Iraq Pushback: Soundbites Work

Nevermind detailed and throughtful analysis - what gets a message across is a clear and concise soundbite. Simple. Direct. To the Point. So here are just a few on the Iraq Intelligence Controversy.

Congress does not receive copies of the "Presidential Daily Briefing" on Intelligence.

The Senate and House Intelligence Chairmen and Commitee members receive information that is not available to the full House and Senate.

Neither the Senate Intelligence Report or the Robb-Silbermann report analyzed how intelligence information was used and possibly distorted by the Administration. That analysis was postponed until "Phase II" of the investigation.

The National Intelligence Estimate that was eventually given to Congress just days prior to the Iraq War vote was not voluantarily provided by the Administration and only occured as a result of pressure from Senators Graham and Durbin.

All indications of connections between Al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein came from a single source, Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, who was exposed as a fabricator by the Defense Intelligence Service in Feburary of 2002.

All indications of continued Iraq WMD developement programs came from a single informant code=named "Curveball", a source who both German Inteligence and the DIA consider to be "not reliable".

Both the Senate Intelligence Report and the IAEA found that the Niger-Uranium purchase documents were most likely "A forgery", and the matter was referred to the FBI for Investiation.

The National Intelligence Estimate included a rebuttal by the INR analyst to claims that Saddam was attempting to reconstitute his Nuclear program as "inadaquate to support such a judgement".

Inspectors on the ground in Iraq during late 2002-2003 claimed that U.S. Intelligence on Iraqi WMD's was "garbage" right until Feb of 2003, one Month before the War began.

Many countries did not agree with the Bush Analysis, including Britain who said "the case was thin. Saddam was not threatening his neighbours, and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea or Iran." in the Downing Street Minutes - while France, Russia and Germany all voted against increasing pressure on Saddam prior to the War.

Democrats need to learn that soundbytes WORK.

Vyan