February 1, 2003
PLAYING POSSUM:
Caught on Tape: Bush administration to release tapes that could incriminate Iraq. (Michael Isikoff and Michael Hirsh, 1/31/03, Newsweek)The Bush administration is preparing to release supersensitive electronic intercepts obtained by the National Security Agency that officials say prove that Iraq has repeatedly lied to United Nations inspectors, plotted among themselves about how to conceal weapons material and even appeared to boast afterward at their success in doing so, NEWSWEEK has learned.THE DECISION TO allow Secretary of State Colin Powell to use the electronic intercepts in his speech next Wednesday to the U.N. was described by U.S. intelligence officials as extraordinary. Electronic intercepts by the NSA are considered the most jealously guarded of all U.S. intelligence secrets and government officials are normally loath to even refer to their existence for fear of tipping off targets and drying up invaluable sources of information.
But in this case, officials said, the intercepts are so damning and dramatic that officials say their release outweighs the potential harm-especially given the increased likelihood that the United States will shortly be launching an invasion of Iraq anyway.
"Hold onto your hat. We've got it," said one U.S. intelligence official familiar with the evidence gathered by the NSA.
The administration seems to have raised to a high art form the practice of sandbagging opponents and the press, playing down expectations and then unveiling something dramatic. The most obvious recent example was the State of the Union, where, to the best of my knowledge, not a single media outlet reported ahead of time the dramatic AIDs and fuel cell proposals.
It would be absolutely typical of their modus operandi for George W. Bush to have passed up the opportunity to share intelligence like this himself during that speech--in order to both buy more time and let opponents of the war get themselves even further out on a limb saying that there's no proof against Saddam--and then to let Colin Powell unveil it in a setting that can't help but draw comparisons to the moment when Adlai Stevenson revealed secret US photos of Soviet nuclear missiles and silo construction in Cuba in 1962.
MORE:
Bush Zeroes In: Ignore the domestic head fakes. He's focused like a laser on Iraq. (Fred Barnes, 02/10/2003,
Weekly Standard)
The biggest problem the spooks have is Too Much Data, not too little. They have a challenge processing it all. But to think that a high priority case like this one isn't be resourced properly would be crazy.
Posted by: Tom Roberts at February 1, 2003 9:02 AMHaving spent a year in combat, years ago, I've since considered myself a pacifist; but not suicidal. If ever an argument could be made for a just war ... this is it. The potential for improvement in the region, which desperately needs it, stands before us and our partners. How I hope this article is accurate. My only doubt is how it was ever allowed to be leaked. Somehow that doesn't add up.
Posted by: Genecis at February 1, 2003 10:40 AM