Senate Committee Report On Iraq Intelligence Use Released

This guest post is by Jay McDonough of Swimming Freestyle

Not a big surprise for anyone that's paid attention, but the Senate Select Intelligence Committee has released a long awaited report concluding President Bush and Vice President Cheney made public statements that they knew at the time weren't supported by available intelligence.

It's important to note this report is not about the obviously incorrect intelligence the U.S. generated regarding Iraq and weapons of mass destruction.  This report concludes the President and Vice President engaged in an effort to mislead the American public.

“Before taking the country to war, this administration owed it to the American people to give them a 100 percent accurate picture of the threat we faced. Unfortunately, our Committee has concluded that the administration made significant claims that were not supported by the intelligence,” said committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV, D- W. Va. It's long been known that the administration's claims in the runup to the Iraq war, from Saddam Hussein's alleged ties to al Qaida to whether Iraq had an active nuclear weapons program, were incorrect. But the Senate report is the first official examination of whether the president and vice president knew that their claims were incorrect at the time they made them.

“There is no question we all relied on flawed intelligence. But, there is a fundamental difference between relying on incorrect intelligence and deliberately painting a picture to the American people that you know is not fully accurate," Rockefeller said in a statement. (Link)

"Deliberately painting a picture...that you know is not accurate".  Gee, that's one way to put it.  I can think of another.

Not a big surprise for anyone that's paid attention, but the Senate Select Intelligence Committee has released a long awaited report concluding President Bush and Vice President Cheney made public statements that they knew at the time weren't supported by available intelligence.

It's important to note this report is not about the obviously incorrect intelligence the U.S. generated regarding Iraq and weapons of mass destruction.  This report concludes the President and Vice President engaged in an effort to mislead the American public.

“Before taking the country to war, this administration owed it to the American people to give them a 100 percent accurate picture of the threat we faced. Unfortunately, our Committee has concluded that the administration made significant claims that were not supported by the intelligence,” said committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV, D- W. Va. It's long been known that the administration's claims in the runup to the Iraq war, from Saddam Hussein's alleged ties to al Qaida to whether Iraq had an active nuclear weapons program, were incorrect. But the Senate report is the first official examination of whether the president and vice president knew that their claims were incorrect at the time they made them.

“There is no question we all relied on flawed intelligence. But, there is a fundamental difference between relying on incorrect intelligence and deliberately painting a picture to the American people that you know is not fully accurate," Rockefeller said in a statement. (Link)

"Deliberately painting a picture...that you know is not accurate".  Gee, that's one way to put it.  I can think of another.

Comments

[Curmudgeon]

84,328 counts of murder is how I'd put it.