NewsMine — war-on-terror — iraq — pretext — Viewing Item

Cheney passed intelligence from iraqi national congress Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.msnbc.com/news/1002223.asp http://www.msnbc.com/news/1002223.asp Exclusive: Cheney and the ‘Raw’ Intelligence By Mark Hosenball and Michael Isikoff NEWSWEEK Dec. 15 issue — A memo written by a top Washington lobbyist for the controversial Iraqi National Congress raises new questions about the role Vice President Dick Cheney’s office played in the run-up to the war in Iraq. THE MEMO, obtained by NEWSWEEK, suggests that the INC last year was directly feeding intelligence reports about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and purported ties to terrorism to one of Cheney’s top foreign- policy aides. Cheney staffers later pushed INC info—including defectors’ claims about WMD and terror ties—to bolster the case that Saddam’s government posed a direct threat to America. But the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies have strongly questioned the reliability of defectors supplied by the INC. For months, Cheney’s office has denied that the veep bypassed U.S. intelligence agencies to get intel reports from the INC. But a June 2002 memo written by INC lobbyist Entifadh Qunbar to a U.S. Senate committee lists John Hannah, a senior national-security aide on Cheney’s staff, as one of two “U.S. governmental recipients” for reports generated by an intelligence program being run by the INC and which was then being funded by the State Department. Under the program, “defectors, reports and raw intelligence are cultivated and analyzed”; the info was then reported to, among others, “appropriate governmental, non-governmental and international agencies.” The memo not only describes Cheney aide Hannah as a “principal point of contact” for the program, it even provides his direct White House telephone number. The only other U.S. official named as directly receiving the INC intel is William Luti, a former military adviser to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich who, after working on Cheney’s staff early in the Bush administration, shifted to the Pentagon, where he oversaw a secretive Iraq war-planning unit called the Office of Special Plans. Hannah did not respond to a request for comment. But another Cheney aide insisted that the memo was misleading, and flatly denied that the vice president received “raw” intelligence from the INC. Hannah discussed only Iraqi political issues with INC representatives, not intelligence, the aide said. Francis Brooke, another D.C. lobbyist for the INC, said he often orally discussed Iraqi issues—including claims about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and Saddam’s terrorist connections—with Hannah, Luti and Cheney’s chief of staff, Lewis (Scooter) Libby. But he insisted he talked with them only about INC intelligence matters that had already been reported in the media. A Pentagon official also denied Luti directly got INC intel reports, suggesting the author of the memo was just “dropping names” to drum up support for the INC on Capitol Hill. © 2003 Newsweek, Inc.

alqaeda british david-kelly doubts false-intelligence inquiry investigation iraq-denies israel leak-osama-link wmd 2002 dia report questions intelligence for war { November 6 2005 } Administration manifactured and manipulated intelligence Broke missile limits { February 13 2003 } Bureau of intelligence and research got it wrong { July 19 2004 } Bush and blair plot pretext to attack iraq Bush warns on iraq { October 6 2002 } Chemical attack 45min Cheney passed intelligence from iraqi national congress Cheneys war by fraud exposed Could plant weapons Distortions of intelligence on iraq { August 1 2003 } Drone weapon { March 13 2003 } Drones target cities { February 24 2003 } Fabricating pretext war Found road German embassy siezed by anti hussein iraqis { August 21 2002 } German embassy siezed by iraqi dissidents { August 20 2002 } Iraq china chemical Iraq not violating fly zones { November 19 2002 } Iraq nukes soon { September 16 2002 } Iraq report claims no arms { September 17 2004 } Iraq report falls short { December 20 2002 } Iraqi speakers found { August 26 2002 } Nonexistent biolab trailers carried case for war { April 12 2006 } Nsa has evidence Oil contracts planned pre 911 Pilot behind enemy lines Powell testiomy based on flawed intelligence { February 5 2003 } Report criticizes administration assessments of iraq dangers Report says iraq bigger threat if defeated { July 21 2003 } Reporter apologizes for iraq coverage { March 29 2004 } Rumsfeld draws blank on blairs 45 minute iraq claim { February 11 2004 } Rumsfeld told saudi bandar sadam is toast Stovepipe seymour hersh { September 11 2001 } Tape deceiving inspectors { February 3 2003 } Tenet denied influence from osp { February 6 2004 } Tenet denies pressure to torque iraq intelligence Tenet says saddam wasnt threat Un finds empty warheads Us backed iraqis provided questionable info Whats he have White house embraced disputed intelligence { October 3 2004 } Wolfowitz says war about oil Files Listed: 43

Correction/submissions

CIA FOIA Archive

National Security Archives

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information, go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purpose of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.