In his first public defense of prewar intelligence, CIA Director George Tenet said Thursday American analysts never argued before the invasion that Iraq posed an imminent threat.
According to Tenet, analysts had varying opinions on the state of Iraq's chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs and those differences were spelled out in the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate given to the White House. That report summarized intelligence on Iraq's weapons programs.
Analysts "painted an objective assessment for our policy makers of a brutal dictator who was continuing his efforts to deceive and build programs that might constantly surprise us and threaten our interests, " he said in a speech at Georgetown University.
"No one told us what to say or how to say it," Tenet said, according to The AP.
He said that "in the intelligence business, you are never completely wrong or completely right...When the facts of Iraq are all in, we will neither be completely right nor completely wrong."
Additionally, he stressed that the search for banned weapons is continuing and "despite some public statements, we are nowhere near 85 percent finished."
Meanwhile, Iraqi fighters fired a mortar Thursday at a checkpoint near Baghdad International Airport, killing one U.S. soldier and injuring another, the U.S. command said.
The attack took place at about 2:15 p.m. outside the airport, which serves as a major American military base.
The latest death brings to 529 the number of American service members who have died since the US-led war on Iraq started March 20.
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
