No one seems to be writing opinion pieces quite the way I would, so I decided to do it myself.

The name? Taverns are places where one goes to discuss the interesting events and things in the world, so this is my tavern.

I will offer my views on politics, economics, and whatever else strikes my fancy.
I will occasionally publish the entire article from another journal for purposes of causing discussion.

 

Republicans Report Up is Down, Black is White

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is going to issue a report that blisters the Intelligence Communiy's National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) issued prior to the Iraq war. But they are going to ignore the way the White House used it.

Here is what Josh Marshall TPM has to say about it.

This NIE was done after the White House had already chosen its policy. And it wasn't even the White House that called for it, but rather Senate Democrats who were miffed that the administration had never requested an NIE.

In fact, the White House specifically resisted requesting an NIE because it didn't want the findings getting in the way of its policy.

So Roberts' claim that the White House was “ill-served” fails on chronology and simple logic. The NIE could not have failed the White House, because the White House didn't use it. Simple as that.

(The point of this NIE was not to frame policy but to sway votes in the Senate. And on that count, if one wanted to be cheeky, one would say the administration was served rather well.)

And why was the NIE so rushed? Because it was a double-quick affair rushed into print at the last minute to get Senate Democrats to vote for the Iraq resolution.

Marshall's source it this Washington Post article.

For background, go back and read Seymour Hersh's New Yorker article on how the Bush administration has misused the intelligence system.
posted by Richard at 3:20 PM