One day, the CIA became one of the 'good guys'

Given, the story is based entirely on anonymous sources, but if true, the revelations are amazing:

In a new dispute over interpreting intelligence data, the CIA and other agencies objected vigorously to a Bush administration assessment of the threat of Syria's weapons of mass destruction that was to be presented Tuesday on Capitol Hill.

After the objections, the planned testimony by Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton, a leading administration hawk, was delayed until September.

U.S. officials told Knight Ridder that Bolton was prepared to tell members of a House of Representatives International Relations subcommittee that Syria's development of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons had progressed to such a point that they posed a threat to stability in the region [...]

Bolton's planned remarks caused a "revolt" among intelligence experts who thought they inflated the progress Syria has made in its weapons programs, said a U.S. official who isn't from the CIA, but was involved in the dispute.

Funny, the administration has tried to pin the blame for Yellowcake on the CIA, claiming it did not oppose the use of dirty intelligence strongly enough. So it's perfectly believable that

1. the administration would try to use the same bogus anti-Iraq arguments on its next target, Syria, and that

2. the CIA would go ballistic, protecting itself against another bullshit fingerpointing session.

What's distressing is that while the administration obsessed with Iraq and, as of late, Syria and Iran, our real and most dangerous enemy -- North Korea -- continues to build its nuclear arsenal with near impunity.

And what could the US do? Its troops are tied up by guerillas in the desert, unable to mount a subsequent major military adventure. And if Iraq taught any lessons, it is that unilateral disarmament in the face of an aggressive, militaristic U.S. is suicide. Better to build the bombs and wield a real deterrent.

So not only has the war in Iraq cost us untold billions, hundreds of lives, and over a thousand wounded, but it has also left us unprepared to deal with a real crisis -- the emergence of a nuclear North Korea with ballistic missiles capable of reaching Alaska, Hawaii, and the continental U.S.

This administration's incompetence truly knows no bounds.

Posted July 16, 2003 12:45 AM