Germans Say U.S. Used Bad Data to Justify Iraq Invasion...

Drudge ^ | 11/19/05 | Drudge

[bnelson44]

Germans Say U.S. Used Bad Data to Justify Iraq Invasion Sat Nov 19 2005 17:58:49 ET

The German intelligence officials responsible for one of the most important informants on Saddam Hussein's suspected weapons of mass destruction say that the Bush Administration and the CIA repeatedly exaggerated his claims during the run-up to the Iraq war.

The LOS ANGELES TIMES is planning to front the allegation is Sunday editions, newsroom sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT.

Five senior officials from Germany's Federal Intelligence Service, or BND, said in interviews with the LOS ANGELES TIMES that they warned U.S. intelligence authorities that the source, an Iraqi defector codenamed Curveball, never claimed to produce germ weapons and never saw anyone else do so.

According to the Germans, President Bush mischaracterized Curveball's information when he warned before the war that Iraq had at least seven mobile factories brewing biological poisons. Then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell also misstated Curveball's claims in his pre-war presentation to the United Nations on Feb. 5, 2003, the Germans said.

Curveball's German handlers for the last six years said his information was often vague, mostly second-hand and impossible to confirm.

``This was not substantial evidence,'' said a senior German intelligence official. ``We made clear we could not verify the things he said.''

The German authorities, speaking about the case for the first time, also said that their informant suffered from emotional and mental problems. ``He is not a stable, psychologically stable guy,'' said a BND official who supervised the case. ``He is not a completely normal person,'' agreed a BND analyst.

Developing...

[Petronski]

Not much fun in Stalingrad....?

[George W. Bush]

The Germans released this to pile on the Murtha flap. It is an official attack, meant to undermine Bush. No country's intel services makes public statements like this without permission from the top.

It'll be used to support Murtha's talking points on the Sunday talk shows. And it will be droned the rest of the week from the usual MSM suspects.

[ReaganCountry]

This sounds like the exact same story that the Guardian ran with on April 2, 2004 http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1184172,00.html

[George W. Bush]

This from the country that brought us that stable and normal guy named Hitler.

That was Austria.

[George W. Bush]

Gee, what data did they use to invade Poland in 1939?

A fabricated attack on a radio station at some little border town called Gleiwitz or something like that.

Not sure if this is a good comparison...

[George W. Bush]

Great catch. So they're recycling it to help the antiwar element in this country.

[elli1]

The German authorities, speaking about the case for the first time, also said that their informant suffered from emotional and mental problems. ``He is not a stable, psychologically stable guy,'' said a BND official who supervised the case. ``He is not a completely normal person,'' agreed a BND analyst.

Sounds kinda' like CIA darling, Joe Wilson.

[daviscupper]

Yes, several times. Most recently with Tim Russert last Sunday. He used Colin Powell's characterization of "curveballs" intelligence as if it were Powell trying to distort intelligence data.

Powell on several occasions has said that curveballs intelligence was flawed. However, it will not stop the media from trying to find a new angle to discredit the
Administration.

We are now fighting a two-front war. One with terrorists the other with domestic traitors.

[Berlin_Freeper]

How come the Germans sat on the same UN Security Council and said nothing about this?

That proves this is nothing but total BS.

Fact is there was other evidence such as this secret tape we made of a conversation in Iraq (are these Germans going to call them crazy too?)...

Here's how Powell introduced his case on Feb. 5, 2003:

POWELL: Let me begin by playing a tape for you. What you're about to hear is a conversation that my government monitored. It takes place on November 26 [2002], on the day before United Nations teams resumed inspections in Iraq.

The conversation involves two senior officers, a colonel and a brigadier general, from Iraq's elite military unit, the Republican Guard.
TAPE TRANSCRIPT:

IRAQI COLONEL : About this committee that is coming with [U.N. nuclear weapons inspector] Mohamed ElBaradei.

IRAQI GENERAL : Yeah, yeah.

COL: We have this modified vehicle. What do we say if one of them sees it?

GEN: You didn't get a modified... You don't have a modified...
COL: By God, I have one.

GEN: Which? From the workshop...?

COL: From the al-Kindi Company

GEN: Yeah, yeah. I'll come to you in the morning. I have some comments. I'm worried you all have something left.

COL: We evacuated everything. We don't have anything left. [END OF POWELL TAPE EXCERPT]

What type of "modified vehicle" do Iraq war critics think Saddam's general was worried about? A souped-up 1967 Mustang?

And what, pray tell, do they think Saddam's colonel was referring to when he said, "We evacuated everything. We don't have anything left"?

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2005/11/14/233507.shtml

Let's see these idiot Germans explain that one.

[Dustbunny]

Taking this with a grain of salt. They obviously thought that the House would go against the war and they are just jumping on the band wagon.

[Berlin_Freeper]

Curveball's German handlers for the last six years said his information was often vague, mostly second-hand and impossible to confirm.

The German authorities, speaking about the case for the first time, also said that their informant suffered from emotional and mental problems. ``He is not a stable, psychologically stable guy,'' said a BND official who supervised the case. ``He is not a completely normal person,'' agreed a BND analyst.


The number 1 question becomes: How come the Germans spent so much time "handling" an insane person??? I would think they'd have handled him for about a 15 minute drive to the nut house.

Don't forget about what Rush has been talking about, that Bush needs to and is cleaning up the CIA and that is why they attacked him with this Wilson liar/fool. We got the same situation now in Germany where Schroeder was in bed with the Putin KGB man and now Merkel needs to clean up.

I look forward to seeing these Anti-American, German creeps go down the drain.

[mass55th]

"That was Austria."

LOL! Yeah, that's where the demon seed was issued alright.

[Conservomax]

I wonder what the data was like they used to justify the invasion of France and Poland.