Colin Powell demands answers over Curveball's WMD lies

[CHIMO]

Source: guardian.co.uk

Colin Powell, the US secretary of state at the time of the Iraq invasion, has called on the CIA and Pentagon to explain why they failed to alert him to the unreliability of a key source behind claims of Saddam Hussein's bio-weapons capability.

Responding to the Guardian's revelation that the source, Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi or "Curveball" as his US and German handlers called him, admitted fabricating evidence of Iraq's secret biological weapons programme, Powell said that questions should be put to the US agencies involved in compiling the case for war. In particular he singled out the CIA and the Defence Intelligence Agency – the Pentagon's military intelligence arm. Janabi, an Iraqi defector, was used as the primary source by the Bush administration to justify invading Iraq in March 2003. Doubts about his credibility circulated before the war and have been confirmed by his admission this week that he lied.

Powell said that both the CIA and DIA should face questions about why they failed to sound the alarm about Janabi. He demanded to know why it had not been made clear to him that Curveball was totally unreliable before false information was put into the key intelligence assessment, or NIE, put before Congress, into the president's state of the union address two months before the war and into his own speech to the UN.

"It has been known for several years that the source called Curveball was totally unreliable," he told the Guardian . "The question should be put to the CIA and the DIA as to why this wasn't known before the false information was put into the NIE sent to Congress, the president's state of the union address and my 5 February presentation to the UN."



Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/16/colin-powell-cia-curveball

[tishaLA]

1. American Public Demands Answers over Powell's Too-Credulous Recitation of Curveball's Lies

film at 11, but not on the corporate Powell-loving media.

[mike_c]

2. because you are an utter tool, Colin-- because you're a tool....

eom

[JuniperLea]

3. OFFS!

Too late, asshat... too late to cover your ass now. We knew you were lying at the time... check it out, dude, your face told the whole story.

Pft... and I thought YOU were going to be our first black president... I hate myself for having any confidence in you at all.

This is beyond disgusting.

[goforit]

48. "Lets play pretend" "I'll pretend I had no idea and C-ball will

pretend to admit it was a set up"

And now Bush/Cheney is off the hook.

Curveball is the fallguy for their pretend war games!

Way to go Colin!

Whata asshole!

[snappyturtle]

4. Oh, it a cover his _ _ _ moment! I never understood why Powell

thought Curveball was reliable in the first place. Maybe Powell should have asked some questions of the CIA and DIA BEFORE he spoke at the UN.

[tanyev]

5. Psst, Colin! They didn't sound any alarms because Cheney made sure they didn't.

Next question?

[ixion]

6. LOL@ Colin Powell... nice try, dude

that doesn't get you off the hook. It was YOUR bogus speech at the UN that paved the way for the illegal invasion of Iraq.

[Mnemosyne]

7. Hypocrite, Inc. K&R n/t

[Iliyah]

10. Let the corporate

media tell it, the Bushies, ie Pres. Chenney and crew are shocked, I tell you shocked! Yea right, what bullshit. They knew, and they have blood on their hands.

[Mnemosyne]

11. Hypocrites & War Criminals, Inc. should have been my subject. Sickening heinous crew. n/t.

[barbtries]

8. i remember clearly

when he testified to the UN. i didn't watch, but my DIL at the time did, and she said, "he was very convincing," and i said, "he's lying."

if i knew it then, how the hell you gonna tell me HE didn't know it?! tell him to go look in the mirror...

[jtrockville]

9. And we must never forget: POWELL LIED CONVINCINGLY

His credibility is long gone.

[calimary]

35. Same thing at my house. My husband who was a big fan of Colin Powell's said the same thing.

And I gave the same response you did, barbtries. Colin Powell's presence was the only thing that eased my guy's mind about having dubya in the White House. He was sure Powell would be a mitigating influence. I remember when word leaked how cheney evidently shoved him out there, telling him it had to be him delivering this info at the UN because he could afford to lose a few percentage points in the public opinion polls.

And I keep going back to all that - SHIT! If WE knew, what the hell was wrong with all the assholes who fell for it, who could have prevented it from happening???????

:banghead:

Oh yeah, and you're too late, colin. All that blood is on YOUR hands too.

:nopity:

[sasha031]

12. he just figuring this out?

[tblue37]

13. Bulls***

That is what he called the fake intelligence when he was asked to present it in a speech. He actually threw it when he said that, hecause he knew what utter garbage it was. He knew it was BS—-and explicitly said so in private—-but he went along with it in public anyway, because he is an opportunistic careerist who will do whatever his bosses tell him to do. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, either. His son Michael learned his values (or lack thereof) at his father’s knee.

