ÂNew Blow to Blair over Iraq
ÂÂÂÂBy James Lyons
ÂÂÂÂThe Press Association UK ÂÂÂÂTuesday 13 January 2004 Â
ÂÂÂÂPrime Minister Tony Blair was dealt a fresh blow over Iraq today when a second senior Washington insider said
intelligence was misrepresented. ÂÂÂ
ÂÂFormer US Treasury Secretary Paul OâNeill has revealed he saw no evidence that
Saddam Hussein possessed a chemical and biological arsenal. ÂÂÂÂÂGeorge Bush was planning the invasion of Iraq from the moment he became US President, Mr OâNeill said. ÂÂ
ÂÂÂHis claims have been dismissed as the bitter attack of a sacked man by
President Bushâs supporters. ÂÂÂÂÂBut they were backed today by Greg Thielmann, director of the Strategic Proliferation and Military Affairs Office at the US State Department until his retirement last year. ÂÂ
ÂÂÂMr Theilmann told BBC Radio 4âs Today programme: âIâm afraid I think the
American public was seriously misled.â ÂÂÂÂÂThe US administration âtwisted, distorted, simplifiedâ intelligence in a way that led Americans to âseriously misunderstand what the nature of the Iraq threat wasâ, he said. ÂÂÂÂÂâIâm not sure I can think of a worse act against the people in a democracy than a President distorting critical information,â he said. ÂÂÂÂ
ÂâFor a President to abuse that sacred trust ... is to me a very serious
development.â ÂÂÂÂÂMr Theilmann said he was ânot as knowledgeable about the British side of the questionâ. ÂÂÂÂÂBut he said: âI am disappointed by some of the statements made by Prime Minister Blair, even though I understand how difficult it is for a close ally of the United States to confront the United States on the use of intelligence information.â ÂÂÂÂÂ
British intelligence was still sticking to claims that Saddam attempted to obtain
nuclear material from Niger even though the US now acknowledged that was based on forged documents, Mr Theilmann said. ÂÂÂÂÂMr Blair would not have been working on more evidence than the Bush administration, he told Today. ÂÂÂÂÂâIt is unlikely that any really important intelligence here would not have been shared,â he said. ÂÂÂÂ
ÂâWe are talking about intelligence of extraordinary importance, intelligence that
can make the difference between war and peace. ÂÂÂÂÂâI find it very difficult to believe that major intelligence has been withheld from one party to the other.â -------
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"The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth becomes the greatest enemy of the state."
- Dr. Joseph M. Goebbels - Hitler's propaganda minister
