White House Ordered Forged, Back-dated Letter After Invasion To Concoct Saddam/Al Qaeda Link»

[babylonsister]

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/05/suskind-iraq/

Suskind: White House Ordered Forged, Back-dated Letter After Invasion To Concoct Saddam/Al Qaeda Link»


A new book by Pullitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind claims that, after the Iraq war began, the White House ordered the CIA to forge a back-dated, handwritten letter from the head of Iraqi intelligence to Saddam Hussein tying Iraq to al Qaeda. Here’s what Suskind reports:

– Saddam Hussein’s intelligence chief, Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti, told U.S. and British officials there was no WMD in Iraq, “intelligence they received in plenty of time to stop an invasion.”

– In the fall of 2003, the White House ordered CIA Director George Tenet to forge a “fake letter from Habbush to Saddam, backdated to July 1, 2001,” Suskind writes. “It said that 9/11 ringleader Mohammad Atta had actually trained for his mission in Iraq” and that Iraq bought yellowcake uranium from Niger with the help of al Qaeda.

– The letter was commissioned “from the highest reaches of the White House.” “It would have to come from the very top,” Suskind told NPR today.

After the fake letter was released in late 2003, press outlets reported it as evidence of a Saddam/al Qaeda link. “Now, if this is true, that blows the lid off al Qaeda—Saddam,” said Bill O’Reilly at the time.

“The White House plans to push back hard,” Politico reports. Former CIA Director George Tenet today called the charges “ridiculous” and questioned whether Suskind is a “serious journalist.” “There was no such order from the White House to me,” he said. On NBC’s Today Show, Suskind said Tenet simply does not remember the letter — but Tenet’s staff does:

I think this is part of George’s memory issue. … He seems not to remember it. That’s at least what he claims. In this book, instead of going to George, I went to all the people around George, close to George, who remember because they were involved in the thing, and they remember what George says to them.

Watch it at link~

After a White House meeting, Tenet went back to the CIA and ordered his staff to forge the letter. “Listen Marine, you’re not going to like this, but here goes,” Tenet told Rob Richer, former head of the CIA’s Near East Division, according to Richer.

Suskind also said he spoke with U.S. intelligence officials who stated that Bush was informed unequivocally in January 2003 that Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction.

White House press spokesman Tony Fratto attacked Suskind today, stating that he “makes a living from gutter journalism” and calling the book one of Suskind’s “bizarre conspiracy theories.”

[KaryninMiami]

1. Yup- it's all unraveling, piece by piece, day by day. But will it make a difference?

Doubtful, thanks to our spineless (not all but most) Congress who does not seem to feel there's enough criminal evidence to do much more then give us a "dog and pony show" to appease those of us who give a shit about the rule of law (such as Kucinich and Wexler and the few others who "get it"). Pelosi and Reid however where are they? She's pimping her book and he's on summer holiday I assume.

What's it going to take before they actually stand up and do the job we hired them to do? How much more evidence is needed before an actual, real live, impeachment hearing becomes a reality?

Where is our media? Why is this not on the front page of every newspaper and the top story of every news show? Oh yes- I forgot for a minute about our media and who owns them.

I'm so tired of being so angry all the time- every day it's a new and even more obvious lie to the American people. Very sad indeed that our country has come to what it has become.

[babylonsister]

2. Is concocting a war treason, or close? Proof positive here.

I'm so tired, too, tired of being so frustrated that no one seems to care this happened. That goes for Congress and the media.

[KaryninMiami]

4. I understand. Completely. Anyone want to start researching where we can all move to?

Ever since I got on the election fraud merry-go-round which started my rage in full force, it's been non-stop frustration ever since.

If McCain wins, I am not sure I can stay here any more- I'm exhausted from fighting and frankly, what would the point be? And, as much as we are all really optimistic about an Obama win (and yes, I still believe it is possible and have not totally given up hope), the truth is, these criminals have embedded themselves so deeply into the basic fundamentals of our country at its core and have destroyed so many aspects of what our country is supposed to stand for (that silly constitution gets in the way all the time), that even if Obama wins, we have a long way to go before we can undo all of this damage. I'm willing to stay and work through this however, under an Obama administration but should McCain win- all bets (for me) are off.

Maybe we can form a special group of DU folks and their friends who do not want to hang out here if this happens and start researching where we can all go and set up some sort of progressive community.

[OhioChick]

3. K&R

:kick:

[Vanje]

5. kick

Keep that powder dry Nancy.
Its only treason.
again.

[cayuga]

6. All eyes are on Rob Richer.

Everything rests on what Rob Richer does next. Does he admit it? If he does, all hell will break loose. If he denies it, we will know he is lying but we will patiently wait until the ultimate truth is known. And it will come out. They have too many irons in the fire and too many people involved. They are only as strong as their weakest link...and they know it. They must be sweating bullets.

We're going to out you, you bastards. We're coming!!!

[Vanje]

7. Nancy Pelosi , What would it take?

What would it take to put impeachment back on the table?

What crimes would the Bush Administration have to be incriminated in, before you'd say, "Enough."?

What would they have to do to turn you?

I really would like to know the answer.