McClatchy: Pentagon office produced `alternative' intelligence on Iraq

[Pirate Smile]

Pentagon office produced `alternative' intelligence on Iraq

By Jonathan S. Landay
McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON - A special unit run by former Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld's top policy aide inappropriately produced "alternative" intelligence reports that wrongly concluded that Saddam Hussein's regime had cooperated with al-Qaida, a Pentagon investigation has determined.

-snip-
But Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., who requested the investigation, called the findings "devastating" because senior administration officials, particularly Vice President Dick Cheney, used Feith's work to help make their case for the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.

"We went to war based on the argument of the administration . . . that there was a link between al-Qaida and Saddam Hussein and that Saddam Hussein could give al-Qaida and other terrorist groups weapons," Levin said Thursday in an interview with McClatchy Newspapers.

The findings "are about as damning a statement as one can hear, and I think the American people will be absolutely furious," Levin continued. The lawmaker is a longtime critic of the administration's use of exaggerated and erroneous intelligence to justify the invasion and a leading voice for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/16656258.htm

[babylonsister]

1. Forget impeachment; how about arrest, trial, conviction? nt

[MidwestTransplant]

2. Who cares. Can we please get back to talking about celebrities?

[Bonobo]

3. No longer the "I" word, should be the "T" word. T-R-E-A-S-O-N.

[jimshoes]

4. What is it going to take to

finally cement it into the heads of most Americans that the entire bush criminal organization is guilty of absolute treason against America and her constitution and her people. These guys are nothing but nazi's with a red white and blue paint job.

[IndianaGreen]

5. Doug Feith is a neocon ultra-Zionist

One of Wolfowitz's pals, who has been working very hard at getting us involved in a war against Iran as he was on Iraq.

[Jonathan50]

6. Rumsfeld forbade his staff to even mention planning for the occupation

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2006_09/009469.php

"The secretary of defense continued to push on us ... that everything we write in our plan has to be the idea that we are going to go in, we're going to take out the regime, and then we're going to leave," Scheid said. "We won't stay."

Scheid said the planners continued to try "to write what was called Phase 4," or the piece of the plan that included post-invasion operations like occupation.

Even if the troops didn't stay, "at least we have to plan for it," Scheid said.

"I remember the secretary of defense saying that he would fire the next person that said that," Scheid said. "We would not do planning for Phase 4 operations, which would require all those additional troops that people talk about today.

"He said we will not do that because the American public will not back us if they think we are going over there for a long war."

--Brigadier General Mark Scheid, chief of the Logistics War Plans Division after 9/11

Shouldn't this be brought to the attention of Congress? I've never heard it anywhere else and I keep posting it to various blogs and no one ever comments.

[Nostradammit]

7. " - the American public will not back us if they think

we are going over there for a long war."




"Of course we ARE going over there for a long war and the chaos that will ensue from our lack of planning is in the plan.
That will be the Phase 4 operation which will then take us on to Phase 5, Tehran; but we don't want the public to know that"
continued Rumsfeld.

[rodeodance]

28. Here are good background articles/information:

* PDF | Comments from the DOD on the draft report by the DOD's OIG
* Senate Intelligence Committee
* Troubling questions over justification for war in Iraq, 5/31/03
* Data didn't back Bush claims on Iraqi weapons, officials say, 6/6/03
* On the Web | Raw Story ongoing coverage
* What went wrong with Iraq Intelligence?, 2/6/04
* Doubts cast on efforts to link Saddam, al-Qaida, 3/2/04
* Iraqi exile group fed false information to news media, 3/15/04

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/16656258.htm

[wellst0nev0ter]

8. Here's What Mr. Stupidest Fucking Man On The Face Of The Earth

had to say about the botched intelligence:

In a telephone interview yesterday, Feith emphasized the inspector general's conclusion that his actions, described in the report as "inappropriate," were not unlawful. "This was not 'alternative intelligence assessment,' " he said. "It was from the start a criticism of the consensus of the intelligence community, and in presenting it I was not endorsing its substance."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/08/AR2007020802387.html

Why they are not seeing the inside of a prison cell is beyond me :grr:

[Lasher]

33. Uh, what did Feith say?

I read it about four times and I just get more confusder. Water's not wet or something?