Powell is just trying to redeem his reputation, but that simply isn’t possible. He knew, and we knew he knew.

The analysts at the CIA and DIA were high-pressured by Cheney and his minions to produce the intelligence CheneyBush wanted, and CheneyBush deliberately cherry-picked only the information they wanted to see. Anyone in either agency who resisted the pressure to provide the intelligence CheneyBush wanted would have become persona non grata and eventually would have had to find other employment.

Don’t go after the low-level workers who did what they were told to do—investigate the bosses who required them to do it! If he is really outraged, Powell should be screaming for an investigation into Cheney, Bush and all those who facilitated their lies at the highest levels of government--including one Colin Powell, Secretary of State.

His faux outrage is just more Bulls***

[formercia]

14. He doth protest too much, Methinks

Too late Colin.

[underpants]

15. two weeks past the 8 year anniversary of being too late bud

Mai-Lai
Iran Contra
Iraq War

three strikes

[frylock]

16. colin powell? THIS colin powell?

[Robb]

25. +1,033,000.

Fuck Colin Powell.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

51. No silly. Collin Powell 4G. The one who relies on people having no memory

and Democrats covering up for them.

[Ignis]

54. Well, you know, there was no time to vet the intel...

PNAC runs a tight ship, and you do not want to delay their war profits.

[onethatcares]

17. all he had to do

was read it here on DU instead of believing a vice president.

[Kingofalldems]

18. Special Prosecutor needed in this case

[Ian David]

19. Powell either knew or SHOULD HAVE KNOWN this was bullshit. n/t

[totodeinhere]

20. Oh boo hoo hoo Powell. You knew exactly what was going on and you went along with it.

Now you are trying to cover your tracks. They need to put you on trial along with Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the other war criminals from that administration.

[Lint Head]

21. Sounds like a lot of powerful people believed these idiots.

UnFu cking believable.

[chill_wind]

39. Or. There's just a whole lot of fresh new attempted legacy washing going on. n/t

[notadmblnd]

22. did he just stop out of a cave?

How could he have not thought to have asked this question sooner?

[Bluenorthwest]

23. A pathetic shell of a shill. Powell is without honor.

And now he whines about lies he himself sold. He himself was derelict in his duty, and now rather than accepting accountability he is making a few stern phone calls. He should be in jail.

[hootinholler]

24. My Lie Powell covers his ass again.

By shouting Quelle Surprise!

A younger me would have said something like smooth move, Ex Lax. But I'm above that crap now that I'm older.

-Hoot

[unkachuck]

26. ....now you want questions answered?

....what's the matter colin, is the lecture circuit not as lucrative as it was in the past?

[EFerrari]

27. I call upon Colin Powell to explain his career of covering up war crimes.

:puke:

[L. Coyote]

28. Ding, ding. BINGO!

No shit! What does this lying clown think, that he was the one being conned?
I don't think so. He just wants to rewrite history to his own glorification.

[Ignis]

55. You hippies are still sore over that little My Lai whitewash?

Jeez, get over it! The man's a decorated war hero, so he can do no wrong!

:sarcasm:

[sofa king]

29. Nobody could have predicted that Curveball was lying.

Except us.

Eight years ago:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/03/02/12_lying.html

Seven years ago:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x682396

Five years ago:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5412183
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1357492

Four years ago:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x268781

[EFerrari]

30. I wish I could recommend that post.

[BadGimp]

31. "You've Been Pimped" the Bush era Political Reality show

[Bragi]

32. How come I knew it was bullshit, but Powell didn't?

How about investigating that?

[Angry Dragon]

33. So he is not smart enough to question things that he is told??

They were told that others could not verify WMD, but they went ahead anyway and told the lies.

[truthisfreedom]

34. God, his smug fat face makes me feel violent.

[lovuian]

36. He deserves and answer because we did a preemptive

strike on a nation ....and LIED to the American people and the World

and he showed us satellite pictures too

we spent a Trillion dollars

someone needs to answer for this

[Greybnk48]

37. Fraud!

Your reputation is shot buddy.

[rooboy]

38. Powell\'s going after Cheney. n/t

[Skip_In_Boulder]

40. Colin, here is the information you requested on Curveball

He is a fucking lier.

[Lucinda]

41. Better late than never, I guess. n/t

[DeSwiss]

42. Speaking of wanting answers to lies......

- Let's start with http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8339">My Lai, General.......

K&R

[Nossida]

43. typical

Hey Powell,
It was your job to know this shit, before
you went and did your presentation for the
World at the UN.

You really can't believe anyone outside the
Corporate Fascist Rightwing Government believes
your excuses do you?

