[Excerpt: But the commission in a report to be issued on Thursday found "no evidence of politicalization" or manipulation of Iraq intelligence by the White House or the Pentagon for political purposes, a senior administration official said.]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=P3PW3BNL1Z0XCCRBAEZSFFA?type=topNews&storyID=8042258 Bush Panel to Urge Intelligence Agency Changes Wed Mar 30, 2005 08:24 PM ET By Adam Entous WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A presidential commission will propose changes to encourage information sharing and dissent within U.S. spy agencies, and will fault prewar intelligence estimates for largely ignoring contrary views about Iraq's weapons programs, officials said on Wednesday. The commission, appointed more than a year ago by President Bush to investigate intelligence failures in Iraq, will endorse creation of a national counter-proliferation center to combat the spread of weapons of mass destruction, according to officials who have read the report. The panel's more than 600-page report will propose safeguards to encourage intelligence analysts to present dissenting views to agency heads and policy makers, officials said. One proposal calls for the appointment of an ombudsman to review any concerns by analysts about political interference. The CIA already has a so-called "ombudsman for politicization and analytic distortion." Headed by appeals court judge Laurence Silberman and former Virginia governor and senator Charles Robb, the bipartisan commission will also warn that major obstacles remain to intelligence-sharing between spy agencies, despite changes announced by Bush since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. To address the problem, the report will call for the creation of "better mechanisms for coordination and cooperation" between the 15 U.S. intelligence agencies, the officials said. The Silberman-Robb commission was initially set up to investigate flaws in the intelligence used to launch the Iraq war. No weapons of mass destruction were found after Bush built a case for war on claims that Saddam Hussein possessed chemical and biological weapons and was trying to develop a nuclear bomb. The commission also looked at weapons proliferation, and found shortcomings in U.S. intelligence on weapons programs in Iran and North Korea. INTELLIGENCE COMMISSION Democrats have derided the intelligence commission as "wholly owned" by the executive branch since its members were appointed by Bush. The Silberman-Robb report will single out an October 2002 national intelligence estimate that said there was "compelling evidence" that Iraq sought uranium for nuclear weapons. The document included dissent in the form of cautionary footnotes from the State Department's intelligence bureau, the Energy Department and the Air Force. But a senior administration official acknowledged in July 2003 that Bush and then-national security adviser Condoleezza Rice "did not read footnotes" in the 90-page document. By glossing over or omitting dissenting views about Iraq's weapons programs, the estimate "overstated the accuracy" of U.S. intelligence, according to an official who read the commission's report. "There's a need for more complete reporting." Another official said the commission would support giving more weight to agencies with expertise on particular issues. The 2002 intelligence estimate became an issue during last year's presidential campaign when Democratic candidate John Kerry challenged Bush to say whether he read the complete report before deciding to go to war, or whether he just read a one-page summary that gave him none of the dissenting views. The Silberman-Robb report will also call on agencies to "organize around (a) mission," whether counter-terrorism or counter-proliferation, and for steps to boost the training of agents and analysts, officials said. The White House has promised to carefully consider the recommendations. Bush will meet the nine-member commission on Thursday, and then talk to members from Cabinet departments affected by the recommendations, the White House said. � Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved. enditem ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Take a look at donorschoose.org, an excellent charitable web site for anyone who cares about public education! http://us.click.yahoo.com/_OLuKD/8WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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