Germans say they told Bush info used to justify war in Iraq was unreliable

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http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/11/20/germans_say_informant_us_used_to_justify_war_in_iraq_was_unreliable/

BERLIN -- German intelligence officials responsible for one of the most important informants on Saddam Hussein's suspected weapons of mass destruction said that the Bush administration and the CIA had repeatedly exaggerated the informant's assertions as Washington prepared for the war.

Five senior officials from Germany's Federal Intelligence Service said in interviews with The Los Angeles Times that they warned US intelligence authorities that the source, an Iraqi defector codenamed Curveball, never claimed to produce germ weapons and never saw anyone else do so.

According to the Germans, President Bush mischaracterized Curveball's information when he warned before the war that Iraq had at least seven mobile factories brewing biological poisons.

Colin L. Powell, then secretary of state, also misstated Curveball's claims in his prewar presentation to the United Nations on Feb. 5, 2003, the Germans said.