The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence today released a report criticizing CIA Director George Tenet (shown in March) and the U.S. intelligence community for their willingness to accept poorly substantiated information as evidence of Iraqi WMD capabilities (AFP photo/Luke Frazza). U.S. Intelligence Exaggerated Iraq’s WMD, Report Says The U.S. intelligence community exaggerated prewar Iraq’s alleged WMD capabilities, according to a report released today by the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (see GSN, July 8). The report says that the conclusions made in a 2002 National Intelligence Estimate on Iraqi nuclear, chemical and biological efforts “either overstated or were not supported by the underlying intelligence reporting. A series of failures, particularly in analytical trade craft, led to the mischaracterization of the intelligence,” according to Reuters (Tabassum Zakaria, Reuters, July 9)...Full Story

CIA Doubts Claims That Al-Qaeda Operative, Iraqi Intelligence Agent Met in 2001 By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The CIA informed U.S. Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.) earlier this month that it is “increasingly skeptical” of a purported April 2001 meeting in Prague between an Iraqi intelligence agent and al-Qaeda operative Mohammed Atta, one of the leaders of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks (see GSN, Sept. 29, 2003)...Full Story

“American People” Will Recognize CIA Successes, Tenet Says, Rejecting Outside Criticism By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — A day before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released a report harshly critical of the U.S. intelligence community’s performance regarding prewar Iraq, retiring CIA Director George Tenet yesterday defended his agency’s progress and seemingly rejected outside interference in its operations (see GSN, July 1)...Full Story

