By KATHERINE PFLEGER SHRADER
WASHINGTON (AP) - The key U.S. assertions leading to the 2003 invasion of
Iraq _ that Saddam Hussein had chemical and biological weapons and was
working to make nuclear weapons _ were wrong and based on false or
overstated CIA analyses, a scathing Senate Intelligence Committee report
asserted Friday.
Intelligence analysts fell victim to "group think" assumptions that Iraq had
weapons when it did not, the bipartisan report concluded. Many factors
contributing to those failures are ongoing problems within the U.S.
intelligence community _ which cannot be fixed with more money alone, it
said.
The report did not address a key allegation by Democrats: That Bush and
other officials further twisted the evidence to back their calls for war
against Iraq. The committee's top Democrat, Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West
Virginia, said he was disappointed the panel did not look into what he
called "exaggerated" claims of the Iraqi threat by top administration
officials.
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In addition the administration justified the war with Iraq based on it being
a direct threat to the United States. This was a further distortion of the
facts. Iraq had NO long range bombers, NO blue water Navy and the range of
it's inaccurate missiles was less than 120 miles. Iraq was NO credible
threat to the United States.
This whole event was an unjustified gross waste of American lives and
billions of tax payer dollars.
Bill
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