Feith doesn't need to trouble himself with a personal asessment of his actions' legality. That is more appropriately left to others like Jay Rockefeller:

“The Inspector General’s report makes it clear in plain language that the actions of the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy were inappropriate.

“Individuals in that office produced and disseminated intelligence products outside of the regular intelligence channels. These intelligence products were inconsistent with the consensus judgments of the Intelligence Community. This office did this without coordinating with the Intelligence Community and as a result policy makers received distorted intelligence.

“Section 502 of the National Security Act of 1947 requires the heads of all departments and agencies of the U.S. government involved in intelligence activities ‘to keep the congressional oversight committees informed.’

“The IG has concluded that this office was engaged in intelligence activities. The Senate Intelligence Committee was never informed of these activities. Whether these actions were authorized or not, it appears that they were not in compliance with the law.

“In the coming days, I will carefully review all aspects of the report and will consult with Vice Chairman Bond to determine whether any additional action by the Senate Intelligence Committee is warranted.”

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2007/A_devastating_condemnation_of_OSP_and_0208.html
(scroll to the bottom)

[133724]

9. Senators: Inspector's report is 'devastating condemnation' of Office of Special Plans...

Larisa Alexandrovna


Contrary to speculation and some earlier reports, the Department of Defense Inspector General's office did not exonerate the controversial Office of Special Plans, which has been accused of cooking pre-war intelligence on Iraq, nor was its then chief overseer, former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, Douglas Feith, vindicated.

According to a statement released by Armed Services Committee chairman Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) Thursday night to RAW STORY, the IG's report is a "devastating condemnation of the activities of the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy." In a separate statement, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, states that whether the intelligence activities "were authorized or not, it appears that they were not in compliance with the law."

<snip>

Pointing the finger higher up and directly at former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his then Deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz, the IG concluded, according to Levin's statement, that Feith's "inappropriate activities were authorized by the Secretary of Defense or the Deputy Secretary of Defense."

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2007/A_devastating_condemnation_of_OSP_and_0208.html

[acmavm]

10. Oh man. I just read a few minutes ago that the findings were that

Feith did nothing 'illegal'.

But silly me, I figure lying a country into a war is treason and that treason means that something 'illegal' went on somewhere.

[JoFerret]

11. Now they shoud turm their attention to Anna Nicole Smith

- far more interesting than the chaos in Iraq and the revelation of corruption and incompetency.
(Who was ANS anyway and why is she so fascinating to DU?

[rodeodance]

12. The whole Adminstration has been 'Lawyered up" for some time.

[kskiska]

13. WP: Official's Key Report On Iraq Is Faulted

'Dubious' Intelligence Fueled Push for War

By Walter Pincus and R. Jeffrey Smith
Friday, February 9, 2007; A01

Intelligence provided by former undersecretary of defense Douglas J. Feith to buttress the White House case for invading Iraq included "reporting of dubious quality or reliability" that supported the political views of senior administration officials rather than the conclusions of the intelligence community, according to a report by the Pentagon's inspector general.

Feith's office "was predisposed to finding a significant relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda," according to portions of the report, released yesterday by Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.). The inspector general described Feith's activities as "an alternative intelligence assessment process."

An unclassified summary of the full document is scheduled for release today in a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which Levin chairs. In that summary, a copy of which was obtained from another source by The Washington Post, the inspector general concluded that Feith's assessment in 2002 that Iraq and al-Qaeda had a "mature symbiotic relationship" was not fully supported by available intelligence but was nonetheless used by policymakers.

At the time of Feith's reporting, the CIA had concluded only that there was an "evolving" association, "based on sources of varying reliability."

In a telephone interview yesterday, Feith emphasized the inspector general's conclusion that his actions, described in the report as "inappropriate," were not unlawful. "This was not 'alternative intelligence assessment,' " he said. "It was from the start a criticism of the consensus of the intelligence community, and in presenting it I was not endorsing its substance."

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/08/AR2007020802387.html

[Amonester]

14. Look at the date: just in time for the...

FRIDAY NEWS DUMP

why?

Edit: PLUS... a celeb just died at age 39... imagine that... all this valuable ink totally wasted (nobody outside the Internet will notice since the M$M shill$ on teevee won't say one single word about it).

