What’s at Stake, Part III

Investigate the White House Iraq Group (WHIG).

Complete the investigation on distortion of intelligence for political goals.

The Senate Intelligence Committee issued a portion of its analysis, labeled Phase I, on prewar intelligence shortcomings in July 2004. But the Republican membership on the Committee has delayed publication of Phase II which purports to deal with how intelligence was "fixed" in order to market the un-provoked, unnecessary, largely unilateral invasion and unplanned occupation of Iraq (UULUIUOI).

The report to be released by the committee tomorrow (always on Friday! right?) focuses on two much-studied issues: the influence of the anti-Saddam exile group Iraqi National Congress in shaping U.S. intelligence estimates, and a comparison of prewar estimates and postwar findings about Iraq's weapons programs and links to terrorism.

400-pages of Phase II were released in September and covered only two of the five topics outlined under Phase II. It's a rehash of the intelligence supplied by the INC and Chalabi and the overestimation of Saddam's WMD threat - has been documented in numerous studies.

A third segment, on the prewar intelligence assessment of postwar Iraq, were issued later in the same month. But of course there is no date-certain for issuing the last two parts of Phase II, which take up the politically divisive issue of whether policy makers manipulated intelligence reports to set the stage for war.

Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, vice-chair of the Senate Committee, says - full truth be known - the Bush administration's case for war in Iraq.

. . . was fundamentally misleading… the administration pursued a deceptive strategy, abusing intelligence reporting that the intelligence community had already warned was uncorroborated, unreliable and in some critical circumstances, fabricated.

If Tuesday's results can end the Republican micro-majority in the Senate, they will no longer be permitted to play DEFENSE to protect its un-American and incompetent White House incumbents who fixed intelligence to fit their policy in Iraq.

~ by vigilante on November 6, 2006.