Blair's days nigered
posted November 7, 2005 at 11:00 a.m.
Prewar report cast doubt on Iraq-Al Qaeda connection
Also, British newspaper says Blair's "reliable source" on Niger connection was probably a discredited Italian spy.
By Tom Regan | csmonitor.com
A newly declassified document from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) shows that, as early as February 2002, there were doubts about an informer who claimed that there was a strong link between Al Qaeda and Iraq. The Associated Press reports that the [Bush] administration was alerted that an "Al Qaeda member in US custody probably was lying about links between the terrorist organization and Iraq."
The document from February 2002 showed that the agency questioned the reliability of Al Qaeda senior military trainer Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi. He could not name any Iraqis involved in the effort or identify any chemical or biological materials or cite where the training took place, the report said. The agency concluded that al-Libi probably misled the interrogators deliberately, and he recanted the statements in January, according to the document made public by Senator Carl Levin, top Democrat [of Michigan] on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Senator Levin posted excerpts of the report on his website, including a section from the report that read, "Saddam's regime is intensely secular and is wary of Islamic revolutionary movements. Moreover, Baghdad is unlikely to provide assistance to a group it cannot control." Reuters reports, however, that President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and other administration officials all mentioned Mr. Libi's input as "credible" evidence that Iraq was training Al Qaeda members. They did not mention him by name at the time. Libi recanted his testimony in January of 2004.
CNN reports that Levin charged that the new evidence showed that the administration continued to accuse Iraq of giving biological and chemical weapons training to Al Qaeda members long after the source of that information had been discredited. And Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D) of West Virginia said "knowing what I know now," he would not have supported the 2002 Congressional resolution that authorized military action against Iraq.
11/04/05
Italy denies faking Niger documents
11/03/05
Blair backs down on terror legislation
11/02/05
Indonesia will cut Bali bomber sentences
Rockefeller told CNN's "Late Edition" that al-Libi was "an entirely unreliable individual upon whom the White House was placing substantial intelligence trust." He said Sunday's disclosure was another reason the Intelligence Committee needs to wrap up a promised investigation into how policymakers used intelligence data to push for war. The panel's initial probe focused on the quality of the intelligence and not how policymakers used it.
"That is a classic example of a lack of accountability to the American people," Rockefeller said.
Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said, however, the report Levin was quoting was a single document "out of context, without the analysis or any other indication as to how it may have factored in." In an interview with CNN, he called its release "irresponsible and ironic, given the underlying allegation that this selected release is intended to address, namely someone's perception that intelligence was used selectively."
The Los Angeles Times reports that the DIA document was made available to the White House, the Pentagon and other agencies, but "it is not clear whether the Senate intelligence panel had access to it."
Meanwhile, another cornerstone of the prewar intelligence that was used to legitimize the war against Iraq continued to further unravel. Last week, Italian intelligence officials named Rocco Martino, an "occasional spy," as the source of the forged documents that indicated that Iraq was trying to buy uranium from Niger. While the US has now said that the Niger information was false, the British government has continued to maintain that the information it received about Niger was credible because it has come from "a foreign intelligence" source. It was the British report that was cited by President Bush in his January 2003 state of the union address.
The British newspaper The Independent, however, reported Sunday that is very likely that the British information on Niger came from Martino. The Independent says Martino had a meeting with Secret Intelligence Service in London as early as the autumn of 2001.
In October 2001, [the Italian military intelligence service] Sismi sent its British and American counterparts a dossier on alleged Iraqi attempts to buy uranium from Niger. Whether Rocco Martino delivered it to MI6 headquarters in Vauxhall Cross, as some Italian reports claim, is not clear.
But officials who have examined the British and Italian documents say that some of the same text in these early reports showed up later in the forged documents. And according to Mr. Martino, he approached the British Embassy in Brussels in January of 2003 saying that he had information on Iraq, Niger, and uranium. Both Martino and Gen. Nicolo Pollari of SISMI have said that Martino was working for French intelligence as the time (on a freelance basis) and that this could be behind Britain's claim that a "separate intelligence agency" was the source of the Niger document.
Finally, Knight Ridder reports that, contrary to Italian denials last week, US officials say that SISMI did pass on "bogus allegations to the United States of an Iraqi effort to buy uranium ore from the African nation of Niger for a nuclear bomb program."
Four US officials said the Italian military intelligence agency known as SISMI passed three reports to the CIA station in Rome between October 2001 and March 2002 outlining an alleged deal for Iraq to buy uranium ore, known as yellowcake, from Niger. Yellowcake is refined into the uranium fuel that powers nuclear weapons. The US officials spoke on condition of anonymity because portions of the matter remain classified.
One of the reports passed by SISMI contained language that turned out to have been lifted verbatim from crudely forged documents that outlined the purported uranium-ore deal, the US officials said.
The Independent writes that some Italian media reports have accused General Pollari of working with a group of American neoconservatives to make sure the now discredited "Niger connection" made its way to the highest levels of the Bush administration.
Also...
• Intel probe: The yellowcake mystery (Newsweek)
• The FBI's secret scrutiny of ordinary Americans (Washington Post)
• Civilians flee besieged Iraqi town (Scotsman)
• Feedback appreciated. E-mail Tom Regan.