	Friday, July 9, 2004

CIA Doubts Claims That Al-Qaeda Operative, Iraqi Intelligence Agent Met in 2001 By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The CIA informed U.S. Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.) earlier this month that it is “increasingly skeptical” of a purported April 2001 meeting in Prague between an Iraqi intelligence agent and al-Qaeda operative Mohammed Atta, one of the leaders of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks (see GSN, Sept. 29, 2003). In a letter sent July 1 to Levin, CIA Director George Tenet said that the single source for the alleged meeting had come under question and that the Iraqi intelligence agent purported to have been involved in the meeting denied ever meeting with Atta. In addition, U.S. intelligence has only been able to determine that Atta visited the Czech Republic twice, most recently in June 2000, according to Tenet. “In the absence of any credible information that the April 2001 meeting occurred, we assess that Atta would have been unlikely to undertake the substantial risk of contacting any Iraqi official as late as April 2001, with the plot already well along toward execution,” Tenet wrote, referring to the Sept. 11 attacks. Czech officials first claimed in October 2001 that the Iraqi-al-Qaeda meeting had occurred. The allegations were subsequently picked up by the Bush administration, most notably Vice President Dick Cheney, as evidence of a relationship between the terrorist organization and the regime of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. During a late December 2001 appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, Cheney said that the reports of the meeting had been “pretty well confirmed.”  As late as June 18 of this year, Cheney continued to assert that such a meeting might have occurred. “That’s never been proven.  It’s never been refuted,” he said during an appearance on NBC’s Today. During a press conference yesterday, Levin accused the Bush administration of misleading the public by failing to mention the CIA’s doubts over the purported Prague meeting. “The failure of this administration, the refusal of this administration to acknowledge what the CIA’s finding is, that it is unlikely that that meeting occurred and that there is no credible information that that meeting occurred, that is highly misleading on the part of the administration,” said Levin, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Cheney spokesman Kevin Kellems was quoted today by the New York Times as saying, though, that the vice president’s public statements “reflected the evolving judgment of the intelligence community, as briefed to him by the Central Intelligence Agency.” Cheney has come under criticism for his continued assertions of possible links between al-Qaeda and prewar Iraq. Soon after the U.S. national commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks reported last month that while there may have been contacts between al-Qaeda and Hussein’s regime there was no evidence of a collaborative relationship between the two, Cheney reportedly said that he “probably” had more access to information than the commission. Earlier this week, the commission’s chairman and vice chairman refuted Cheney’s claims of varying levels of access to information. “After examining available transcripts of the vice president’s public remarks, the 9/11 commission believes it has access to the same information the vice president has seen regarding contacts between al-Qaeda and Iraq prior to the 9/11 attacks,” they said in a statement (see GSN, July 7). Back to top       “American People” Will Recognize CIA Successes, Tenet Says, Rejecting Outside Criticism By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — A day before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released a report harshly critical of the U.S. intelligence community’s performance regarding prewar Iraq, retiring CIA Director George Tenet yesterday defended his agency’s progress and seemingly rejected outside interference in its operations (see GSN, July 1). In a farewell address to CIA employees, Tenet said the agency’s record would ultimately be vindicated and called on lawmakers to be fair in their assessment. “In the end, the American people will weigh and assess our record — where intelligence has done well, and where we have fallen short. And, aware of the difficulties and limitations that we face, they will recognize and honor your service. My only wish is that those whose job it is to help us do better show the same balance and care: in recognizing how far we have come, in recognizing how bold we have been, in recognizing what the full balance sheet says,” he said. The Senate intelligence committee released today a report criticizing the U.S. intelligence community’s gathering and assessment of intelligence on Iraq’s alleged prewar WMD efforts. Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) said today that his panel’s inquiry found that a “global intelligence failure” led to the widespread belief that prewar Iraq possessed stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, none of which have yet been found, according to the Associated Press (see related GSN story, today).  Roberts was quoted last week as saying that the report’s findings “literally beg for changes in the intelligence community.” The New York Times reported yesterday that the Senate intelligence panel is now set to begin work on crafting recommendations for intelligence reform. One oft-proposed recommendation has been the creation of a national director of intelligence to oversee the entire U.S. intelligence community — a proposal that has been opposed by some senior intelligence officials. In his remarks yesterday, Tenet defended the improvements made over his seven-year tenure as CIA director and seemingly rejected outside attempts at reform. “If people or leaders want to take you back in a different direction, then it is your voices that must be heard to say we know better and we’re not going to put up with it,” he told agency employees. Tenet, whose resignation will formally take effect Sunday, has said that he is leaving the CIA for personal reasons, but some experts have said that his decision may have been influenced by the controversies surrounding intelligence operations and prewar Iraq (see GSN, June 3). Tenet will be replaced by agency Deputy Director John McLaughlin, who will serve as acting director until a permanent replacement is named and approved.  In separate remarks yesterday, Senator Carl Levin (Mich.), the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called on the Bush administration to appoint a “nonpolitical” choice to help quicken the confirmation process. “If they nominate somebody who clearly is nonpolitical, someone who clearly is able to call the shots in an objective way and not to respond to what the administration’s policies are with the intelligence which is shaped to support that policy; if the person who is nominated … has that kind of a background — that kind of a backbone as well as a background, then I would think that there could be a fairly speedy and prompt … confirmation process,” Levin said. He rejected as too political the potential selection of House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Porter Goss (R-Fla.), a former CIA officer who has been the subject of speculation as a possible White House choice to replace Tenet. “I think Porter Goss just goes in as too political, just automatically would be too political a person going in. I like him; I have a lot of respect for him, but that’s not the issue here. The issue is you’ve got to restore public confidence in the CIA as being able to provide thoroughly objective, unvarnished, unshaped intelligence,” Levin said. Back to top       European Insurers Plan Terrorism Coverage Cuts Some European insurers of international airlines are planning to cut coverage for certain terrorist acts, such as radioactive contamination and attacks using chemical or biological weapons, the Financial Times reported today (see GSN, Nov. 27, 2002). “Underwriters were brought to their knees after 9/11,” said Ian Macfarlane, Lloyd’s Market Association aviation manager. “You can’t go on providing cover that could cause your business to fail,” he added. Representatives of European Union countries are set to meet in Brussels later this month to discuss whether member states might have to support the airlines, the European Commission said. The United States acts as insurer of last resort for terrorism risks, and other governments might have to follow suit, according to the Times (Andrew Bolger, Financial Times, July 9). Back to top

