Former chief of the CIA's Europe division, Tyler Drumheller, tells Der Spiegal magazine (http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,462782,00.html) that the White House simply ignored CIA warnings that 'Curveball' was not to be trusted. Not news as such, but just another reminder of the lies that have led to the death of countless Iraqis and nearly 3,100 American service members.
Drumheller: I had assured my German friends that ["Curveball's" claims] wouldn't be in the speech. I really thought that I had put it to bed. I had warned the CIA deputy John McLaughlin that this case could be fabricated. The night before the speech, then CIA director George Tenet called me at home. I said: "Hey Boss, be careful with that German report. It's supposed to be taken out. There are a lot of problems with that." He said: "Yeah, yeah. Right. Dont worry about that."
SPIEGEL: But it turned out to be the centerpiece in Powell's presentation — and nobody had told him about the doubts.
Drumheller: I turned on the TV in my office, and there it was. So the first thing I thought, having worked in the government all my life, was that we probably gave Powell the wrong speech. We checked our files and found out that they had just ignored it.
SPIEGEL: So the White House just ignored the fact that the whole story might have been untrue?
Drumheller: The policy was set. The war in Iraq was coming and they were looking for intelligence to fit into the policy.