Prewar report cast doubt on Iraq-Al Qaeda connection
Also, British newspaper says Blair's "reliable source" on Niger connection was probably a discredited Italian spy.
By Tom Regan | csmonitor.com
A newly declassified document from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) shows that, as early as February 2002, there were doubts about an informer who claimed that there was a strong link between Al Qaeda and Iraq. The Associated Press reports that the [Bush] administration was alerted that an "Al Qaeda member in US custody probably was lying about links between the terrorist organization and Iraq."
The document from February 2002 showed that the agency questioned the reliability of Al Qaeda senior military trainer Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi. He could not name any Iraqis involved in the effort or identify any chemical or biological materials or cite where the training took place, the report said. The agency concluded that al-Libi probably misled the interrogators deliberately, and he recanted the statements in January, according to the document made public by Senator Carl Levin, top Democrat [of Michigan] on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Senator Levin posted excerpts of the report on his website, including a section from the report that read, "Saddam's regime is intensely secular and is wary of Islamic revolutionary movements. Moreover, Baghdad is unlikely to provide assistance to a group it cannot control." Reuters reports, however, that President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and other administration officials all mentioned Mr. Libi's input as "credible" evidence that Iraq was training Al Qaeda members. They did not mention him by name at the time. Libi recanted his testimony in January of 2004.
CNN reports that Levin charged that the new evidence showed that the administration continued to accuse Iraq of giving biological and chemical weapons training to Al Qaeda members long after the source of that information had been discredited. And Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D) of West Virginia said "knowing what I know now," he would not have supported the 2002 Congressional resolution that authorized military action against Iraq.
11/04/05
Italy denies faking Niger documents
11/03/05
Blair backs down on terror legislation
11/02/05
Indonesia will cut Bali bomber sentences
Rockefeller told CNN's "Late Edition" that al-Libi was "an entirely unreliable individual upon whom the White House was placing substantial intelligence trust." He said Sunday's disclosure was another reason the Intelligence Committee needs to wrap up a promised investigation into how policymakers used intelligence data to push for war. The panel's initial probe focused on the quality of the intelligence and not how policymakers used it.
"That is a classic example of a lack of accountability to the American people," Rockefeller said.
Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said, however, the report Levin was quoting was a single document "out of context, without the analysis or any other indication as to how it may have factored in." In an interview with CNN, he called its release "irresponsible and ironic, given the underlying allegation that this selected release is intended to address, namely someone's perception that intelligence was used selectively."
The Los Angeles Times reports that the DIA document was made available to the White House, the Pentagon and other agencies, but "it is not clear whether the Senate intelligence panel had access to it."
Meanwhile, another cornerstone of the prewar intelligence that was used to legitimize the war against Iraq continued to further unravel. Last week, Italian intelligence officials named Rocco Martino, an "occasional spy," as the source of the forged documents that indicated that Iraq was trying to buy uranium from Niger. While the US has now said that the Niger information was false, the British government has continued to maintain that the information it received about Niger was credible because it has come from "a foreign intelligence" source. It was the British report that was cited by President Bush in his January 2003 state of the union address.
The British newspaper The Independent, however, reported Sunday that is very likely that the British information on Niger came from Martino. The Independent says Martino had a meeting with Secret Intelligence Service in London as early as the autumn of 2001.
In October 2001, [the Italian military intelligence service] Sismi sent its British and American counterparts a dossier on alleged Iraqi attempts to buy uranium from Niger. Whether Rocco Martino delivered it to MI6 headquarters in Vauxhall Cross, as some Italian reports claim, is not clear.
But officials who have examined the British and Italian documents say that some of the same text in these early reports showed up later in the forged documents. And according to Mr. Martino, he approached the British Embassy in Brussels in January of 2003 saying that he had information on Iraq, Niger, and uranium. Both Martino and Gen. Nicolo Pollari of SISMI have said that Martino was working for French intelligence as the time (on a freelance basis) and that this could be behind Britain's claim that a "separate intelligence agency" was the source of the Niger document.
Finally, Knight Ridder reports that, contrary to Italian denials last week, US officials say that SISMI did pass on "bogus allegations to the United States of an Iraqi effort to buy uranium ore from the African nation of Niger for a nuclear bomb program."
Four US officials said the Italian military intelligence agency known as SISMI passed three reports to the CIA station in Rome between October 2001 and March 2002 outlining an alleged deal for Iraq to buy uranium ore, known as yellowcake, from Niger. Yellowcake is refined into the uranium fuel that powers nuclear weapons. The US officials spoke on condition of anonymity because portions of the matter remain classified.
One of the reports passed by SISMI contained language that turned out to have been lifted verbatim from crudely forged documents that outlined the purported uranium-ore deal, the US officials said.
The Independent writes that some Italian media reports have accused General Pollari of working with a group of American neoconservatives to make sure the now discredited "Niger connection" made its way to the highest levels of the Bush administration.
Also...
• Intel probe: The yellowcake mystery (Newsweek)
• The FBI's secret scrutiny of ordinary Americans (Washington Post)
• Civilians flee besieged Iraqi town (Scotsman)
• Feedback appreciated. E-mail Tom Regan.
posted by professor rat at 6:13 AM
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