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CounterPunch
March 15,
2003
Memorandum for
Confused Americans
Cooking Intelligence
for War
by Veteran Intelligence
Professionals for Sanity
Two members of Veteran Intelligence Professionals
for Sanity (VIPS) appeared on German TV's equivalent of a 60
Minutesa on March 6 to discuss the use/abuse of intelligence
to support the US administration's case for attacking Iraq.
Ray McGovern and David MacMichael were among the former CIA officers
interviewed by Channel One's Panorama, whose interviewers were
asking questions seldom heard in American media. As a service
to confused Americans, we have translated the German portions
of the program and append the complete transcript.
We would note that the interviews were
taped before the latest indignities regarding US intelligence
came to light--the forged letters earlier adduced as proof that
Iraq was seeking to obtain uranium from Africa for its nuclear
program, for example. Our embarrassment is actually too painful
to dwell at any length on other recent indignities:
UN inspector ElBarade's preliminary
finding that Iraq has no nuclear weapons program, the gaffes
made by Secretary of State Colin Powell in his debut as imagery
analyst before the UN Security Council, and his praising as
"exquisite;" and a graduate school paper masquerading
as top secret intelligence from the UK, to name just a few.
Embarrassments of this kind receive little
play among those American TV commentators who are helping the
administration beat the drums for war. Such stories usually hit
the cutting room floor. Similarly, no airtime in this country
is provided to veterans of the US Intelligence Community, unless
some can be ferreted out who march to the same drumbeat. Some
of us have had the extraordinary experience of been erased at
the last minute from the op-ed page of the Wall Street Journal
and invited-then-disinvited to/from TV programs like Jim Lehrer
and Fox News.
Ordinarily, we would not mind being marginalized;
we are used to it. But our country seems to be just days away
from a fateful decision to go to war. And many of our former
colleagues and successors are facing a dilemma all too familiar
to intelligence veterans--the difficult choices that must be
faced when the demands of good conscience butt up against deeply
ingrained attitudes concerning secrecy, misguided notions of
what is true patriotism, and understandable reluctance to put
careers--and mortgages--on the line.
In the face of impending catastrophe
we feel a responsibility to speak out--if only to remind the
present generation of intelligence officers that they do have
choices and that in the longer run their consciences will rest
easier if they face squarely into those choices.
As the transcript below indicates, the
situation in the media is quite different in Europe, where TV
is open and hospitable to various viewpoints, pointed questions,
and rigorous analysis. We have no illusions that American TV
would host a no-holds-barred discussion of US intelligence
performance regarding Iraq--or regarding September 11, for that
matter. We do sense, however, that there are millions who crave
more than the mantras sung by the administration and, sadly,
now echoed by the Director of Central Intelligence. It is primarily
for them that we make available below the Panorama transcript.
We appeal to those still working inside
the Intelligence Community to consider turning state's evidence.
Daniel Ellsberg, one who knows, recently noted that truth telling,
in time, can stop a misguided march to war. Ellsberg and our
former CIA colleague, Sam Adams, spoke out courageously to expose
the lies of the Johnson administration and to put the brakes
on the war in Vietnam--but, sadly, not in time. Sam is now deceased,
but Ellsberg recently appealed to insiders at intelligence agencies
"to tell the truth and save many, many lives." We Veterans
Intelligence Professionals for Sanity join in that urgent appeal.
We are encouraged to learn that just
yesterday a long-time Australian intelligence officer resigned
in protest against the handling of US intelligence and his government's
support of US policy on Iraq. So it is indeed possible for intelligence
officers to join Foreign Service counterparts like John Brady
Kiesling and John H. Brown who already put principle and conscience
before obedience and personal advancement in choosing to resign
from the Department of State. Further encouragement is taken
from FBI Special Agent Coleen Rowley's courageous decision to
call public attention to the severe threat to domestic security
that would inevitably come in the wake of a US attack on Iraq--a
threat involving critical dangers that have been soft-pedaled
by the administration. Ms. Rowley is less than two years short
of eligibility for retirement.
