Pressuring the CIA to Lie, Calling Result an Accident

by David Swanson

http://www.opednews.com

Try as I might to believe that the President accidentally got it all wrong about those weapons of mass destruction and ties to 9-11, I just can't seem to square it with the fact that the White House pressured the CIA to get it wrong or else.

And pressure the CIA they did.

This story is nicely documented on pages 54-55 of Congressman John Conyers' report, "The Constitution in Crisis; The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution, and Coverups in the Iraq War."

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/5769

A former CIA analyst described the intense pressure brought to bear on the CIA by the Bush Administration in these terms: "The analysts at the C.I.A. were beaten down defending their assessments. And they blame George Tenet" -- the CIA director – "for not protecting them. I've never seen a government like this."

Protecting them? From mushroom clouds and unmanned vehicles?

No, from Dick Cheney, who with his sidekick I. Lewis Libby visited CIA headquarters about a dozen times to personally ensure that CIA analysts knew precisely what their instructions were -- what conclusions their analysis should yield. And this all went on with their always-eager-to-please-the-boss boss, George Tenet, standing directly behind the vice president.

Veteran CIA analyst Ray McGovern was asked if this were unusual: "No; not unusual; unprecedented! Never in my 27 years at CIA, from Kennedy to George H. W. Bush, did a sitting vice president come to CIA headquarters on a working visit," said Ray. "That was not the way we did business. We would go down to brief the vice president in his office.

"If Tenet wished to protect his analysts from that kind of blatant political pressure, he would have told Cheney that CIA analysts could be at his beck and call; but in the Vice President's, not the analysts' offices. This was customary procedure, not only with the Vice President but with all senior policymakers. Had Tenet an ounce of courage, he would have said, 'Don't come to us; we'll come to you.' One distinct advantage of being located in the Virginia woods several miles from downtown was that this was a disincentive to policymakers like Cheney to invite themselves to come on over and 'help' with the analysis. This is precisely what the analysts do not need."

Continues Here