Analysts Behind Iraq Intelligence Were Rewarded

[Nbadan]

By Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 28, 2005; Page A01

Two Army analysts whose work has been cited as part of a key intelligence failure on Iraq -- the claim that aluminum tubes sought by the Baghdad government were probably meant for a nuclear weapons program rather than for rockets -- have received job performance awards in each of the past three years, officials said.

The civilian analysts, former military men considered experts on foreign and U.S. weaponry, work at the Army's National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC), one of three U.S. agencies singled out for particular criticism by President Bush's commission that investigated U.S. intelligence.

-snip-

The problem, according to the commission, which cited the two analysts' work, is that they did not seek or obtain information available from the Energy Department and elsewhere showing that the tubes were indeed the type used for years as rocket-motor cases by Iraq's military. The panel said the finding represented a "a serious lapse in analytic tradecraft" because the center's personnel "could and should have conducted a more exhaustive examination of the question."

Pentagon spokesmen said the awards for the analysts were to recognize their overall contributions on the job over the course of each year. But some current and former officials, including those who called attention to the awards, said the episode shows how the administration has failed to hold people accountable for mistakes on prewar intelligence.

Washington Post

Let's see if there's a pattern here, W awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Tommy Franks, the now-retired Army general who led the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and admitted that the charge of the 'light brigade' into Iraq which has led to the death of 1000's of our troops despite warnings from other Generals was his call; former CIA director George Tenet, who told Bush it was a "slam dunk" that Iraq still had weapons of mass destruction; and L. Paul Bremer, who presided over the first 14 months of Iraq deconstruction and $8 billion in missing Iraqi money.

Nahhh...no pattern!

[GoldToe]

Give them what they want and you get what you want.

[Nbadan]

I wonder what delivering the head of OSL in a box with dry ice would bring? Lets ask CIA agent Gary Schroen

"What he said (was), 'I would like to see the head of bin Laden delivered back to me in a heavy cardboard box filled with dry ice, and I will take that down and show the president. And the rest of the lieutenants, you can put their heads on pikes'."

ABC News

The leader of the developed, free- world asking for a head - nice.

[BronxCowboy]

Tough talk, nothing more. Still barbaric, but meaningless. If they wanted Osama bin Laden that bad, they would have him by now.