Richard Beske, San Diego
Kathleen McGrath Christison, Santa Fe
William Christison, Santa Fe Patrick Eddington, Alexandria,
VA
Raymond McGovern, Arlington, VA
Steering Committee Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity
The VIPS can be reached at: vips@counterpunch.org
Panorama German TV (ARD/Erstes Programm)
8:15 PM, March 6, 2003
Cooking
the Books:
Falsifying the Evidence: How Bush is Mobilizing for War
Moderator: Anja Reschke
Welcome to Panorama!
While many Americans listen submissively
to George Bush's statements regarding plans for war against
Iraq, he is having a rather difficult time with his own government
workers, particularly his intelligence analysts.
The Central Intelligence Agency is responsible
for collecting and analyzing evidence relating to Saddam Hussein's
weapons of mass destruction and his relationship to al-Qaeda.
But CIA analysts apparently are not doing their job to the satisfaction
of the president. Indeed, as Bush keeps coming up with new claims
about Iraq's weapons and its plans for terrorist attacks, one
thing is certain: The information is not coming from the CIA.
Here is a president who no longer trusts his own intelligence
service.
The Media Prepare for War on American
TV
Every day the media warn about Saddam
Hussein's chemical and biological weapons. American audiences
also hear again and again: Saddam and bin Laden work together.
The only hope'war!
The continual propaganda is effective.
Virtually everyone feels threatened by Saddam, even as they
go about their daily lives. Indeed, the majority of Americans
believe that Saddam Hussein was personally behind the attacks
of September 11, 2001.
We asked Americans the question: Did
Saddam Hussein play a role in the 9/11 attacks?
Man: Saddam Hussein and all the rest
of those terrorists played a role in a lot of things. People
forget in this country what happened in New York. Let's not
forget that.
Woman: I hope that Saddam Hussein wasn't
the one behind the 9/11 attacks, but I believe he was though.
Woman: I think he probably had a lot
to do with it. I don't know that he was actually the spearhead
for it, but I think he supported it.
This complete nonsense is the result
of a successful disinformation campaign.
Ray McGovern, veteran of a 27-year CIA
career, for several years provided daily briefings to the president's
most senior advisers, including George Bush senior.
McGovern: The day after 9/11 Dick Cheney,
Wolfowitz, and Rumsfeld were saying, 'Now let's go get Iraq.'
And so the push was on to find evidence that Iraq had some sort
of connection with 9/11. And I am very sad to say that our
president himself has in a subliminal way always made that connection.
And that is why most Americans'pity them'tend to believe that
Iraq did have something to do with 9/11, while the intelligence
community is convinced it did not.
President Bush is still leaning on the
CIA to provide the kind of evidence that will support his plans
for war against Iraq. The evidence is still lacking, but this
has not slowed the president down.
Saddam and the Terrorists
In a letter dated October 7, 2002, CIA
Director George Tenet told the US Senate that Iraq was drawing
a line short of conducting terrorist attacks with either conventional
or chemical/biological weapons against the United States. The
CIA took the position that the probability was low that Iraq
would either initiate an attack with weapons of mass destruction
or give them to terrorists.
On the very same day, October 7, President
Bush went before the cameras and turned the content of Tenet's
letter on its head. Bush claimed, Iraq could decide on any given
day to provide a biological or chemical weapon to a terrorist
group or individual terrorists.
McGovern: The ethic at CIA reflects the
inscription on the entrance wall, which says, 'You shall know
the truth, and the truth shall set you free.' And we'that is,
CIA analysts'took that very seriously. And so, if we do not
see evidence of a tie between al-Qaeda and Iraq, for example,
we will not write that.
The Alleged Threat From Saddam's Weapons
of Mass Destruction
As we have indicated, the CIA Director
told Bush and his national security advisers that the probability
that Saddam will launch such an attacka*|in the foreseeable
futurea*|would be low. But simultaneously President Bush claimed
in public the exact opposite. He told the American people, The
risk is simply too great that he will use them.
Robert Baer, a former CIA case officer
who spent years working on covert operations in Iraq, is astonished.
