Ron Suskind: White House ordered forgery to link al-Qaeda/Saddam to 9/11 attacks
By John Amato Monday Aug 04, 2008 10:00am
Ron Suskind has a new book coming out called: "The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism"
It has some explosive information about the White House's plan to forge documents to persuade the American public that we should attack Iraq. This is incredible stuff. Suskind appeared on the TODAY show and gave his first interview about it...He says it's "one of the great lies in modern political history."
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George "Slam dunk" Tenet denied the report, but there's this Sunday Telegraph article that describes what happened. Worse than Watergate.
I've used notes from CBS's Dan Raviv to highlight the action:
His new book THE WAY OF THE WORLD is about the war on terrorism and the Bush Administration since 9/11 and especially since invading Iraq in March '03. (You can easily Google details of the alleged letter from "Habbush" to Saddam Hussein dated July 1, 2001, which says (future) 9/11 hijacker was trained in Baghdad, AND that Iraq received shipments from Niger.) [..]
The book reports (or charges) that the Bush White House faked a letter from Saddam Hussein's intelligence chief to President Saddam in late 2003, backdating it to July 2001 and reports that Saddam's intelligence chief (Habbush) was in the protective custody of the C.I.A. at the time-- even while the U.S. military had him in the "deck of cards," a list of Saddam officials wanted dead-or-alive. The White House ordered the C.I.A. to arrange for Habbush to write the fake letter in his own handwriting. The controversial letter did find itself to the world media in December '03.
Habbush was in the deck of cards -- the (approx. 50) Saddam officials wanted dead-or-alive by the U.S. after the March 2003 invasion -- while in reality he was in C.I.A. protection. And in October 2003, Habbush was paid $5 million by the C.I.A. AFTER the C.I.A. asked Habbush to write -- in his own handwriting and in a convincing way -- the note that the White House suggested.
Britain's Sunday Telegraph in December '03 caused a sensation by reporting the discovery in Baghdad of that letter... and a few days later NEWSWEEK reported strong doubts that the letter was genuine. Among other things, experts wondered, why would Saddam's intel chief write about both Atta & nuclear material in the same letter?
Exact quotes from pp. 369-372 of Suskind's book are in bold print below:
In the months before the U.S.-British invasion of Iraq, British intelligence had secret meetings in Amman, Jordan, with Habbush, chief of Saddam's intelligence network. Habbush demanded a safe way out, if-and-when the U.S. invaded. Habbush repeatedly told the British that Saddam had no WMD; all programs had ended in the 1990's; and the book says the Bush White House didn't want to hear it - and didn't want to hear more reports on what Habbush was saying.
The U.S. invaded in March '03. Habbush was ready. He slipped out of Baghdad with the help of U.S. intelligence and into Amman...
In October '03, CIA paid Habbush $5 million as part of his resettlement. By then, the White House had finally thought of a way to use Habbush. ... The White House had concocted a fake letter from Habbush to Saddam, backdated to July 1, 2001. It said that 9/11 ringleader Mohammed Atta had actually trained for his mission in Iraq -- thus showing, finally that there was an operational link between Saddam and al Qaeda... The letter also mentioned suspicious shipments to Iraq from Niger set up with al Qaeda's assistance. The idea was to take the letter to Habbush and have him transcribe it in his own neat handwriting on a piece of Iraqi government stationery, to make it look legitimate. CIA would then take the finished product to Baghdad and have someone release it to the media.
Even five years later, (Rob Richer, who worked in CIA for 30 years and was in charge of "clandestine ops" in the Middle East--now working as an executive at Blackwater USA and in line to be CEO of Blackwater according to this book) remembers looking down at the creamy White House stationery on which the assignment was written. "The guys from the Vice President's office were just barraging us in this period with one thing after another: Run down this lead, find out about that. It was nonstop. Of course, this was different. This was creating a deception." Richer passed the directive down the chain, to the Iraq Operations Group. ((IOG was a CIA team co-led by John Maguire, clearly also a source for Suskind))
..."When it was discussed with me, I just thought it was incredible," Maguire recalls. "A box-checking of all outstanding issues in one letter, from one guy."