OOOpppss, Sorry Iraqi dead, we made a mistake.
And your Country has been destroyed, and sold
off to Standard Oil.

Its all Curveballs fault.

[Rex]

44. Doesn't that dumbfuck already know he is labeled a war criminal?

From decades ago?

:facepalmdeluxe:

[yurbud]

45. several in Congress asked the right questions: even if Saddam had EVERYTHING the Bushies claimed...

why in god's name would he use it against us or even give it to terrorists to use against use, knowing he'd be guaranteeing his own death and possibly the death of everyone in his country if he did so?

There would have been no upside to Saddam using those anymore than there would be to try to hold up a gun show.

We've got more of everything than just about anybody and only the Russians have ever had the same number or more nukes than us, numbered in the thousands compared to China and Europe's hundreds at the most.

Saddam could not even threaten Israel since they have hundreds of nukes of their own to retaliate with.

Colin Powell was smart enough to know this.

[JohnyCanuck]

46. Powell reported back exactly what his superiors wanted to hear.

The letter's troubling allegations were not well received at Americal headquarters. Maj. Powell undertook the assignment to review Glen's letter, but did so without questioning Glen or assigning anyone else to talk with him. Powell simply accepted a claim from Glen's superior officer that Glen was not close enough to the front lines to know what he was writing about, an assertion Glen denies.

After that cursory investigation, Powell drafted a response on Dec. 13, 1968. He admitted to no pattern of wrongdoing. Powell claimed that U.S. soldiers in Vietnam were taught to treat Vietnamese courteously and respectfully. The Americal troops also had gone through an hour-long course on how to treat prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions, Powell noted.

"There may be isolated cases of mistreatment of civilians and POWs," Powell wrote in 1968. But "this by no means reflects the general attitude throughout the Division." Indeed, Powell's memo faulted Glen for not complaining earlier and for failing to be more specific in his letter.

Powell reported back exactly what his superiors wanted to hear. (My emphasis /JC) "In direct refutation of this portrayal," Powell concluded, "is the fact that relations between Americal soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent."

Powell's findings, of course, were false. But it would take another Americal hero, an infantryman named Ron Ridenhour, to piece together the truth about the atrocity at My Lai. After returning to the United States, Ridenhour interviewed Americal comrades who had participated in the massacre.

http://www.consortiumnews.com/archive/colin3.html

[dpbrown]

47. CYA much?

Oh, the irony!!!

[Recursion]

49. When Powell finished his UN speech he turned to Armitage and said "That was bullshit"

So this seems like pretty weak sauce.

[xchrom]

50. oh please Miss Powell -- cry me a river.

:eyes:

[displacedvermoter]

52. Barack Obama has the CIA's back

or don't you remember?

[closeupready]

53. Sorry, but you cashed out your reputation when you made that presentation to the UN.

No way to salvage that at this point, that I can see.

[grasswire]

56. it would be better to blame it on the ambien, General.

He once talked about how everyone in Washington uses ambien.

[AmBlue]

57. Day late and a dollar short. n/t

[Frank Cannon]

58. The whole Curveball thing was effing ridiculous from the outset.

I mean, how in the hell did this whole thing transpire?

A CIA operative rushes breathlessly into his supervisor's office. "We've heard from an informant in Iraq that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction poised to strike the US at ANY MINUTE!!"
"Well, who is it?" the supervisor asks calmly. "Who's the informant?"
"A guy named Curveball!!"
"OH, MY GOD!!" the supervisor shouts, standing and knocking over his chair. "A GUY NAMED CURVEBALL!!! GET EVERY AGENT ON IT!!

End scene.

[katty]

59. he is JUST NOW figuring this out?! NOW he wants answers?!!#$%^

really, Colin?! go back to sleep.....

[bvar22]

60. For Fucks Sake, Colin!

YOU used Cartoon Drawings to "prove" that Saddam had mobile bio-weapons labs.
CARTOON DRAWINGS!
...in front of the entire WORLD!
CARTOON DRAWINGS!!!


...and then the lap dog media stepped in to applaud how "convincing" you were!

I didn't believe you for a minute,
and that was BEFORE you pulled out the artist renderings and tried to sell that as proof!~


Try THAT in a real court sometime.

"Your Honor,
We don't have actual photographs,
but we DO have these cartoon drawings that clearly show the defendant committing the crime."

:rofl:

What a tool,
and what a fool anyone who believed him.
NOW, he wants to play victim.

Same goes for ANY politician who voted YES on the Iraq War Resolution,
and NOW wants to claim that "Bush Fooled Us." :cry: