Powell admits "mobile weapons factory" scam

[Justin]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3596033.stm

> In February last year he told the UN Security Council that Iraq had
> developed mobile laboratories for making biological weapons.
> 
> On Friday he conceded that information "appears not to be... that solid".
...
> Mr Powell said the US intelligence officers "indicated to me" that the
> information about the mobile labs was reliable, and "I made sure it was
> multi-sourced".
> 
> "Now, if the sources fell apart we need to find out how we've gotten
> ourselves in that position," he said.
> 
> "I have discussions with the CIA about it," he said, without providing
> further details. 
...
> This admission by Mr Powell could further hurt the credibility of the
> Bush administration in what is an election year, our correspondent says.

Is this that surprising?  The CIA isn't doing too well if they cannot
figure out that there are good reasons to doubt anti-Iraq intelligence.

The intelligence, if untrue, may have been disseminated by Saddam or the
Ba'athists for unknown purposes, perhaps to destabilize the region even at
the cost of Ba'athist leadership, for instance.  Even if he's truly a "Bad
man" and a psychopath, I don't believe that he's a coward who is unwilling
to die for his beliefs.  Ba'athists live by the sword, and I don't see him
being that hypocritical.

The intelligence may have been disseminated by the Kurds or other
anti-Ba'athist forces for obvious reasons.

The intelligence, even if it was originally true, may have been leaked and
then the mobile (and other) weapons factories and storage destroyed.  The
intended result would have been the current situation, with the Bush
administration and intel community looking like idiots and the "soft on
terror" Democrats having a foreign policy advantage in Nov 2004.

-- 
"You took my gun.  It's just your word against mine!"
"Not necessarily."
  -Bernie vs Tom, Miller's Crossing