...Suskind is NOT able to report exactly how it was done, whether Habbush himself definitely did it, but reports what you can find through Google searches: The Sunday Telegraph reported the letter; it caused a sensation. Suskind does report that Richer remembers George Tenet passing to him the White House's orders to concoct that letter. Suskind asserts that it's an apparently illegal act, to forge or concoct that fake letter to Saddam.:
Under a 1991 amendment to the statutes that in 1947 created CIA and that govern its actions, there is a passage that reads, "No covert action may be conducted which is intended to influence United States political processes, public opinion, policies, or media." The operation created by the White House and passed to the CIA seems inconsistent with those statutory requirements. ...It is not the sort of offense that brings jail time. It is much broader than that... the sort of thing generally taken up in impeachment proceedings."
An excellent job by Dan Raviv. All this makes you wonder how the outing of Valerie Plame must have really pissed off the CIA, doesn't it? This is just an observation, but if they wanted to plant the evidence, it normally would have been done a little better than this. Remember the Italian reporter that refused to print the Niger yellowcake connection to Iraq because she thought it was a forgery?
The Guardian is reporting that Italian intelligence warned the United States about bogus information on Saddam Hussein's nuclear ambitions at about the time President Bush cited them as a crucial reason for invading Iraq, an Italian parliamentarian said yesterday.
Oh, and I almost forgot this C&L post for more context: The Italian Letter:
I just cracked it open, but Jonathan Schwarz has been reading it and finds:
"Goodman thanked Foley for addressing the students and asked him what weapons of mass destruction he believed would be found after the invasion. "Not much, if anything," Goodman recalled that Foley responded. Foley declined to be interviewed for this book"
So why, then, would WINPAC report that Iraq had WMD? Here's the answer (p. 119):
One day in December 2002, Foley called his senior production managers to his office. He had a clear message for the men and women who controlled the output of the center's analysts: "If the president wants to go to war, our job is to find the intelligence to allow him to do so." The directive was not quite an order to cook the books, but it was a strong suggestion that cherry-picking and slanting not only would be tolerated, but might even be rewarded…read on
Impeachment anybody?
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Pelosi is a robot shill... nothing will change anything..
(except a Radical Re-Patriation of DC, emphasis on radical)
What's the diff? No one reads books anymore...
Impeachment is off the table because....why?..... He didn't get a BJ? But we all got hosed!
This administration has seen more bombshells than has Iraq.
Impeach? Not while 'No No Nancy' is around. She's working hard to keep dumbya and friends 'off the table'. What's a little treason among friends, right nance?
Unbelievable. What can we do.
Using Nancy Pelosi's (il)logic, this isn't a proven crime of Bushco, so there can be no impeachment proceedings.
This is boring.
Let's talk about john Mcsame's Paris Hilton ad instead!
So many books, from so many former Bush administration people. Yet the American public yawns and demands $1.00 gallon gas. I don't know who is more to blame, us, WE THE PEOPLE, or these Bush criminals.
This is probably too complicated for the average 'Murkin to comprehend ... too bad the people paid very, very well to represent them have no intention to acting on it.
Chico Hussein @ 8:
Agreed. If it takes more than 10 seconds to read or comprehend, I can't follow it.
Shouldn't we be talking about how Obama is a Muslim instead?
Impeach the bastards!!!
OK, I know, it's off the table.
Burn the !@#$ing table!
Ahhhhh... Another day, another illegal act by the administration that will not be investigated or acted upon by anyone in congress. Think I'll have another cup of coffee and see if there is any thing of interest going on in the market... yawn!
That poor woman, God bless her she is so out of touch with the voting public and such a failure. Sound like some thing you've heard come out of her pie hole?
PNAC: One of the core missions outlined in the 2000 report Rebuilding America’s Defenses is “fight and decisively win multiple, simultaneous major theater wars.”[25]
The report also states:
“Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event – like a new Pearl Harbor”
REOPEN 911 investigations.
I have said it before and I will say it again: Any speaker who removes impeachment from the table should themselves be impeached. The Speaker has a duty and has sworn an oath to the Constitution. Failing to act in the face of evidence of an impeachable offense is an abrogation of that duty, a violation of that oath, and is grounds for their removal from office, be it a D or an R.
