Editor, The Times:
Donald Trump blames the CIA for faulty intelligence regarding Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) as proof of the agency’s ineptitude.
But not so fast. As Seymour Hersh reported in 2003, the Bush administration had, from Day One, wanted to go into Iraq. The neocons in the Bush administration artfully “stovepiped” bad intel to the top. CIA Director George Tenet, on behalf of the administration, “beat down” veteran analysts whose assessment differed from the desired intelligence.
Even the most casual observer at the time could tell the American determination of Iraqi WMDs was flimsy, especially after Colin Powell’s lame and shameful presentation to the United Nations.
So Trump, don’t blame the CIA for the Iraqi debacle, and maybe look at what the agency is saying about Russian interference in our election.
Joe Fulcher, Snohomish