Andrew Gumbel reports in the April 24, 2006 Independent, that
Bush was warned there were no WMD, says former CIA man
The Central Intelligence Agency tried to warn the Bush administration on the eve of the 2003 invasion of Iraq that Saddam Hussein did not appear to have weapons of mass destruction but the warning was dismissed because the US political leadership was not interested in what the intelligence showed, according to a retired senior CIA operative.
The revelation, by the CIA's former European chief Tyler Drumheller, was broadcast on CBS's news magazine Sixty Minutes last night and added to the body of evidence that US and British leaders saw the weapons of mass destruction issue only as a selling point for a war they had already decided to wage for other reasons.
According to Mr Drumheller, Western intelligence services were told about Iraq's lack of chemical and biological weapons by Naji Sabri, a former Iraqi foreign minister.
The CIA director of the time, George Tenet, took this information straight to President George Bush, Vice-President Dick Cheney and other senior officials, but it made no impression on them.
This latest report comes after many others confirmed that President George Bush and his administration had been informed by many sources that Iraq presented no immanent threat of biological, nuclear, or chemical warfare WMD to the US. Yet, this administration persisted in going to war for other reasons.
The Central Intelligence Agency tried to warn the Bush administration on the eve of the 2003 invasion of Iraq that Saddam Hussein did not appear to have weapons of mass destruction but the warning was dismissed because the US political leadership was not interested in what the intelligence showed, according to a retired senior CIA operative.
The revelation, by the CIA's former European chief Tyler Drumheller, was broadcast on CBS's news magazine Sixty Minutes last night and added to the body of evidence that US and British leaders saw the weapons of mass destruction issue only as a selling point for a war they had already decided to wage for other reasons.
This report contradicts claims by President Bush, that he tried to avoid war with Iraq by every means available.
The editors and staff at EP report Bush Says He Tried to Avoid War 'To The Max,' Explains How God Shapes His Foreign Policy
NEW YORK President Bush today said he had tried to avoid war with Iraq "diplomatically to the max."
Speaking to a business group in Irvine, Ca., he admitted mistakes were made in planning for the Iraq invasion, but he defended the troop level, saying "it was the troop level necessary to do the job," and he would commit the same number if given a second chance.
The remarks came as another former general joined seven others who in recent days have called for the resignation of Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld, saying he had mismanaged the planning and execution of the war.
Bush also explained, in unusually stark terms, how his belief in God influences his foreign policy. "I base a lot of my foreign policy decisions on some things that I think are true," he said. "One, I believe there's an Almighty. And, secondly, I believe one of the great gifts of the Almighty is the desire in everybody's soul, regardless of what you look like or where you live, to be free.
I guess, implication that Bush may be suggesting that if you believe God is on you side, one does not need to listen to the CIA, intelligence, or facts. Surprisingly, this is very close to what many the most violent extremist terrorists believe.
"I believe liberty is universal. I believe people want to be free. And I know that democracies do not war with each other."
He must be referring to Palestine and Israel.
Taking questions from members of the Orange County Business Council, Bush said the United States erred in attempting large reconstruction projects soon after the invasion was completed. This "didn't make any sense," he said, because they "became convenient targets for the enemy."
Bush said he'd sat in a California church on Sunday near a mother and stepfather grieving for their son who had been killed in Iraq. "I also want to let you know that before you commit troops that you must do everything that you can to solve the problem diplomatically," he commented. "And I can look you in the eye and tell you I feel I tried to solve the problem diplomatically to the max and would have committed troops both in Afghanistan and Iraq, knowing what I know today."
Bush Repeats Falsehoods About Iraq's WMDs: Additional Confused Meanderings
In his remarks, the president repeatedly referred to the need to stay in Iraq to deny terrorists a "safe haven." He asserted, according to the White House transcript that, "Iraq has -- had weapons of mass destruction and has the knowledge as to how to produce weapons of mass destruction." He also said that our enemies "know, and it doesn't take much to realize, that when you put carnage on our TV screens, it causes us to weep."
He also said: "It's not easy work, by the way, to go from tyranny to democracy. We had kind of a round go ourself, if you look back at our history. My Secretary of State's relatives were enslaved in the United States even though we had a Constitution that said all were -- that believed in the dignity, or at least proclaimed to believe in the dignity of all. The Articles of Confederation wasn't exactly a real smooth start for our government to begin. And what you're watching on your TV screens is a new democracy emerging."
So you see fellow Americans, this is what you need to know. Just like our nation didn't have an entirely smooth beginning, neither are the Iraqi's. So this current trouble is a good sign.
Or at least a "proclamation" of dignity" in some way. I'm sure Karl Rove will be clearing this up in the next few days.