It Just Doesn't Stop

More from the LATimes article, via Josh Marshall:

"An investigation by The Times based on interviews since May with about 30 current and former intelligence officials in the U.S., Germany, England, Iraq and the United Nations, as well as other experts, shows that U.S. bungling in the Curveball case was worse than official reports have disclosed. The White House, for example, ignored evidence gathered by United Nations weapons inspectors shortly before the war that disproved Curveball's account." How U.S. Fell Under the Spell of 'Curveball'

No pressure here. "At the Central Intelligence Agency, officials embraced Curveball's account even though they could not confirm it or interview him until a year after the invasion. They ignored multiple warnings about his reliability before the war, punished in-house critics who provided proof that he had lied and refused to admit error until May 2004, 14 months after the invasion." "After the CIA vouched for Curveball's accounts, Bush declared in his 2003 State of the Union speech that Iraq had 'mobile biological weapons labs' designed to produce 'germ warfare agents.' Bush cited the mobile germ factories in at least four prewar speeches and statements, and other world leaders repeated the charge." And it was all bullshit. Fantasies woven from whole cloth by a certifiable nut case. And that's not all, folks! George Bush (11.11.05):

"These critics are fully aware that a bipartisan Senate investigation found no evidence of political pressure to change the intelligence community's judgments related to Iraq's weapons programs." President Commemorates Veterans Day, Discusses War on Terror

"Curveball was the chief source of inaccurate prewar U.S. accusations that Baghdad had biological weapons, a commission appointed by Bush reported this year. The commission did not interview Curveball, who still insists his story was true, or the German officials who handled his case." Uhhh, must have forgot or something. "The German account emerges as the White House is lashing out at domestic critics, particularly Senate Democrats, over allegations the administration manipulated intelligence to go to war. Last week, Vice President Dick Cheney called such claims reprehensible and pernicious." "In Congress, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is resuming its long-stalled investigation of the administration's use of prewar intelligence. Committee members said last week that the Curveball case would be a key part of their review. House Democrats are calling for a similar inquiry." Uh oh.