Webb: "Intelligence Manipulated to Support a Political Objective"

Webb: "Intelligence Manipulated to Support a Political Objective"

The following is a statement by Senator Jim Webb regarding the Department of Defense Inspector General's review of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy's activities prior to the invasion of Iraq:

"As one who served for five years in the Pentagon, I was actively skeptical and troubled before the Iraq invasion by some of the information that the Department of Defense and others in the administration used to justify going to war. Today's briefing by the Department of Defense's Inspector General was vitally important—not only in retrospect, but also in terms of the health of our society and the continuous functioning of our government.

"The independent report of the Inspector General confirms that during the critical time that the Bush administration made the case to the American people and the international community of the need for military action against Iraq, the Department of Defense's Office of the Under Secretary for Policy distributed its own alternative intelligence products, in violation of its charter. These products interpreted Intelligence Community assessments in a way that did not fairly portray some conclusions that were the consensus of the Community. In short, intelligence was manipulated to support a political objective.

"I share Chairman Levin's assessment that the Inspector General's review is a devastating condemnation of inappropriate activities by the DOD policy office that helped take our nation to war. I welcome his announcement that the Committee will hold additional hearings to establish accountability for those responsible for their extremely damaging actions."

http://webb.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=269129&&