Readers Respond to Our Report on the Iraqi Defector Who Fabricated Evidence That Led to War
EmailBringing in many comments, "Exclusive: Curveball, the Defector Whose Lies Led to War" appeared to get under the skin of several of our readers. While some saw the story as cause to call for the impeachment of members of the current Bush administration, others saw it as an effort to distract from what they say is the main cause for going to war — to root out Islamist extremism. One reader, who called herself "Sheela," said the article was "misleading" in regards to Colin Powell. Original Story: Curveball, the Defector Whose Lies Led to War "Your headline and first paragraph of this story are misleading. Colin Powell did not lead the US to start the war with Iraq, the Bush administration had a clear cut plan to get to Iraq – with or without Colin Powell." The article does not accuse former Secretary of State Colin Powell of leading the U.S. to war with Iraq. It instead reports that some officials within the CIA say their questions about the credibility of the Iraqi defector were not relayed to Secretary Powell, who relied on Curveball’s "intelligence" of "mobile biological weapons labs" as central evidence in his speech to the U.N. outlining the case for war. Powell told ABC News he was "angry and disappointed" that he was never told the CIA had doubts. Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage. Meanwhile, another reader, identified as "Mark Vondrasek," saw the blotter as another example of the liberal media’s effort to blame the Bush administration and Republican party for "every problem." "I personally find it appauling [sic] how the Media somehow manages to associate every problem in this country with the Bush Administration and/or the Republican Party. And the story about "Curveball", what the heck is that? The Media portrayed his story like the Bush Administration couyldn’t [sic] wait to go to war and this was just the excuse they needed. I dare any one person who thinks that they have a damn good reason to believe that Bush jumped the gun and didn’t take any thought to peaceful talks before heading to war to come to my house and argue with me…I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that ABC didn’t post this letter…" Another reader, "Jim," also took issue with the "story." "ABC news spends thousands of dollars and hundreds of manhours, finding some guy who claims to be the Iraqi defector whose "lies led to the war in Iraq". ABC news will not likely cast any doubt on their story. If fact, that’s what it is, a story. Yet ABC news ignores even covers up stories of the THOUSANDS of positive tasks and successes that our country’s brave soldiers are doing in Iraq…Iraq is a very dangerous place because Islamic terrorists WANT Iraq. That’s where our fight is, where THEY are." Jim is right about how brave our men and women serving in uniform are overseas. ABC News has made many efforts to portray their challenges and successes, most recently in the Bob Woodruff special, "To Iraq and Back." Yet another reader, dubbed "Outraged," was, well, outraged. "This cant be true? The entire formulation of the Iraq campaign was based on the testimony of an an "unstable, immature and unreliable" source, who apparently didnt want to be deported back to Iraq? Is it possible for one to ingest the idea that 1 source who was deemed unrealiable [sic] was the entire basis for an ENTIRE COUNTRY to go to WAR?…" And finally, one reader identified as "an analyst" put forth, perhaps appropriately so, this concise equation of sorts. "arrogrance [sic] > ignornace [sic] > incompetence."
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One can judge by the number of various “reasons” to invade Iraq and by just how many of those had any real substance at all as to whether or not this administration was inclined to attack Iraq with or without Powell’s UN speech. It’s a no brainer.
And “CurveBall”? Let’s just discount and remove this one piece of faulty intel, and it hardly covers all the other fabricated justifications for our invasion.
Now we move each day a little closer to what the original intent may have been in invading Iraq…and that is quickly becoming exposed as an obvious truth that a covert strategy has been in play to ultimately wage a similar war with Iran as the end game.
Posted by: Zach | March 14, 2007, 5:22 pm 5:22 pm
Curveball is a hero to the bush cheney cabal as they were set to go to war before 911 and his lies just helped “soupe up their little deucecoupe”. It is the infinite war you people signed up for by PROXY that will really “get your goat” when the “MAINSCREAM” media finally admits how they were taken for a ride in that sporty little vehicle.
Posted by: daddy | March 14, 2007, 5:32 pm 5:32 pm
so why is the german intelligence “still protecting” this man ?
what’s in it for them?
are they proxy for the u.s.?
Posted by: orionATL | March 14, 2007, 8:12 pm 8:12 pm
a litle over a week ago your newscast and many others in this country were more interested in the nichole smith fiasco then the care of this this countries veterans and how they were treated back in walter reed and many other care centers around this country,and now 4 years after the start of this worthles war you try to awe the public with this story about the lying that put us is this grossly wrong and misled war when is the news media gone to stand up and be counted once again to bring the american public the truth
Posted by: lp deacosta | March 14, 2007, 9:20 pm 9:20 pm
Democrats spent a decade warning against the grave dangers posed NOT BY Al Queda, but Saddam and his WMD.
