New York Times: How the White House Embraced Disputed Iraqi Arms Intelligence—it seems the administration knew (or, for those who didn't read intelligence reports, should have known) that “the government’s foremost nuclear experts had concluded” that the aluminum tubes on which the administration based much of its claim that Iraq was trying to build nuclear weapons “were most likely not for nuclear weapons at all.” Oddly, though, CIA head George Tenet seems for a long time to have made no effort to learn about the views of his most expert subordinates, or to understand the reasons for their disagreement with the analysts favored by the White House.
I think that chunks of this article collate facts already in corners of the public record, e.g. the 9/11 commission report or previously-ignored and buried Washington Post reports, rather than breaking new ground. [Update: did the Daily Show scoop everyone?] Even so, in putting the pieces together into a narrative, the article paints a new and even more disturbing picture of a deeply dysfunctional administration. These guys shouldn’t be trusted with your dollar, must less your lives, fortunes, or sacred honors.
What a pity we didn’t get this article before the debate on international issues. Still, I suppose it’s fair game for the Vice-Presidential debate.
