They Knew: Analysts’ Doubts About Bio Labs Publicly Reported In June 2003

[kpete]

They Knew: Analysts’ Doubts About Bio Labs Were Publicly Reported In June 2003

The key question is: when did senior administration officials become aware of the Pentagon field report? (Yesterday, Scott McClellan said he was “looking into it.”)

The answer appears to be no later than early June. On June 7-8 prominent reports appeared in U.S. and British papers about the analysis. If top administration officials were not aware of the Pentagon report prior to these stories, it seems certain they were afterwards.

From the New York Times, A1, 6/7/03:http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0607-02.htm

American and British intelligence analysts with direct access to the evidence are disputing claims that the mysterious trailers found in Iraq were for making deadly germs. In interviews over the last week, they said the mobile units were more likely intended for other purposes and charged that the evaluation process had been damaged by a rush to judgment..

From the Guardian, 6/8/03:http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,973012,00.html

The intelligence agency MI6, British defence officers and technical experts from the Porton Down microbiological research establishment have been ordered to conduct an urgent review of the mobile facilities, following US analysis which casts serious doubt on whether they really are germ labs.

The British review comes amid widespread doubts expressed by scientists on both sides of the Atlantic that the trucks could have been used to make biological weapons.

Nevertheless, Vice President Cheney continued to make definitive statements about the nature of the trailers. Appearing on Meet the Press on 9/14/03, three months after the news reports, Cheney said, “We’ve, since the war, found two of them. They’re in our possession today, mobile biological facilities that can be used to produce anthrax or smallpox or whatever else you wanted to use during the course of developing the capacity for an attack.”

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/04/13/biolab-doubts-june-2003/

[WiseButAngrySara]

1. Kick and R! ....n/t

[HereSince1628]

2. Cheney generally uses "we believe" when talking about WMDs

and the cause for war.

Just who "we" is generally remains ambiguous. Moreover, having a belief is not the same knowing. Using this phrase leaves a lot of room for later denial if the Cheney truthslayers can't prevent the facts from coming out.

"we believe" is a weasel phrase intended to leave a big cushion for misinterpretation and misdirection.

Both Cheney and Bush use the phrase with impunity and although Bush can't keep a straight face when he does so, Cheney pulls it off with "gravitas."

Never ever take anything this administrations says it believes as being factual.