CIA Director: Iraq Was Never An Imminent Threat

[newsports]

In a speech at Georgetown University today CIA Director George Tenet rejected the main argument used by President George W. Bush and his administration that the CIA agreed that Saddam was an "imminent threat" to the US. Tenet also rejected the claim that any governmental sources pressured the CIA or its analyst into "what to say or how to say it" . After the report put out by the official Iraq weapons inspector David Kay last week which said that Iraq had no WMD, and this recent speech by the Director of the CIA, saying that they never told the White House that Saddam was an imminent threat. Would it be safe to say that the argument by the Bush administration that it was necessary for the US and "The Coalition of the Willing" to invade Iraq in order to protect the American people, was a complete falsehood?

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/INTELLIGENCE_CIA?SITE=DCTMS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
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[jon_forward]

you imply that tenat thought the Liberation of the Iraqi people was wrong....that was not what he said.....dwelling on only the smallest bits and pieces that fit into your opinion is not right...taken as a whole what you state could not be further from the truth

 

[newsports]

jon

I'm sorry but no matter how hard you try, you will not find any implication to anything in my message. What is in the post is the fact that today CIA director Tenet said Iraq was never an imminent threat (this is not an implication). On the other hand I said that Tenent said he nor his analyst were pressured to say anything by higher up's(this too is not an implication). I then said that previously Iraq weapons inspector David Kay said that he thinks Iraq had no WMD prior to war.

Finally I ask a question of you given these new revelations. Nothing I'm saying is guess work, its all factual. Now....If Bush said that the CIA told him that Iraq was an imminent threat, and George Tenent says that he nor his analyst ever told the White House this, then there is a contridiction, not an implication.

P.S. I also make absolutely no mention of what the CIA director "thought" about the "liberation of the Iraqi people".

 

[jon_forward]

seems to me all you say is neg toward G.W.....tenet did say that Iraq could be a threat......a complete falsehood???? in other words a lie??? they were convinced that WMD were in Iraq, that Iraq posed a danger to not only its neighbors but the USA as well.
WMD had been used by saddam & co against Iran and the Iraqi people...for whatever reasons saddam choose to bluff us and he lost, the Iraqi people are free of a tyrant leader and the world is better off.12 years is a long time to thumb your nose at the world dont you think??

 

[jimnyc]

Originally posted by newsports
In a speech at Georgetown University today CIA Director George Tenet rejected the main argument used by President George W. Bush and his administration that the CIA agreed that Saddam was an "imminent threat" to the US.

Bush never said that. It may be what Tenet said today, but you'll find no quotes of Bush ever saying that. Thanks!

 

[Lefty Wilbury]

way to take things out of context. what was really said:

"They never said there was an imminent threat. Rather, they painted an objective assessment for our policy-makers of a brutal dictator who was continuing his efforts to deceive and build programs that might constantly surprise us and threaten our interests. No one told us what to say or how to say it.
"

they gave an unbaised report so other could make up their minds on the threat level.

 

[Diana]

I doubt the U.S. servicemen and women posted in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey for the last 12 years enforcing the no-fly zones would agree that Iraq posed no imminent threat.


Would it be safe to say that the argument by the Bush administration that it was necessary for the US and "The Coalition of the Willing" to invade Iraq in order to protect the American people, was a complete falsehood?

 

[modman]

Tenet said they never used the term "imminent" threat to describe the situation. If he had said the other day that Iraq was never an imminent threat that would basically be the admission of guilt we are waiting to hear. You can't take stuff out of context is all im saying.

 

[Niko]

The threat of Iraq has always been real. But Saddam is a very cunning man who uses the media to fight his battles and hides in dugouts while his people are being killed.

 

[jimnyc]

Originally posted by modman
Tenet said they never used the term "imminent" threat to describe the situation.

If he had said the other day that Iraq was never an imminent threat that would basically be the admission of guilt we are waiting to hear.

You can't take stuff out of context is all im saying.

And yet that's exactly what you've just done. Congrats!