Really, would impeachment be the answer? He has only a few months left, and impeachment hearings would probably last longer than most of that. How long did Clinton's hearings last? And that was over a simple lie. So with all the charges Bush could be convicted of, it would probably take a lot longer. So why not prepare to charge him after his presidency with all types of crimes and treasonous acts? Every town in America should put him on their most wanted list and arrest him immediately if he steps foot in their town.
If all it takes is a blowjob to impeach these bastards, then I'll volunteer to do it! And I'm straight! If all it would take is a shot in the mouth, I'd take one for the country!
There will be some meaningless hearing with this author, then they will try to interview all of his sources, by then impeachment will not be a viable option. Nancy needs to take her job seriously by immediately convening congress and beginning impeachment hearings!
Zilam @ 17:
With the prospect of blanket immunity, impeachment is the only real handle the American People have to gain justice for the 8 years of criminal activity perpetrated by George Bush & Co.
I know this is the same old same old but how long will it be before FOX and the Republicans will start to attack the writer of the book and discredit him.
So many capital crimes; so few officals willing to do a damn thing about them.
Pahahahahahahahahhahahahahaaha-How could anyone believe Saddam would have something to do with 9/11? He'd gained nothing from, and would have lost everything. Bush's Administration itself finally admitted he had nothing to do with it last year. Even stupider....people are acting like this is news. Bush quite blatantly was faking that evidence.
Beelzebud @ 18:
Dick Cheney might misunderstand and you'll wind up dead.
ron suskind is one of the few shining lights in the world of investigative journalism. 'the one percent doctrine' was a revelation, this book sounds like suskind has not lost his edge
one book please!
and I like the headline on the screen - "Did the White House mislead America to War?"
Is that really still a question?
As soon as Nancy was assured of her new job she immediately stated, "impeachment is off the table." Why? She never gave a reason, at least I never heard it. Why was she so quick to declare impeachment off the table and apparently never to see the light of day? Not while Nancy is watching the table. Did I miss her telling us what her reasons (or motives) were? What a disappointment she has been. Sorry Nancy, you will never be anything but a lousy speaker of the house to me.
Who would have thought the WH would have forged documents to support a lie!
John Conyers better start sending some strongly worded letters to the White House.
raincntry @ 16:
Thats what Kucinich has been saying all along ...
Whats the point of going through it?
Impeachment proceedings would have a huge symbolic significance ...
After all whats the point of putting murderers on trial? ... they may just get off ...
This story is amazing but not surprising. Was this part of the "sexing up" the story for a cause to go to war? A story like this should anger every living American. The lives and money that have been wasted by this administration is a true sin and yes, a crime. Even if bush skates out of the white house scot-free, he can still be charged with criminal acts. There is no reason he shouldn't be.
I'll definitely read this book. I read his last one, "The One Percent Doctrine" and it was so enlightening, especially toward cheney.
Are there any amongst us on Crooks And Liars who don't know this to be so. We have all been saying this for years.
The fact that we are here on a blog called "Crooks and Lairs" should show that as an unspoken truth.
America wont heal until these Lies are exposed and some kind of accountability is done.
Pawn @ 19:
Problem is, Congress will be in session for only about 6 or 7 (non contiguous) days between now and their Christmas recess.
Pawn @ 20:
Right on! If you think people want to just let Bush and Co finish out this term because they don't want the nastiness of impeachment, you can be sure that once they leave, people will say "no" to any further investigations; "let's move on" and such.
Impeachment is not an option in the face of such evidence; it is an obligation. The sad fact in all of this is that the public would absolutely report it. That Meredith Veiera (sp) is reporting this the next two nights is fine; for something to happen, it would require ALL of the major media outlets to not only pick this up (they won't), but to make it story number one for a week. Alas, no.
Nothing on cnn.com about this ... are you sure it even happened?
Cause heres one of todays top stories:
"Missing tot's mom at 'hot body' contest"
If nothin is done against these criminals "running" the WH...then we're all complicit.
Any other country, hundreds of thousands of angry citizens would be on the doorsteps of the capitol building.
We are a pathetic, lazy nation if we let this go unchallenged.
Time for torches and pitchforks.
As soon as Nancy was assured of her new job she immediately stated, “impeachment is off the table.” Why?
Simple. She (and a number of other high ranking Dems) were privy to what the Bush administration was doing, hence their own complicity.
