Oopsy!
After weeks of framing the elections in terms of the Global War on Terror rather than the disasterous Iraq war, the White House got back-doored by a nearly six-month old intelligence report. The Great Iraq War has made the Global War on Terror more difficult, according to an April NIE analysis. We are now less safe from terrorism than we were in 2001. Democrats jumped on the news, as well they should have. From an article in today's Washington Post:
Democratic lawmakers yesterday seized on elements of a new classified intelligence assessment as validation of their long-standing position that the Iraq war has been a distraction from the broader war against terrorists, seeing the new study as an opportunity to undermine President Bush's determined offensive to turn terrorism to political advantage in the midterm elections.
A classified National Intelligence Estimate, completed in April but disclosed in news reports over the weekend, offers the U.S. intelligence community's first formal evaluation of global trends in terrorism since the April 2003 invasion of Iraq. U.S. officials said the report concludes that the Iraq war has fueled the growth of Islamic extremism and terror groups, but White House officials responded that the reports reflected a selective and distorted interpretation of the study. [Emphasis added]
The regime's spinmeisters went into immediate action, but their remarks were undermined by some key Republican lawmakers. If the report didn't say we are less safe, why not declassify it so we can see what it actually said?
Administration officials rejected calls from Democrats -- and some Republicans -- to release an unclassified version of the report, and one official said the NIE discussed how the Iraq war has been used as a propaganda tool by terror groups.
Sen Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), chairman of the Intelligence Committee, joined in the call to declassify the new NIE. He said the administration should do so, so "the American people can see the material for themselves and come to their own conclusions," adding: "There is a false impression that the NIE focuses solely on Iraq and terrorism. That is not true. This NIE examines global terrorism in its totality." [Emphasis added]
Why, yes, Sen. Roberts, that's a great idea. Unfortunately, this regime doesn't do open and transparent. It is more into reclassifying than declassifying, and this time that propensity has managed to bite the regime in the backside.
Karma.
Democratic lawmakers yesterday seized on elements of a new classified intelligence assessment as validation of their long-standing position that the Iraq war has been a distraction from the broader war against terrorists, seeing the new study as an opportunity to undermine President Bush's determined offensive to turn terrorism to political advantage in the midterm elections.
A classified National Intelligence Estimate, completed in April but disclosed in news reports over the weekend, offers the U.S. intelligence community's first formal evaluation of global trends in terrorism since the April 2003 invasion of Iraq. U.S. officials said the report concludes that the Iraq war has fueled the growth of Islamic extremism and terror groups, but White House officials responded that the reports reflected a selective and distorted interpretation of the study. [Emphasis added]
The regime's spinmeisters went into immediate action, but their remarks were undermined by some key Republican lawmakers. If the report didn't say we are less safe, why not declassify it so we can see what it actually said?
Administration officials rejected calls from Democrats -- and some Republicans -- to release an unclassified version of the report, and one official said the NIE discussed how the Iraq war has been used as a propaganda tool by terror groups.
Sen Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), chairman of the Intelligence Committee, joined in the call to declassify the new NIE. He said the administration should do so, so "the American people can see the material for themselves and come to their own conclusions," adding: "There is a false impression that the NIE focuses solely on Iraq and terrorism. That is not true. This NIE examines global terrorism in its totality." [Emphasis added]
Why, yes, Sen. Roberts, that's a great idea. Unfortunately, this regime doesn't do open and transparent. It is more into reclassifying than declassifying, and this time that propensity has managed to bite the regime in the backside.
Karma.
posted by Diane at 3:55 AM
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Good morning!
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