Feb 15, 2011 according to them, curveball had claimed that latifs son, who was then at school in britain, was a procurer of wmd. At the time, it reported to the director of the cia, george tenet, in his intelligence community hat and was located at cia headquarters. Agent curveball and iraq wmd intelligence doubts top. How iraqi defector curveball became basis for us claims that iraq had wmd during the 1990s the u. We have reexamined every phrase, line, sentence, judgment and alternative view in this 90page document and have traced their genesis completely. Most recently cbs ran a story on the original source who claimed that iraq had wmds. Curveball by bob drogin penguin random house audio. The senate report on iraqi wmd intelligence was the report by the united states senate select committee on intelligence concerning the u. Iraqi defector curveball admits wmd lies telegraph. The report includes 117 formal conclusions, as well as supporting discussion and background information. The iraqi defector rafid aljanabi codenamed curveball, who falsely claimed saddam hussein had weapons of mass destruction, admitted to the lies today and said he is. Senate report on prewar intelligence on iraq wikipedia. Defector admits to wmd lies that triggered iraq war iraqi codenamed curveball invented tales of bioweapons man told lies try to bring down saddam hussein regime fabrications used by. It is also another story of serious mistakes by american intelligence in the run up to the iraq invasion after 911.
Feb 15, 2011 iraqi defector curveball admits wmd lies an iraqi defector codenamed curveball, whose statements convinced the cia and the bush administration that iraq had secret biological weapons, has. Jun 17, 2008 the october 2002 national intelligence estimate nie on iraqs weapons of mass destruction wmd has been dissected like no other product in the history of the us intelligence community. The twoway joschka fischer says the german intelligence agency sent the cia a letter about unreliability of the. Iraqi codenamed curveball invented tales of bioweapons man told. And that investigation led directly to this book, and i spent a year writing the book. The 511page report focuses much of its attention on the october, 2002, classified national intelligence estimate nie titled iraqs continuing programs for weapons of mass destruction. Phillip bobbitt highlights the importance of the curveball source in the 2002 nie, where the information being published about iraq s biological weapons capability came almost exclusively from curveball, despite the assertion that there were multiple sources bobbitt, 2009, p. Spies, lies, and the con man who caused a war 1 by drogin, bob isbn. Wmd has been the center of political controversy and of. Curveball was an iraqi chemical engineer in his early 30s. The intelligence communitys performance in assessing iraqs prewar weapons of mass destruction programs was a major intelligence failure.
It will not examine the justness or ethics of going to war with iraq but, conclude with the. The role of intelligence in the 2003 invasion of iraq. Former secretary of state colin powell is demanding answers from the cia and pentagon after an iraqi defector stepped forward to admit that he fabricated claims that saddam hussein had weapons of mass destruction in advance of the u. There is a myth about the war that i have been meaning to set straight for years. The intelligence communitys performance in assessing iraq s prewar weapons of mass destruction programs was a major intelligence failure. Iraqi codenamed curveball invented tales of bioweapons man told lies try to bring down saddam hussein regime fabrications used by us as. But alwan told us he never told the bnd that iraq was producing weapons of mass destruction. This paper will examine the use of intelligence to invade iraq as well as broader implications for politicization. Known in cia documentation and throughout preliminary hearings as. Rafid ahmed alwan aljanabi curveball admits to wmd lies.
Random house, 2007 tells the true story of the iraqi. General conclusions on intelligence relating to iraqs. The intelligence agencies of germany, israel, russia, britain, china and france. Curveball, the man whose lies about weapons of mass destruction helped form. The defector, rafid ahmed alwan aljanabi, who was codenamed curveball by the central intelligence agency and german intelligence officials, told the. Jan 24, 2016 instead, on october 1, 2002, less than a month after the jcs report, the intelligence community produced a 92page national intelligence estimate, or nie, on iraqs wmd programs that made no. Jul 27, 2011 phillip bobbitt highlights the importance of the curveball source in the 2002 nie, where the information being published about iraqs biological weapons capability came almost exclusively from curveball, despite the assertion that there were multiple sources bobbitt, 2009, p. Defector admits to wmd lies that triggered iraq war world. But bush did lie about iraqs wmd in another way, as robert parry explained in 2010. Curveball answers the crucial question of the iraq war. Jan 01, 2007 curveball answers the crucial question of the iraq war. First is the case of the cia white paper, iraq s weapons of mass destruction programs. That document is dated october 2002 document 1 and was issued on october 4.
Feb 21, 2016 to begin with, numerous foreign intelligence agencies also believed that saddam hussein had an active wmd program. The report, which was released on july 9, 2004, identified numerous failures in the intelligencegathering and analysis process. Heres the full version of the cias 2002 intelligence assessment on wmd in iraq. Defector admits to wmd lies that triggered iraq war. The record on curveball the national security archive.
Bush and cheney falsely presented wmd intelligence to public on hardball, michael morell concedes the bush administration misled the nation into the iraq war. Rafid ahmed alwan aljanabi, known by the central intelligence agency cryptonym curveball, was an iraqi citizen now a german citizen who defected from iraq in 1999, claiming that he had worked as a chemical engineer at a plant that manufactured mobile biological weapon laboratories as part of an iraqi weapons of mass destruction program. Curveballgermanys role in the iraq warand the horrors. The intelligence communitys assessments on iraq s wmd stockpiles and programs turned out to be woefully wrong, largely because analysts believed that iraq. Defector admits to wmd lies that triggered iraq war world news. An iraqi defectors testimony was critical in paving the way to war. A man whose lies helped to make the case for invading iraq starting a nineyear war costing more than 100,000 lives and hundreds of billions of pounds will come clean in his first british. Man whose wmd lies led to 100,000 deaths confesses all. Spies, lies and the con man who caused a war new york.