If there's any evidence to this charge impeachment SHOULD begin immediately.
Imagine my surprise when it won't.
With the number of criminals in the Bush Administration...the cards would have to be dealt from the boot.
Oh, and please don't ridicule appearances like this on morning TV. Maybe the information is not a surprise to most of us in here, but it is a cold slap in the face to the aged, the shut-ins and trailer park residents living off their gubmint checks who blindly follow this Administration.
Chico Hussein @ 32:
There are provisions to keep Congress in session.
Additionally, I would suspect that if a president is under impeachment proceedings any pardoning power would cease, particularly if it relates to the grounds for the impeachment.
liberAL @ 27:
Pelosi pulled impeachment off the table so that she would appear to be moderate, and to take that talking point away from the right-wingers. Plain old politics, the same kind Obama's been playing since he got the nomination.
I've been out of town, so I don't know where she stood on having Rove's contempt hearings go forward, but if she halts/halted that process, I'd have to say she's in the bag for somebody. Or being threatened.
Makes you wonder about all those OBL videos that only show up at politically charged moments. The last time we heard from ole OBL was right before the 2006 congressional elections, right? I wonder if he will make an appearance praising Obama in September?
If they fake letters, why would they not fake videos?
earl @ 34:
My Quizno's sub was not toasted enough !!!
(dials 9-11)
theWalrus @ 36:
It has taken me quite some time to reach this point, but I must agree. Nancy Pelosi has been an UTTER disaster as Speaker of the House. Harry Reid is hardly any better.
After the election...both Houses of Congress will require NEW Democratic leadership. I believe the next Senate Majority Leader will be Hillary Clinton, and frankly...I am all for it. It will be fun watching her slap around her old nemeses. As far as the House is concerned...there are a number of Democrats that would far more effective than Nancy Pelosi.
why is she still speaker of the house? isn't there a mechanism to remove HER? if that is what it takes DO IT! get this worthless fucking bitch out of my congress! she represents perhaps the most liberal constituency in the nation and she wont listen to her people when they tell her to impeach this asshole. can't they do a recall election on her?
This unique strain of lie could only have come from Cheney's office.
Lets impeach Nancy Pelosi if we impeach Dick and George Nancy takes over omg wtf bbq angry smiley face
SHOCKING!!!!
Chico Hussein @ 42:
There was also a 911 call from a lady at a drive through in which they screwed up her hamburger order. I heard the replay of the tape on the radio this morning...here's some laugable excerps.
"Ma'am, I am not sending out the Sheriff's deputies because of a hamburger."
"Aren't you hear to protect me?"
"Ma'am...was it a dangerous hamburger...What would you like us to do...Go in and get your money back."
"I have been sitting here and they are walking around washing the floors."
"Ma'am, you need to act like an adult."
"I am acting like an adult...THEY are not acting like adults. I asked for a Buffalo grill burger, and that's not what I got."
"Ma'am, if you are asking me what to do....go into the restaurant, get your money back and go home."
And we wonder why the country is in the state that it's in.
Well gee-whiz! If somebody knew about a crime these guys committed, we'd look into it-- I mean, golly!
/plugs ears
ysbaddaden @ 39:
So, if Reagan had been impeached for illegally selling weapons to terrorists, creating AlQueda and founding The Taliban, then Bush Sr. would NOT have been able to pardon the entire Iran Contra Klan ?
Shocked? No.
Appalled? Always.
navyswan @ 41:
Ahh, they have.
Liberal AND Proud @ 48:
I don't.
I would bet that the median IQ of the US is a negative number.
moniker @ 45:
Or Wolfowitz or Rove or Armitage or . . . . .
Think about all of those who were around at that time.
ronnyg @ 40:
Funny how what passes for "moderate" in this country would mean "conservative" in every other industrialized nation.
I fail to see what is moderate about letting crimes and treason go unchallenged.
LOOK! Over there! A terrorist!!! and he's holding...a...a...TIRE GAUGE!!! Nooooooooooooooooooooooo.
James Lewman @ 46:
I leave voicemails for my representative and Nancy everyday to impeach Bush and Co. I ask Keith Ellison at least weekly to begin impeachment vs Nancy Pelosi.
