Kennedy: Tenet Must Come Clean on War

[Khephra]

WASHINGTON -- CIA Director George Tenet must come clean with Congress and explain why he waited until last month to "set the record straight" that Iraq posed no immediate threat to the United State in the months leading up to the war, a leading Senate Democrat said Friday.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., in remarks prepared for delivery, said Tenet must explain why he never corrected President Bush and others in the administration when they warned of a nuclear threat building in Iraq.

"Where was the CIA Director when the vice president was going nuclear about Saddam going nuclear?" said Kennedy in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations. "Did Tenet fail to convince the policy-makers to cool their overheated rhetoric? Did he even try to convince them?"

In a speech last month, Tenet said Saddam Hussein's regime posed a danger, but that analysts had varying opinions about whether Iraq possessed chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. He said that information was passed on to the White House.

more...........

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-kennedy-tenet,0,1605513.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

[papau]

1. AP Wire version below is same - just new title! :-)

Kennedy Calls for CIA Director to Come Clean With Congress (Iraq lies)


http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAAOZJHGRD.html

Kennedy Calls for CIA Director to Come Clean With Congress

By Lolita C. Baldor Associated Press Writer
Published: Mar 5, 2004 WASHINGTON (AP) - CIA Director George Tenet must come clean with Congress and explain why he waited until last month to "set the record straight" that Iraq posed no immediate threat to the United State in the months leading up to the war, a leading Senate Democrat said Friday.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., in remarks prepared for delivery, said Tenet must explain why he never corrected President Bush and others in the administration when they warned of a nuclear threat building in Iraq.

"Where was the CIA Director when the vice president was going nuclear about Saddam going nuclear?" said Kennedy in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations. "Did Tenet fail to convince the policy-makers to cool their overheated rhetoric? Did he even try to convince them?"

In a speech last month, Tenet said Saddam Hussein's regime posed a danger, but that analysts had varying opinions about whether Iraq possessed chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. He said that information was passed on to the White House.

The analysts, said Tenet, "never said there was an imminent threat." But while he has distanced himself from the administration's assertions of an urgent threat in Iraq, Tenet has never said the White House distorted the intelligence. <snip>

[peterh]

2. There has been a disconnect here....

and while Tenet certainly won’t volunteer anything, it comes down to not only asking the right questions, but phrasing the question in a manner that will get the answer you want. I think, too many times….either on purpose or what…questions are presented in a much too bland PC fashion to illicit the desired answer….Go Kennedy…I hope I get to see those answers….

[Zomby Woof]

3. Go Teddy Go!!!

Kennedy is one of the very best senators we have. He can be counted on to keep the regime's feet to the fire.

[Just Me]

4. Ted should pull out the WHIG *LOL*!!!

Will the commission question members of that group, the White House Iraq Group, that was created to market a war by generating publicity focusing upon the WMD threat? Doncha' think that group might have something to do with an alleged "intelligence failure"? Perhaps, WHIG actually took what was outstanding intelligence and squashed it so that the evil neocons could get their illegal war!!!