http://intelligence.senate.gov/080605/phase2b.pdf. What I think is of even more interest than the initial report on Bush & Co. inflating the threat of the "relationship" between Saddam and Al-Qaeda is the second report regarding the Rome meetings in Dec 2001 between DoD officials working for Douglas Feith's notorious Office of Special Plans and Michael Ledeen, Manucher Ghorbanifar and two supposed Iranians who claimed to be big shots in the regime, whose bona fides were never proven, btw. (Never a worry with Rummy's Feith-based intelligence operation, though, Ghorbi's word is good enough for them!)
Interestingly, the meeting was set up in the first place by an officer of a "foreign intelligence service" (one guess as to which one) and Ledeen, whose sources were regarded by US intelligence services as "nefarious and unreliable."
Knowing that the names Ledeen and Ghorbanifar were mud with the CIA, none of the DoD participants wanted either the CIA or the State Department to know about the meeting.
Ledeen and Co. actually went so far as to fabricate a story that the Iranian "defectors" wouldn't talk if they knew the CIA was involved, which was a total lie.
What the Ledeen bunch was afraid of was anyone finding out they were talking to anyone associated with Ghorbanifar.
Naturally, it wasn't long before Ghorbanifar was talking about how much money he would need for the US Gov for his brilliant plan to overthrow the Iranian regime.
What at the meeting had started out as a $5 million plan scrawled out on a a table napkin (sort of like the post-Iraq invasion plan) soon mushroomed into $25 million with more installments needed down the road.
Luckily, ultimately word got about about this meeting and the adults intervened. The report states the DoD's HUMINT service (after about thirty seconds of reviewing the intel provided by the Iranians and Ledeen) determined that "no further contact with Ledeen was warranted or advisable."
What's also very interesting about this whole affair is AIPAC's Larry Franklin (subsequently sentenced to 13 years in jail for spying for Israel) using "intel" he got at this meeting to inform a Special Forces officer in Afghanistan about some supposed Iranian death squads who were hunting for US troops. He never apparently sent this info up the chain of command to be vetted or anything crazy like that, he just picked up a satellite phone and called this guy in Afghanistan.
Ledeen and Franklin claim the intel gleaned from these Iranians "saved American lives,"
but this is only based on the word of this one officer Franklin talked to, who miraculously was able to find these Iranians almost immediately. Beyond Franklin's recollection, there is no documentary evidence that any of this ever occurred according to the DoD.
No wonder al-Qaeda is panicking in their boots about the departure of this administration! With enemies like these who needs friends?
In closing, it wasn't too long before Ledeen and Ghorbanifar were able to find another sucker in the person of former Pennsylvania congressman Curt Weldon, who lapped up their scary fairy tales about Iranian terror squads in Canada plotting to blow up nuclear power plans etc., helpfully provided by Ghorbanifar's secret contact codenamed "Ali" (referred to in the report as Ghorbi's brother in Paris).
It's really true what they say: 'There's one born every minute.'
Too bad there were so many all clumped together working for this administration all at one time.
There's about 4,090 Americans who would be a live today and another 50 or 60 thousand or so who would be whole right now if not for the criminal stupidity of those working in the Office of Special Plans.
See more on the OSP in Mother Jones: "The Lie Factory"
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2004/01/12_405.html
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