BEFORE Bush was President.
The left really has to go to such great, embarrassing lengths to pretend this isn’t true.
Posted by: Peach | March 14, 2007, 10:04 pm 10:04 pm
ABC News presented this information as if it was news and current. This information has been out for years. The media just did not want people to know it before the election in 2004. There are hundreds of sources including documentaries such as “Uncovered” that has mentioned the curveball person. It is a little late for you to have this as news. You should have had this report before the election.
Posted by: GARY WINEGAR | March 15, 2007, 11:54 am 11:54 am
How can anyone with half a brain still support this administration after it has been proven that all their reasons for going to war have been proven wrong? Do you have to be hit over the head with a bat before you come to your senses? Facts are facts and you cannot change them by just ignoring them. Their hero ronny raygun must be rolling over and over in his grave!
Posted by: wsux | March 15, 2007, 2:22 pm 2:22 pm
How can anyone with half a brain show us how it has been proven that the war have been proven wrong? Do you have to be hit over the head with a bat before you come to your senses? I see no proof that this war was started by the US. Did you forget 911?
Posted by: cynlee | March 15, 2007, 6:26 pm 6:26 pm
1. Our most successful operation was supporting the Northern Alliance with small teams directing massive air support.
2. The majority Sunni’s (Palestinians, Saudi’s, Syrians, Sunni Iraqis) marvel that we empowered the minority Shiites supported by Iran who hates us.
3. We need to pull out of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Saudi, apologize for our mistake, and support the Sunni’s and Afghan regime with massive surgical air support to enable their ground forces to restore their rule and order to the region.
Posted by: Henry | March 16, 2007, 12:55 am 12:55 am
“How can anyone with half a brain show us how it has been proven that the war have been proven wrong?… I see no proof that this war was started by the US. Did you forget 911?”
Not a shred of evidence has been produced that ties Iraq to 9/11.
For that matter, now that KSM has “confessed” to being the “master mind” behind 9/11 and this administration is buying and selling that premise, the war in Afghanistan in search of Osama for 9/11 seems equally void of justification.
It’s all about a pipe line. Terror has nothing what so ever to do with it.
Posted by: Zach | March 16, 2007, 9:57 pm 9:57 pm
Some new revelations on Saddam Hussein’s aspirations for international terrorism.
Carbombs in Iraq’s embassy in Greece? Jordan and Yemen?
Posted by: Mark | March 22, 2007, 12:33 am 12:33 am
Saddam Hussein is dead.
That regime has long been ended.
Bring the troops home.
Next!
Posted by: Zach | March 24, 2007, 5:03 pm 5:03 pm
Anyone who has even casually followed the build-up to war knows that the so-called intelligence was fabricated. It was not ‘misinterpreted’, there were deliberate lies made with knowledge and sometimes collaboration of the Bush administration and its supporters. Who faked the Niger uranium papers? And, Why?
Everyone who also follows the news even a little also knows that this administration is filled with habitual liars. Who out there can say Bush is an Honest man?
Perhaps that is why their approval is around 30 percent.
I used to be surprised there was even 30 percent support for this administration — then it occured to me that the 30 percent is probably an inflated number (after all Zogby *is* a Republican). Or maybe those 30 percent lie to themselves?
Posted by: Greco99 | March 28, 2007, 1:42 am 1:42 am
And, don’t forget:
1. Regan/Bush funded the ‘Mujahideen’ (another word for Taliban) in the 80s.
2. Regan/Bush supplied Saddam with most of his weapons (and there is some evidence the chemical weapons were from American companies, and the strikes coordinated with USAF).
3. In 2001, only months before 9/11, the Bush administration sent 37 million in ‘aid’ to the Taliban for ‘drug eradication’.
At the time ‘liberals’ and others with common sense were accusing the Taliban of human rights abuses (remember the Buddhist statues).
Hmmm.
Posted by: Greco99 | March 28, 2007, 1:48 am 1:48 am
It is a shame that a decent man like Tom Fingar diminishes the specious lies that brought us into an immoral war with Iraq as the intelligence community’s “bad hair day”.
Cute sound-bite, Tom. A paean to that ‘cutesy’ INR tradition? A shame you didn’t subscribe to that other cute INR tradition and resign when the integrity of one’s best work is sullied by murderous politicians.
You knew (and still know) that these lies were the Neocons’ feckless ploy to seize Iraqi oilfields. We told you so.
You could have followed the finest INR tradition and resigned. You could have at LEAST stayed at INR in its darkest hour. So much for tradition.
Please favor us by dispensing with the “cutesy” crap. You don’t belong anymore . . .
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
Posted by: We Told You So | March 20, 2008, 9:30 am 9:30 am