[underpants]

15. Pentagon Says Pre-War Intel Not Illegal (OSP)

"Office of Special Plans" doesn't appear until the 11th paragraph...on page 2
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2861168&page=1

WASHINGTON Feb 9, 2007 (AP)— A "very damning" report by the Defense Department's inspector general depicts a Pentagon that purposely manipulated intelligence in an effort to link Saddam Hussein to al-Qaida in the runup to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, says the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The investigation by acting inspector general Thomas F. Gimble found that prewar intelligence work at the Pentagon, including a contention that the CIA had underplayed the likelihood of an al-Qaida connection, was inappropriate but not illegal. The report was to be presented to Levin's panel at a hearing Friday.


Feith called "bizarre" the inspector general's conclusion that some intelligence activities by the Office of Special Plans, which was created while Feith served as the undersecretary of defense for policy the top policy position under Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld were inappropriate but not unauthorized.

At the center of the prewar intelligence controversy was the work of a small number of Pentagon officials from Feith's office and the office of Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz who reviewed CIA intelligence analyses and put together their own report. When they briefed Rumsfeld on their report in August 2002 a period when Vice President Dick Cheney and other administration officials were ratcheting up their warnings about the gravity of the Iraq threat Rumsfeld directed them to also brief CIA Director George Tenet.


-LAST PARAGRAPH of the article-
The controversy has simmered for several years. The Senate Intelligence Committee included the Office of Special Plans in its investigation into the prewar intelligence on Iraq, but the committee did not finish that portion of its work when it released the first part of its findings in July 2004.

[screembloodymurder]

16. Yes, but was it accurate?

And did the WH direct use it, knowing it was inaccurate, in a deliberate attempt to lead this country into war.

[Kagemusha]

18. The mind-boggling thing is Feith saying he didn't present it as accurate

but as counter-argument without vouching for the accuracy himself.

And they used it as more accurate than the regular intel community's stuff?

And Feith didn't push it as accurate!?!

So what, they took it as accurate against his will!?!!!

[rodeodance]

23. Feith knew------knew soldiers would die and yet he did it. And Cheney

knew this (and others). yet they did it. that is mind boggling. I will say EVIL.

[notadmblnd]

17. and where did the pentagon get their legal advice....

from Yoo and Bertie gonzales?

[underpants]

20. They have investigated themselves and determined

that they didn't do anything wrong.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

19. faint praise.

how about
unethical, immoral, inadequate, unsupportable, inane, ineffable, . . .

[rodeodance]

21. AP Report says Pentagon manipulated intel (better headline now)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070209/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/iraq_pentagon_intelligence

Report says Pentagon manipulated intel

By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer 9 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - A "very damning" report by the Defense Department's inspector general depicts a Pentagon that purposely manipulated intelligence in an effort to link
Saddam Hussein to al-Qaida in the runup to the U.S. invasion of
Iraq, says the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.


"That was the argument that was used to make the sale to the American people about the need to go to war," said Sen. Carl Levin (news, bio, voting record), D-Mich. He said the Pentagon's work, "which was wrong, which was distorted, which was inappropriate ... is something which is highly disturbing."

The investigation by acting inspector general Thomas F. Gimble found that prewar intelligence work at the Pentagon, including a contention that the
CIA had underplayed the likelihood of an al-Qaida connection, was inappropriate but not illegal. The report was to be presented to Levin's panel at a hearing Friday.

The report found that former Pentagon policy chief Douglas J. Feith had not engaged in illegal activities through the creation of special offices to review intelligence. Some Democrats also have contended that Feith misled Congress about the basis of the administration's assertions on the threat posed by Iraq, but the Pentagon investigation did not support that. Two people familiar with the findings discussed the main points and some details Thursday on condition they not be identified.

Levin has asserted that President Bush took the country to war in Iraq based in part on intelligence assessments — some shaped by Feith's office — that were off base and did not fully reflect the views of the intelligence community.

[rodeodance]

22. AFP: Pentagon criticizes key pre-Iraq war findings of top Rumsfeld aide

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070209/pl_afp/usiraqpolitics_070209132813

Pentagon criticizes key pre-Iraq war findings of top Rumsfeld aide

34 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Former US secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld's top policy aide produced dubious intelligence reports linking
Saddam Hussein and the Al-Qaeda terror network to bolster the case for war with Iraq, according to a Pentagon investigation.