Baer: There is no imminent threat from
Iraq, all right?! If he does have missiles, which he probably
does, they are buried in the ground, and it is going to take
months to dig them up. We've seen no evidence of VX gas, or
Bubonic plague, or anthrax, or any of this stuff.
McGovern: The logical conclusion is that
the information has been doctored, that the information has
been cooked to the recipe of policy and this'for an intelligence
outfit'is anathema, beyond the pale. This is something that
renders it superfluous to even have an intelligence agency.
Saddam and Nuclear Weapons
According to President Bush, the Iraqi
dictator will be able to produce his own nuclear weapons in
the very near future.
George Bush: We could wait and hope that
Saddam does not give weapons to terrorists, or develop a nuclear
weapon to blackmail the world. But I'm convinced that is a hope
against all evidence.
McGovern: President Bush has said the
Iraqis could produce a nuclear weapon perhaps in another year.
Now the formal intelligence estimate on that is that they could
not possibly do that until the end of the decade. One wonders
where the president gets his information. I really don't fault
him as much for being dishonest as for being naA've to think
that he can go to Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz and expect to get a
straight answer on such things.
Former CIA Officer David MacMichael:
I think the administration is indeed pressuring the intelligence
system, whether it be the CIA, FBI, or anyone else, to come
up with the strongest possible evidence to indicate there is
a genuine and immediate threat of attack by chemical, biological,
or other weapons of mass destruction by terrorist groups'and
in particular those associated with al-Qaeda, and to link Iraq
to that.
Bush and Rumsfeld have been putting the
pressure on the CIA for months. Still, CIA analysts would not
let themselves be pressured into twisting the intelligence to
support the 'line' dictated from above. And so, the Defense
Secretary in the meantime has created his own secret intelligence
group as a rival to the CIA.
Baer: The CIA said, 'Listen; we don't
have enough information to indict Saddam on terrorism charges.'
And Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, said, 'That's not good
enough. Give us the raw databases and we'll make our own decisions.
And they rounded up these people who are non-professionals'a
couple of ex-lawyers, consultants, who all rallied around and
said, Well, let's take this, let's take that, let's take this
and we can indict.
Rumsfeld's private intelligence group
put its shoulder to the wheel and provided a doubting world
with alleged evidence that Saddam is producing nuclear weapons.
Armed with this new evidence, UN inspectors in the last several
weeks were sent off to confirm it. They could not.
Former UN Inspector David Albright: Often
what you see in the Bush administration is that they don't care.
I mean, you say, 'This isn't true.' They say, 'Oh, Okay,' and
then they repeat it again publicly. Or they just say, 'Don't
form a conclusion. Keep working on it.' And so there are several
cases where the inspectors are just expected to keep working
on it, and yet they think it's garbage.
McGovern: Intelligence needs to be as
pure as a virgin. When intelligence is pimped, as is now being
done by the White House and the Defense Department, it loses
its virginity. And, as is well known, nothing is quite the same
again once you have lost your virginity.
President Bush has almost reached his
goal: war against Saddam Hussein. And the American media are
beating the drums. For example, Fox TV, America's most watched
news channel and its very popular star-anchor Bill O'Reilly,
who stirs up millions of viewers:
O'Reilly: When the war begins, this is
what we expect from every American: Either you support the military
or you shut up. Americans and our foreign allies who come out
against us are enemies of the state.
Baiting, intimidation, disinformation'with
results that are grotesque:
A question put to US citizens: Do you
think that Saddam Hussein may attack America in the near future
with weapons of mass destruction?
Woman: If we don't watch out, it just
might happen.
Man: Absolutely. I think they will attack
the United States with chemical weapons.
Woman: I hear that Iraq has a lot of
nuclear weapons that could hit the West Coast and it is very
worrisome to me.
Worrisome indeed. Clearly, it is feelings
and opinions'not facts'that are determining support in the US
for war or peace. _____________________ Reporters: John Goetz
and Volker Steinhoff Edit: Karen Menge
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Mitchel Cohen
The
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The Insulting Insinuations of the Bush Regime
Fareed Marjaee
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