Senator Rockefeller's seeks how officials misled US citizens into Iraq war
Iraq-USA, Politics, 11/2/2005

US Senator Jay Rockefeller had threatened last week to seek an outside investigation on how intelligence information was abused to mislead the country into a war against Iraq.

As a result of an ongoing criminal investigation, where a US prosecutor last week has brought formal charges against very high level White House officials for having broken the law conspiring to discredit a person, a former US ambassador Joseph Wilson, who had written an article about the inaccuracy of a claim that President George W. Bush had made about Iraq relating to supposed efforts to acquire nuclear weapons. Wilson had been sent to Africa by the CIA to investigate documents that claimed that Iraq was buying raw uranium from Niger to use for possible weapons production, charges that Wilson found to be false from his investigation. The International Atomic Energy Agency had taken a look at the documents and declared them to be forgeries (see reference dated 3/8/2005). When Bush told the nation that Iraq had sought uranium in Niger, even after the CIA investigation, led by Wilson, showed otherwise, Wilson wrote an article stating that the Bush allegations are misleading in light of the facts. This in turn, apparently, prompted the White House to launch an effort to discredit Ambassador Wilson by the White House revealing secretly, in violation of the law, the secret identity of Wilson's wife, who works for the CIA as an undercover agent, all this White House effort, in order to claim that Wilson's investigative mission was as a result of the influence of his wife at the CIA, and is thus not a credible investigator. Wilson noted on CNN yesterday that he was twice assigned as an ambassador to Africa by the father of the current president, the previous President George Herbert Bush, and that the Wilson had served also served as a very high level diplomat in Iraq in 1991, and Wilson was know for his connections in the African country of Niger.

Senator Rockefeller said last week in a statement that "It is a terrible day for all Americans when a top White House official is accused of lying and obstructing justice, made all the worse when it's about a national security matter."

The senator added "These very serious charges go to the heart of whether administration officials misused intelligence by disclosing undercover CIA agent. They also heighten concerns that the administration engaged in a pattern of misusing intelligence to make the case for going to war with Iraq."

Senator Rockefeller's "To date, Congress has completely failed to answer these critical questions. The fact is that at any time the Senate Intelligence Committee pursued a line of questioning that brought us close to the White House, our efforts were thwarted. If my Republican colleagues are not prepared to undertake a full and serious congressional investigation into the potential misuse of intelligence, then I regretfully conclude that we have no choice but to pursue an outside independent investigation. The American people deserve answers and they want the truth."

Yesterday, MSNBC reported that the Senate was forced by Democrats to start so-called "phase two" of the investigation into the intelligence data that was used to lead the country into a war against Iraq. "Phase 2" of the investigation will focus on the apparent fact that not only was the intelligence on Iraq weak and wrong, but that intelligence was knowingly used in a manner by officials to mislead citizens, in order to support an already made decision and desire to go war.

Previous Stories:
  The Sunday Times: US and UK manipulated intelligence in order to attack Iraq, causes inquiry   (6/7/2005)
  Washington Post: US official reveals the US intended to invade Iraq prior to 9/11 events   (1/12/2004)
  Carnegie Endowment for International Peace report: WMD in Iraq, evidence misrepresented, war not best option   (1/10/2004)
  US forces call Iraqis to abstain from fire, Sen. Rockefeller: no mass destruction weapons in Iraq   (5/31/2003)
  US senator on the arrogance of power: I weep for my country   (3/20/2003)
  NY Times: U.S. Senator wants investigation into fake US evidence against Iraq   (3/15/2003)
  Nuclear agency sees progress in identifying Iraq's nuclear capabilities   (3/8/2003)

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