Liberal AND Proud @ 48:
But that would have involved hoisting her huge butt out of the SUV and actually walking in.... not gonna happen.
gawd @ 9:
It's the MS media,plain and simple. This is what their job IS, not protecting Mr.McGoo's gaffe-a-minute campaign.
Liberal AND Proud @ 48:
I don't wonder AT ALL!
earl @ 58:
You just can't get a good drive by shooting when you really need one.
As much as I would have liked to see Pelosi bring impeachment charges against bush, I doubt if it would have ever made it through the senate. How many repub senators do you think would vote to impeach bush no matter how bad a crime he committed?
Liberal AND Proud @ 61:
Not to get off topic, but this story reminds me of the woman who reported a fingertip in her Wendy's chili, only to find out later that she did it herself. Same mentality. A nation of victims and opportunists awaiting their entitlements.
If they do not impeach over this we are screwed. This information warrants an investigation.
pissed off patricia @ 62:
Yeah, especially with no stained dress or porn novel masquerading as investigation evidence to pleasure themselves to.
Any bets that after Bush leaves office im January 2009,the Democrats will just go along the flow,cause there is alot of important work to be done and past deeds are waste of time.
Check this out--if you think CIA is bad
"They had even intensively questioned his adopted children, Andrew and Amanda, now both 24, with the authorities telling his son that he might be able to collect the $2.5 million reward for solving the case and buy a sports car, and showing his daughter gruesome photographs of victims of the anthrax letters and telling her, “Your father did this,” according to the account Dr. Ivins gave a close friend.
As the investigation wore on, some colleagues thought the F.B.I.’s methods were increasingly coercive, as the agency tried to turn Army scientists against one another and reinterviewed family members.
One former colleague, Dr. W. Russell Byrne, said the agents pressed Dr. Ivins’s daughter repeatedly to acknowledge that her father was involved in the attacks."
CIA George Tenant got the medal of Horror--FBI director Mueller will get-medal of Farce :^)
liberalTireGaugeOfJusticeNmoderation @ 35:
Exactly right on.
Contact Nancy Pelosi at:
http://www.house.gov/pelosi/contact/contact.html
OR
http://speaker.house.gov/contact/
Is there anyone here that doesn't think the GWOT has been total bullshit from day one? Day one, meaning the late seventies when we weren't able to demonize the Russians any longer and needed a new boogie man. The media and our illustrious government started demonizing middle eastern people at a quickening pace, ramping up the fear through propaganda, TV and movies. They kind of took the 'Boris Badanov and Natasha' thing to a whole new level. The American moron eats it up every time.
Is there any way a national petition to impeach Nancy Pelosi can be organized? The only way Cheney and Bush are going to be brought to justice is if she is removed from office. She belongs in prison at this point, for obstructing justice.
On the other hand, since she is criminally using her office to abet high crimes and treason and is as good as an accessory after the fact, maybe a petition drive to states attorneys general to exercise their right to demand an impeachment might be a better way to go.
This cannot continue, and these war criminals cannot be allowed to walk.
Another indicator of how Bush Company wanted this war really really really really badly.
Suskind is really good. The Price of Loyalty is a must read and convinced beyond a doubt that bush is a sock puppet of larger forces (eg. Diiiiickhead Cheney!).
navyswan @ 41:
You're just figuring this out now?
Ho hum...so what else is new. Maybe Pelosi and Reed will send a letter to the White House. No wonder the Congressional approval rating is even lower than Bush's...no backbone! There's so much more important news to be covered; Obama's tire inflation, missing toddlers in Florida, car chases, etc.
50 Chico Hussein
The succeeding one can pardon, because he's not under impeachment, nor under investigation.
its_me_ya_krazy @ 15:
Totally agreed. It's time to get focused and not back down.
earl @ 34:
Well, that is a good story. But the forgery story should have been third behind "Obama's Hair Suddenly Looking Gray."
Faked a letter...
well, no blowjob, no impeachment....
makes sense
Pelosi Winehouse: "They say they want me to impeach the Pres, I say, 'No, no, no.'"
pissed off patricia @ 62:
Effectively, all of them.....once they saw the the tide of public opinion overwhelmingly turning against these crooks. They could also recall that when Nixon was facing impeachment, those Republicans who obstructed the process lost their seats, pretty much to a person.