Obfuscation

Take a look at this set of initial findings by the NSA regarding the credibility of Pre-Iraq war intelligence and the justification for the initial invasion. The analysis specifically focuses on a source, known as CURVEBALL, who was responsible for providing the bulk of the intelligence that prompted Colin Powell's speech to the UN Security Council in 2003. They reference this CBS report as well as federal documents secured under a Freedom of Information Act petition. Although the FOIA documents are still heavily redacted, the parts that are de-classified show significant skepticism regarding CURVEBALL's veracity in the intelligence community. It also appears that this information was overlooked - willfully or not is unclear - by the leaders of the intelligence community. One particular paragraph was intriguing and uplifting to me: Secretary Powell was concerned that in his Security Council briefing he use only completely authentic data. To ensure this, he conducted an extensive — and unprecedented—review of each data element that might be included in the U.N. speech. This process took days and was performed on a continuous basis in a conference room at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Powell relied upon his chief of staff, Lawrence Wilkerson, and a team from the State Department during this process. Participating CIA officers were provided by agency Director George J. Tenet or his deputy, John E. McLaughlin, with substantive specialists presenting relevant items in their fields of expertise. These meetings have usually been presented from the perspective of White House officials, especially vice-presidential aide I. Lewis (“Scooter”) Libby and Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, who were reported as being intent on inserting a particular menu of charges into the Powell speech. But the decision to include the CURVEBALL information was also made here... It appears that in all this, Colin Powell was trying to do the right thing. I was glad to read this, as so many in the Bush administration have proven themselves to be at best negligent, or at worst liars. We could use more men like Powell, and fewer men like most of the rest.