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CIA Spin? Are Americans to believe......
Sun Jul 13 02:41:13 2003
208.152.73.15

CIA Spin? Are Americans to believe that Bush does not first read or practice his State of the Union Address?

CBS News Correspondent David Martin says, "Whoever deserves the blame, it appears the White House, in its desire to make the strongest case possible against Iraq, tried too hard to get the statement into the speech, and the CIA did not try hard enough to keep it out.

See AP Article Below:

CIA wants to take the blame for not deleting 16-words from "Bush's State of the Union Address" that allowed Bush to falsely state that Iraqis were trying to purchase Uranium ORE from the African Nation Niger.

Wasn't it reported by major media just three or four weeks ago that persons connected to the Defense Department had said the CIA told Bush, six weeks prior, to his "State of the Union Address" that British Intelligence information claiming Iraq was trying to buy uranium ORE was extremely flimsy?

Are Americans to believe that Bush does not read or practice his State of the Union Address? If Bush read or practiced his State of the Union Address, how could he not know those "16-words were false", because Bush had been informed prior, that there was no evidence Iraq was trying to buy uranium ore from anyone, including Niger?

RS
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Tenet Takes Responsibility for False Iraq Intelligence CIA
Director Admits Analysts Had Doubts About Informations

By John Solomon Associated Press Writer Friday, July 11,
2003; 6:53 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) - CIA Director George Tenet acknowledged
Friday his agency wrongly allowed President Bush to tell the
American people that Iraq was seeking nuclear material from
Africa when analysts had doubts about the quality of the
intelligence.

"These 16 words should never have been included in the text
written for the president," Tenet said in a statement
released after Bush and his national security adviser,
Condoleezza Rice, blamed the miscue on the CIA and members
of Congress called for someone to be held accountable.

"This was a mistake," the director's statement said.

Tenet said the responsibility for vetting the allegations
included in Bush's State of the Union address about Iraqi
efforts to get uranium from Africa beloing to the CIA and
ultimately with himself.

"Let me be clear about several things right up front," he
said. "First, CIA approved the president's State of the
Union address before it was delivered. Second, I am
responsible for the approval process in my agency. And
third, the president had every reason to believe that the
text presented to him was sound."

Tenet said CIA officials reviewed portions of the draft
speech and raised some concerns with national security aides
at the White House that prompted changes in language
concerning allegations that Iraq sought to buy uranium from
the African nation of Niger. But he said the CIA officials
failed to stop the remark from being uttered despite the
doubts about its validity.

"Officials who were reviewing the draft remarks on uranium
raised several concerns about the fragmentary nature of the
intelligence with National Security Council colleagues,"
Tenet said. "Some of the language was changed. >From what we
know now, agency officials in the end concurred that the
text in the speech was factually correct that the British
government report said that Iraq sought uranium from
Africa."

"This should not have been the test for clearing a
presidential address," the statement continued. "This did
not rise to the level of certainty which should be required
for presidential speeches, and CIA should have ensured that
it was removed."

Tenet's two-page statement came at the end of a tumultous 24
hours in which reports surfaced suggesting the CIA had
raised concerns about the nature of the African allegations
before the president made his speech.

That prompted Bush and his Rice to take issue. On a trip in
Africa, they said Tenet's agency approved the language in
the speech and never raised objections to them.

Members of Congress called on the CIA to be held
accountable. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat
Roberts, R-Kansas, said Tenet was ultimately responsible for
the mistake.

"The director of central intelligence is the principal
adviser to the president on intelligence matters," Roberts
said. "He should have told the president. He failed. He
failed to do so," Roberts said.

Tenet said there were "legitimate questions" about the CIA's
conduct and he sought in his statement explain his agency's
role in the matter.

Although the CIA did not learn until well after the
president's speech in January that some documents obtained
by British intelligence that formed the basis of the
Iraq-Niger uranium allegations were forged, CIA officials
recognized at the beginning that the allegation was based on
"fragmentary intelligence gathered in late 2001 and early
2002," the director said.

A former diplomat was sent by the CIA to the region to check
on the allegations and reported back that one of the
Nigerian officials he met "stated that he was unaware of any
contract being signed between Niger and rogue states for the
sale of uranium during his tenure in office," Tenet said.

"The same former official also said that in June 1999 a
businessman approached him and insisted that the former
official meet with an Iraqi delegation to discuss 'expanding
commercial relations' between Iraq and Niger. The former
official interpreted the overture as an attempt to discuss
uranium sales," Tenet said.

The diplomat sent to the region has alleged he believed Vice
President Dick Cheney's office was apprised of the findings
of his trip. But Tenet stated that the CIA "did not brief it
to the president, vice president or other senior
administration officials."

Tenet said when British officials in fall 2002 discussed
making the Niger information public, his agency expressed
their reservations to the British about the quality of the
intelligence.

A CIA report that came out in October 2002 mentioned the
allegations but did not give them full credence, stating "we
cannot confirm whether Iraq succeeded in acquiring uranium
ore." In addition, the report noted that State Department
intelligence analysts found the allegations "highly
dubious."

Because of the doubts, Tenet said he never included the
allegations in his own congressional tetsimonies or public
statements about Iraqi efforts to obtain weapons of mass
destruction.

(C) 2003 The Associated Press
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The president says he "absolutely" has confidence in the CIA head, even though Tenet blamed himself for the State of the Union address goof over Iraq's WMD. But some in Congress are already calling for Tenet's head, in comments to CBS News. More...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/06/25/iraq/main560449.shtml

SEE:
THE NUMBERS ARE DROPPING....
Poll: U.S. Losing Control in Iraq
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/07/10/opinion/polls/main562628.shtml

• "There's no question that Mr. Tenet has to step down" — Rep. Edward Markey, Sun Jul 13 02:46
• What is the tie that binds Bush and Tenet? — rainesco, Sun Jul 13 13:04