NYT: 'The Dark Side' Studies When the C.I.A. Fought Cheney, and Cheney Won

In the cliquish, cutthroat high school that is the Bush administration, the Central Intelligence Agency casts itself as Carrie, the disparaged and bullied outsider. And like that ill-used heroine of Brian De Palma's 1976 horror movie, the C.I.A. wants revenge, not by telekinetic power, but through public television.

"The Dark Side," a "Frontline" documentary on PBS tonight, chronicles Vice President Dick Cheney's campaign to wrest control of the intelligence community and hype the case for invading Iraq. It's a hair-raising tale of political infighting, but it has been told many times, particularly by "Frontline," which has produced several similar documentaries about the ill-prepared rush to war.

"The Dark Side" is so intent on hammering home how Mr. Cheney twisted arms — and the facts — that it allows the C.I.A. to whitewash its own failings.

The documentary's assertions about Mr. Cheney are not in doubt. Few dispute that once the White House decided to oust Saddam Hussein, George J. Tenet, the C.I.A. director, fell into line ("slam-dunk"), and skeptical State Department and agency analysts were sidelined and ignored.

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