U.S. Intelligence Exaggerated Iraq’s WMD, Report Says The U.S. intelligence community exaggerated prewar Iraq’s alleged WMD capabilities, according to a report released today by the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (see GSN, July 8). The report says that the conclusions made in a 2002 National Intelligence Estimate on Iraqi nuclear, chemical and biological efforts “either overstated or were not supported by the underlying intelligence reporting. A series of failures, particularly in analytical trade craft, led to the mischaracterization of the intelligence,” according to Reuters (Tabassum Zakaria, Reuters, July 9). “This was a global intelligence failure,” said committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), according to the Associated Press . The report also accuses intelligence analysts of engaging in “group think” assumptions that prewar Iraq possessed WMD stockpiles, which have not been found subsequently. According to the report, analysts worked from such assumptions when evaluating information and ignored or discounted information that did not correspond to their assumptions, AP reported. “This ‘group think’ dynamic led intelligence community analysts, collectors and managers to both interpret ambiguous evidence as conclusively indicative of a WMD program and to ignore or minimize evidence that Iraq did not have active and expanding weapons of mass destruction programs,” the report says. In addition, the report repeatedly criticizes CIA Director George Tenet, who is set to formally resign Sunday, for failing to include dissenting views from the Defense and State Department intelligence services in his reports to officials, AP reported (Associated Press/Los Angeles Times, July 9). The Senate committee found, though, no evidence that Bush administration officials sought to pressure analysts into reaching certain judgments, according to Reuters. “The committee did not find any evidence that administration officials attempted to coerce, influence or pressure analysts to change their judgments related to Iraq's weapons of mass destruction capabilities,” the report says. Many of the problems found in the U.S. intelligence community’s performance regarding prewar Iraq will need extensive reforms to resolve, according to the report. “Most, if not all, of these problems stem from a broken corporate culture and poor management, and will not be solved by additional funding and personnel,” it says (Zakaria, Reuters). White House press secretary Scott McClellan said today that the report “agrees with what we have said, which is we need to take steps to continue strengthening and reforming our intelligence capabilities so we are prepared to meet the new threats that we face in this day and age” (Associated Press/Los Angeles Times). Back to top       British Intelligence Rushed to Support Decision to Invade Iraq, Leading to Errors, Inquiry Set to Find An inquiry into British prewar intelligence on Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction is expected to find that errors were made as a result of British intelligence working quickly to justify a government decision to invade, the Financial Times reported yesterday (see GSN, July 8). The inquiry report, set to be released next week, is expected to find flaws in the way British intelligence delivered, assessed and publicly presented intelligence information, according to the Times. British intelligence had previously seen other countries such as Libya and Iran as more immediate threats than Iraq, according to the report. However, once a decision was made by the British government to support the U.S. invasion, intelligence services had to work quickly to gather more information on Iraq, leading to errors, the report states. The report is expected, though, to refrain from criticizing British government and intelligence officials, the Times reported (Fidler/Huband, Financial Times, July 8). Meanwhile, former chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix told the inquiry that U.S. and British intelligence on prewar Iraq was inaccurate and that both governments did a poor job in analyzing the information they received, according to the Financial Times. “My belief is that intelligence failed and it was presented in a way that did not have sufficient caveats and which politicians were prepared to believe,” Blix said. “There was a lack of critical thinking on WMD, and government shares the responsibility with intelligence,” he added (Jimmy Burns, Financial Times, July 8). Back to top