This report forms part of a second phase of the sscis investigation of iraq intelligence issues, most especially saddam husseins possible weapons of mass destruction wmd program, originally approved by the intelligence committee in february 2004 but stalled by its republican majority for several years, until the majority changed with. The cia in the document even tries to spin its acknowledgment that iraq s programs were dismantled and its wmd destroyed in 1991 by saying that this unilateral action left iraq unable to provide convincing proof when it later tried to demonstrate compliancethus shifting the burden onto iraq to prove that it didnt have wmd and. Apr 26, 20 remember curveball it is absolutely imperative to recall the propaganda campaign conducted prior to invading iraq in 2003. Chemical weapons were also used as a pretext for an otherwise unjustified war. Iraq bioweapons claim a lie, curveball says the new. Iraqi defector curveball admits wmd lies, is proud of. The two sources who produced the intelligence that iraq had no wmd were the closest to saddam hussein that western intelligence ever got photo.
Jan 02, 2018 the iraq wars intelligence fiasco 14 years on. In 2000, an iraqi defector codenamed curveball told the german intelligence service that baghdad was still working on its wmd and had built seven. Electronic briefing book the curveball affair by john prados on february 5, 2003, secretary of state colin powell made a dramatic presentation before the united nations security council, detailing a u. Jan 17, 2008 iraqs continuing programs for weapons of mass destruction, national intelligence estimate october 2002. That information was easily proven wrong by the british spooks. But alwan told us he never told the bnd that iraq was producing weapons of mass destruction, and he said. Declassified documents and key participants show the importance of phony intelligence in the origins of the iraq war. The iraqi informants german handlers say they had told u. The nic is the intelligence communitys senior analytical group responsible for preparing national intelligence estimates nies, including the iraq wmd nie. The deputy cia director later admitted curveball s tall story was the only evidence he had for claims that saddam hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. The rationale for the 2003 iraq war was the american intelligence communitys assessment that the saddam hussein regime possessed chemical and biological weapons and was pursuing nuclear weapons. He gave many hours of testimony about iraqs wmd program and in particular its mobile weapons laboratories.
Feb 15, 2011 defector admits to wmd lies that triggered iraq war. Rafid ahmed alwan aljanabi known by the defense intelligence agency cryptonym. Spies, lies and the con man who caused a war, notes that when the iraqi defector known as curveball appears in germany see november 1999, the us intelligence community knows very little about the state of affairs with iraq s secret weapons programs. Feb 15, 2011 the iraqi defector rafid aljanabi codenamed curveball, who falsely claimed saddam hussein had weapons of mass destruction, admitted to the lies today and said he is proud he was able to trick. Saddam hussein had been fascinated with chemical and. He still has the book in his small, rented flat in karlsruhe, southwest germany. Iraq and weapons of mass destruction washington, dc, november 5, 2007 cbs news 60 minutes exposure last night of the iraqi agent known as curveball has put a major aspect of the bush administrations case for war against iraq back under the spotlight. Spies, lies, and the con man who caused a war is an examination of the refugee from iraq, code named curveball, who contended that he had been involved in wmd biological warfare research and development. After no wmds were found, the left claimed bush lied. Cbs news reporter bob drogin, in his 2007 book curveball. How us was duped by iraqi fantasist looking to topple. Iraq s continuing programs for weapons of mass destruction, national intelligence estimate october 2002. Curveball, man who lied about wmds, comes clean the.
Feb 16, 2011 the defector, rafid ahmed alwan aljanabi, who was codenamed curveball by the central intelligence agency and german intelligence officials, told the british newspaper the guardian on. Curveballgermanys role in the iraq warand the horrors of. Multiple intelligence sources told cnn that the man we spoke with was, indeed, curveball. White paper iraq 3 oct central intelligence agency. This assessment proved a colossal failure, as no trace of nonconventional weapons was ever found in iraq. Presidential commission on the intelligence capabilities of. Cnns brian todd reports on an admission from curveball that he lied about iraq s biological weapons before the war.
Feb 15, 2011 man codenamed curveball invented tales of bioweapons iraqi told lies to try to bring down saddam hussein regime fabrications used by us as justification for invasion guardian. The twoway joschka fischer says the german intelligence agency. Intelligence from highlyplaced sources suggesting that saddam hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction was available before the 2003 invasion of iraq, panorama has learned. They had been investigating the entire prewar intelligence fiasco. It has been represented as a distillation of the national intelligence estimate nie on iraq published two days earlier, with the most sensitive, secret information stripped out. The failure was not merely that the intelligence communitys assessments were wrong. Bob drogin, author of curveball, in march of 2004 is when you first. Mar 18, 2020 curveballgermanys role in the iraq warand the. Heres the full version of the cias 2002 intelligence. But bush did lie about iraq s wmd in another way, as robert parry explained in 2010. Iraq bioweapons claim a lie, curveball says the new york.
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