The work done by the Pentagon office headed by Douglas Feith was "inappropriate," though neither illegal nor unauthorized, according to portions of a classified report released Friday by Democratic Senator Carl Levin (news, bio, voting record).

The report is a "devastating condemnation" of the office headed by former undersecretary of defense Feith, a civilian, who had a key role in drumming up domestic and international political support for invading Iraq in 2003, said Levin in a statement.

Levin will hear Friday from Department of Defense Inspector General Thomas Gimble, who is scheduled to present the investigation's classified findings to the
Senate Armed Services Committee, which the senator chairs.

[underpants]

25. I like this one best

well done rodeo

[Bonobo]

24. That's a pretty lukewarm defense... "Not illegal"? Sounds damning to me.

[Lasher]

35. A very good indication of just how far we have sunk, Bonobo.

I do believe this claim, which by the way is incorrect IMO, will be remembered as one of our low water marks.

[Trajan]

26. Crimany .... We knew that 5 years ago ....

Take a look at DU's archives from 2002 on and you will see the threads regarding Feith, Shulsky, Wolfowitz, and the whole Cheney/Rumsfeld/OSP/PNAC/AEI cabal in plain sight and clearly defined ...

Alternative intelligence = 'Stovepiping' ...

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

27. Does anyone one know if the hearing is being streamed anywhere? Thanks! eom

[catgirl]

29. AP: Report says Pentagon manipulated intel

WASHINGTON - A "very damning" report by the Defense Department's inspector general depicts a Pentagon that purposely manipulated intelligence in an effort to link Saddam Hussein to al-Qaida in the runup to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, says the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

ADVERTISEMENT

"That was the argument that was used to make the sale to the American people about the need to go to war," said Sen. Carl Levin (news, bio, voting record), D-Mich. He said the Pentagon's work, "which was wrong, which was distorted, which was inappropriate ... is something which is highly disturbing."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070209/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/iraq_pentagon_intelligence

[truthisfreedom]

30. Sounds about right. Damning is a good word for it.

Damning to the administration.

[BOSSHOG]

31. The report is incomplete

It should state, Pentagon pressured by cheney to manipulate intel for political purposes. It also should state the fact that bush and his evil inner circle intentionally ignored intel so they could conveniently plead ignorance to the 9-11 attacks which in reality bush let the attacks happen so he could become a cowboy war president. (Imagine bush pretending to be ignorant.)

[ThoughtCriminal]

32. Yahoo! Story is being Freeped

Rate it!

Report says Pentagon manipulated intel
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070209/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/iraq_pentagon_intelligence

[Doctor_J]

34. Sums up the * cabal - "alternative intelligence"

:puke:

[Jack Rabbit]

36. 'Alternative intelligence' has a certain ring to it

like "inoperative statements."

[Supersedeas]

37. nothing to see here...feed them more ANS

[tex-wyo-dem]

38. WaPo: Official's Key Report On Iraq Is Faulted - 'Dubious' Intelligence Fueled Push for War

Official's Key Report On Iraq Is Faulted
'Dubious' Intelligence Fueled Push for War

By Walter Pincus and R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, February 9, 2007; A01

Intelligence provided by former undersecretary of defense Douglas J. Feith to buttress the White House case for invading Iraq included "reporting of dubious quality or reliability" that supported the political views of senior administration officials rather than the conclusions of the intelligence community, according to a report by the Pentagon's inspector general.

Feith's office "was predisposed to finding a significant relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda," according to portions of the report, released yesterday by Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.). The inspector general described Feith's activities as "an alternative intelligence assessment process."

An unclassified summary of the full document is scheduled for release today in a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which Levin chairs. In that summary, a copy of which was obtained from another source by The Washington Post, the inspector general concluded that Feith's assessment in 2002 that Iraq and al-Qaeda had a "mature symbiotic relationship" was not fully supported by available intelligence but was nonetheless used by policymakers.

At the time of Feith's reporting, the CIA had concluded only that there was an "evolving" association, "based on sources of varying reliability."

<more>

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/08/AR2007020802387_pf.html