(GOP) Lawmakers met with Iranian exile scrutinized over (bad) intelligence

[Newsjock]

http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/politics/12181177.htm

BY WARREN P. STROBEL
Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON - (KRT) - House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Peter Hoekstra and Rep. Curt Weldon met secretly in Europe last week with an Iranian exile who CIA officials charge has passed worthless or bogus intelligence to the United States, current and former U.S. government officials said.

The Paris meeting appears to be the latest in a string of incidents in which players outside the intelligence community try to affect American foreign policy by highlighting threats that the CIA and other agencies find dubious.

In some ways, it echoes the claims by Iraqi exiles that Saddam Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction, claims proven to be false after the U.S.-led invasion.

Weldon, R-Pa., claims in a new book that the Iranian exile, whom he calls "Ali," told him of dramatic Iranian-sponsored terrorist plots against the United States.

But the CIA says that it has wasted hundreds of hours checking the claims of Ali - whose real name is Fereidoun Mahdavi - and that they are a mix of fabrications and embellishments of press reports, according to a letter from the CIA to Weldon.

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[daleo]

1. It sounds like they want to send curveball back out to the mound.

They want him in for the Iran game.

[Rose Siding]

2. kick

[htuttle]

3. Republicans having secret meetings with Iranians in Paris?

Oh, that takes me back to the good old days...

[Supersedeas]

4. the Neo-Cons creep lower and lower into the cesspool

[UpInArms]

5. neo-con shills

banging the war drums

:puke:

[VegasWolf]

6. Bad intelligence meets with bad intelligence. Humm! nt

[Ruby Romaine]

7. Iranian exile's info useless, officials say

July 21, 2005

BY WARREN P. STROBEL
FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF

WASHINGTON -- House intelligence committee chairman Rep. Peter Hoekstra and Rep. Curt Weldon met secretly in Europe last week with an Iranian exile who CIA officials charge has passed worthless or bogus intelligence to the United States, current and former U.S. government officials said.

The Paris meeting appears to be the latest incident in which players outside the intelligence community try to affect U.S. foreign policy by highlighting threats that the CIA and other agencies find dubious.

In some ways, it echoes the claims by Iraqi exiles that President Saddam Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction, claims proven to be false after the U.S.-led invasion.

http://www.freep.com/news/nw/iran21e_20050721.htm

[wli]

8. probably Ghorbanifar