.html


Gene, I saw on the Bamford website several things that cast serious doubt
upon his credibility, but the most serious one is this quote:

" One CIA analyst from the Iraq Nonproliferation section told me that his
boss once called his office together (about 50 people) and said, "You know
what - if Bush wants to go to war, it's your job to give him a reason to do
so." The former analyst added, "And I said, 'All right, it's time, it's time
to go. And I just remember saying, 'This is something that the American
public, if they ever knew, they would be outraged.'"


If anyone sees anything illegal in government, that person is legally and
morally obligated to report it.  This includes any illegal order given by a
military officer, or any illegal order given by a CIA boss.  In this case,
there should be somewhere fifty reports floating around from first hand
witnesses, plus stacks of reports that those reports generated, and further
reports all over the place.  Failing to report an illegal order is illegal
and makes the non-reporter complicit.

If such a meeting ever took place, there would be a hundred leaks to CNN by
that afternoon.  The fact that Bamford didn't give the name of that analyst
(or former analyst) or the CIA boss who issued illegal orders tells me that
the meeting never took place, the order was never issued.  I would allow
that someone offered that bit of fiction to Bamford.

Bamford comments: "Intelligence was manipulated, mangled, ignored, and
analysts were harassed and bullied to present the false picture that Iraq
was an imminent threat to the U.S."

Are we to believe no one documented analysts being harassed and bullied?
Where are the reports?

Bamford comments: "In talking with intelligence analysts and case officers,
in the months leading up to the war none believed that Iraq posed a threat
to the U.S."

Oh do come now Mr. Bamford.

Bamford comments:  "The most basic evidence was the fact that Iraq had never
begun work on a long-range missile system (unlike Iran and North Korea),
something that can be easily seen..."  

Can it be seen if done indoors?  What if he bought the missiles from some
nation hostile nation?  What if he intended to smuggle the weapons?  Or give
them to terrorists?

I think Tenet has a lot more credibility, and he makes none of these kinds
of charges.

spike