U.S. Reviewing Possible W-76 Nuclear Warhead Flaw U.S. nuclear weapons experts reportedly met in March at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico to discuss a possible flaw in the W-76 nuclear warhead, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, June 4). News of the meeting was first reported yesterday in the Albuquerque Journal, according to AP. While the possible effect of the flaw is classified, it might result in the warhead exploding with less than its intended yield, AP reported. National Nuclear Security Administration deputy chief Everet Beckner said that a review of the W-76 warhead was initiated at the March meeting, but that review has yet to be completed. The United States has 2,300 W76 warheads in its arsenal, more than any other nuclear weapons, AP reported. The warheads are deployed on U.S. submarine-launched ballistic missiles. The flaw would have “national security implications for the United States” if found to be real, Beckner wrote in a letter last fall (Associated Press, July 9). Back to top       Israel Not Yet Prepared to Discuss Nuclear-Free Zone Israel would support discussions aimed at establishing a nuclear-weapons free zone in the Middle East only if peace were achieved throughout the region, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, July 8). Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told visiting International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei yesterday that such a discussion could take place, but did not say when. “It’s not a new policy, but affirming that policy at the level of prime minister I thought to be quite a welcome development,” ElBaradei said. However, Israeli officials said that Israel’s policy of “nuclear ambiguity” had not changed. “At least for now, we see no reason, justification or requirement to change it,” said a senior official with Israel’s Atomic Energy Commission (Greg Myre, New York Times, July 9). Back to top

Iran Weighs Possibility of Chemical Weapons Charges Against European Countries Iran would raise the issue of European support for Iraq’s chemical weapons programs during the Iran-Iraq war in an international tribunal if Europe increases pressure on Iran over its nuclear activities, an Iranian official said Wednesday (see GSN, July 6). “We do not want to escalate our position against Europe,” said Mohammed Shariati, an adviser to Iranian President Mohammed Khatami. “But if the Europeans escalate the situation, we might also escalate the situation,” he added. European companies supplied former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein with materials used to manufacture chemical weapons, which Hussein used against Iranian civilian populations during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, according to Ali Shams Ardekani, who represented Iran at the Geneva-based U.N. Conference on Disarmament in 1988. “German and other European companies gave him [Hussein] precursor (agents), which he only had to mix together to make chemical weapons,” Ardekani said. The Chemical Weapons Convention has many of the precursors in question on its list of chemicals banned for transfer to a nonstate party, according to a spokesman for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. However, the convention entered into force in 1997, nine years after the end of the Iran-Iraq war, the Star reported (Cilina Nasser, Daily Star (Lebanon), July 9). Back to top       Growing Chemical Industry Could Pose Risk to Asia A growing Asian chemical industry combined with terrorist activity raises the risk of a chemical attack in the region, a Japanese security official said today (see GSN, July 6). “We should not underestimate, because in this region there is a growing chemical industry,” said Kazuhiro Nakai, director of the biological and chemical weapon conventions division at Japan’s Foreign Ministry, Reuters reported. “Secondly, we have a local terrorist network here. They are linking with international terrorist organizations, including al-Qaeda,” he added. The threat of chemical terrorism could be reduced by broader implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, Nakai said following a conference of chemical experts in Malaysia (Reuters, July 9). Back to top       U.S. Backs Extending Deadlines for Chemical Weapons Disposal in Albania, Libya The United States supports extending for Albania and Libya the Chemical Weapons Convention-mandated deadline by which each member state must destroy a portion of their chemical weapons stockpiles, U.S. Ambassador Eric Javits said late last month (see GSN, March 23). In remarks before the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Javits said the organization had previously approved such deadline extensions for other countries. Both Albania and Libya would still be expected to meet an April 29, 2007 deadline for the full destruction of their respective chemical weapons stockpiles. In addition, the United States backs a request by Libya to convert its Rabta chemical weapons production plant into a peaceful civilian facility, Javits said. Libya said it wants to use the site to produce cheap pharmaceutical treatments for several diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, according to the U.S. State Department (U.S. State Department release, July 8). Back to top

Japan, U.S. Plan Missile Defense Tests Next Year The United States and Japan are set to conduct their first two joint tests of a sea-based antiballistic missile system next year, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported (see GSN, May 7). The tests, in which an interceptor missile is to be launched from an Aegis destroyer off the Hawaiian coast, are expected to be the first in a series aimed at developing a system that can reliably intercept missiles, a Japanese official said. The first test is designed to examine flight characteristics of the interceptor missile and will not involve a target missile. A target missile is planned to be launched from the Marshall Islands for the second test, the official said (Yomiuri Shimbun, July 9).   Back to top

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