CIA analyst warnings on "Curveball" ignored by his boss

[flpoljunkie]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39770-2004Jul9.html

Analyst Questioned Sources' Reliability
Warning Came Before Powell Report to U.N.

By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, July 10, 2004; Page A09

A few days before Secretary of State Colin L. Powell gave his 2003 presentation to the U.N. Security Council on Iraq's purported weapons of mass destruction -- with its startling allegation that four individuals had confirmed that Iraq had mobile biological weapons laboratories -- a government analyst who had read a draft of the speech sent an urgent e-mail to his boss.

All those sources are suspect or unreliable, especially the key one nicknamed "Curve Ball," warned the analyst, the only U.S. intelligence official who had met Curve Ball.

The analyst received a dismissive reply. "This war's going to happen regardless of what Curve Ball said or didn't say, and . . . the Powers That Be probably aren't terribly interested in whether Curve Ball knows what he's talking about," replied the deputy chief of the CIA's Iraq task force. The warning was never passed on to Powell or his top aides.

The incident, detailed in the Senate Select Intelligence Committee's report on prewar intelligence, underscores a central theme in the committee's investigation: Although there is little evidence that intelligence analysts were pressured to change their findings, the agency ignored or belittled inconvenient or contradictory facts in its rush to present the most dramatic case against the Iraqi government.

more...

[rumguy]

1. If that isn't evidence of pressure I don't know what is...

[Kellanved]

2. Yes, "Curveball" was (is) one of the German BND's sources

This (English) Spiegel article is quite interesting:
http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/english/0,1518,294118,00.html

[flpoljunkie]

3. Yes, very interesting. Thanks.

Our CIA, led by George Tenet, apparently "aided and abetted" the Bush administration in their rush to war in Iraq, ignoring the professionals in their ranks who disagreed with them.

We can and must do better.

[Gin]

4. wasn't "curveball" a friend or relative of Chalabi? I think I heard

that during the news conference. Also heard he was an alcoholic and couldn't be trusted.

[Kellanved]

8. "brother of a friend"

At least that's what the Spiegel story says.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

5. Who was the Deputy Chief of the CIA's Iraq Task Force?

[Pepperbelly]

6. Was Pants-on-fire more reliable? Just wondering... nt

[Killarney]

7. Ugh.

I'm so pissed.