The Truth has been on-line for about a month now. For new readers, the main themes so far have been that the Bush administration lied to the American public about the reasons for going to war with Iraq, and that the war itself was a reckless action causing significant damage to American national security. The Truthspeaker knows that his discerning readers will not be convinced merely by the rantings of a granola-crunching dopehead like himself. To that end I make a point of backing up my allegations with links to reputable, objective news sources. Today I can let those sources speak for themselves, because they are confirming exactly what I have been saying all along.

Colin Powell misled Americans

(CBS News article)

The person responsible for analyzing the Iraqi weapons threat for Colin Powell says the Secretary of State misinformed Americans during his speech at the U.N. last winter. Greg Thielmann tells Correspondent Scott Pelley that at the time of Powell’s speech, Iraq didn’t pose an imminent threat to anyone – not even its own neighbors.

Thielmann also tells Pelley that he believes the decision to go to war was made first and then the intelligence was interpreted to fit that conclusion. "The main problem was that the senior administration officials have what I call faith-based intelligence," says Thielmann. "They knew what they wanted the intelligence to show. They were really blind and deaf to any kind of countervailing information the intelligence community would produce."

The interview will be broadcast tonight on 60 Minutes II, on CBS. Thielmann was also interviewed for last week's episode of Frontline, "Truth, War & Consequences", on PBS. If you haven't seen it, I strongly urge you to check your local PBS listings for a repeat, or visit the website.

Iraq War Swells Al Qaeda's Ranks

(Reuters article)

War in Iraq has swollen the ranks of al Qaeda and galvanized the Islamic militant group's will, the International Institute for Strategic Studies said on Wednesday in its annual report. The 2003-2004 edition of the British-based think-tank's annual bible for defense analysts, The Military Balance, said Washington's assertions after the Iraq conflict that it had turned the corner in the war on terror were "over-confident."

"On the minus side, war in Iraq has probably inflamed radical passions among Muslims and thus increased al Qaeda's recruiting power and morale and, at least marginally, its operating capability," it said.

Surprised? You shouldn't be. This is exactly what was predicted before the Iraq war by intelligence analysts and anti-war activists alike.
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