CIA knew in early 2002 there were no Al-Qaida Iraq links

[bevin]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070406/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/iraq_pentagon_intelligence;_ylt=Av0dHeptmeBj4xytOZnTccDMWM0F

Cheney is never one to let facts get in the way of what he wants the public to believe...

Quote:

Vice President Dick Cheney repeated his assertions of al-Qaida links to Saddam Hussein's Iraq on Thursday as the Defense Department released a report citing more evidence that the prewar government did not cooperate with the terrorist group.

Quote:

The Sept. 11 Commission's 2004 report also found no evidence of a collaborative relationship between Saddam and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network during that period.

Quote:

Although Feith's assessment in mid-2002 offered several examples of cooperation between Saddam's government and al-Qaida, the report said, the CIA had concluded months earlier that no evidence supported the existence of significant or long-term relationships.

[olger]

"Feel the pulse and vibration; the rumblin force. Someone is out there beating on a dead horse."

[Woody]

This is a forum where people are allowed to voice something as much as they like. Go for it Bevin. Most of us here are not going to criticize you for doing what we all do ... voice our opinions.

[bevin]

I think she was referring to Cheney, not me

/Bevin

[Dr. Shane]

There were links between Saddam and Osama bin Laden. But as the 9/11 Commission correctly concluded, there was no "collaborative relationship between Saddam and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network during that period." At one time, Saddam offered Osama an Iraqi passport. Zarqawi found safe haven in Iraq after the US invaded Afghanistan. Saddam was obviously sympathetic to al quada but there is no evidence that he ever helped them carry out any attacks.

One may note that Chenny has not claimed that Saddam did help al queda carry out terrorist attacks. What he claims is that they found safe haven in Iraq before we invaded and that is true.

These types of stories that trickle out continue to exonerate President Bush. More and more we see that he, as well as the intelligence committees in both houses, had bad intelligence and made their decision to go to war based on bad intelligence.

[bevin]

The REASON that the report was distorted was Bush Cheney et al's treatment of people who told them things they did not want to hear.

Bad leaders choose bad subordinates.

/Bevin

[Dr. Shane]

Bad reasoning. Those in the CIA and State Department were carry-overs from the previous administration.

So does that mean Clinton was a bad leader since he appointed them?

Oh, no, tell me it isn't so.

[bevin]

Bad leaders also corrupt good subordinates - I have no knowledge of how well these people worked under Clinton.

I do know that Bush and Cheney had a big reputation for shooting messengers.

/Bevin

[Dr. Shane]

Well, since the state department and the CIA under Clinton were saying the same thing that they were saying under Bush, it doesn't seem either President was causing them to say what they were saying.

[Neil D]

Which only goes to show that Bush adminstration cherry pick the information to present thier case to bolster thier fears and justify thier wrong actions....

Result, bad leaders make bad decisions...Case in point, current Bush administration.