A new book by the author Ron Suskind claims that the White House ordered the CIA to forge a back-dated, handwritten letter from the head of Iraqi intelligence to Saddam Hussein.Yeah, absurd. Like the Downing Street Memos were absurd.
Suskind writes in “The Way of the World,” to be published Tuesday, that the alleged forgery – adamantly denied by the White House – was designed to portray a false link between Hussein’s regime and al Qaeda as a justification for the Iraq war.
The author also claims that the Bush administration had information from a top Iraqi intelligence official “that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq – intelligence they received in plenty of time to stop an invasion.”
…"The White House had concocted a fake letter from Habbush to Saddam, backdated to July 1, 2001," Suskind writes. "It said that 9/11 ringleader Mohammad Atta had actually trained for his mission in Iraq – thus showing, finally, that there was an operational link between Saddam and al Qaeda, something the Vice President’s Office had been pressing CIA to prove since 9/11 as a justification to invade Iraq. There is no link."
The White House flatly denied Suskind’s account. Tony Fratto, deputy White House press secretary, told Politico: "The allegation that the White House directed anyone to forge a document from Habbush to Saddam is just absurd."
The only absurdity here is that it's more reasonable to believe the administration did order the CIA to forge a letter than it is to believe that they didn't.
What say you now, Speaker Pelosi? Want to revisit that whole "grave and intentional" thing, Senator Obama?
Just askin'.
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