Washington Post

Tenet Says Staff Didn't Tell Him About Iraq Claim

CIA Director George J. Tenet told the Senate intelligence committee yesterday that his staff did not bring to his attention a questionable statement about Iraq seeking uranium in Africa before President Bush delivered his State of the Union address.

"Members were stunned," one Democratic senator in the meeting said, "because he said he basically wasn't aware of the sentence until recently."

"There was mixed reaction to his answers as to why they compromised after he told us how dubious and incredible the intelligence was," said the senator, who insisted on anonymity.

Former Vermont governor Howard Dean, said in an interview that Tenet was not the most serious problem under scrutiny but that he should resign because he helped cover up for the White House. "He knew very well that the intelligence was false and for him to take the blame means he was participating in an attempt to avoid finding out what really happened."

Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.), said, "We do not have a George Tenet problem; we have a George Bush problem." He said current congressional investigations should be independent and focus not only on the intelligence that led to the Iraq war, but also on what "Rice and the White House did with information and what kind of pressure was put on intelligence analysts during this process."


Bush Official Insisted On The Iraq Claim

CIA Director George Tenet told members of Congress a White House official insisted that President Bush's State of the Union address include an assertion about Saddam Hussein's nuclear intentions that had not been verified, a Senate Intelligence Committee member said Thursday.

Sen. Dick Durbin, who was present for a 4 1/2-hour appearance by Tenet behind closed doors with Intelligence Committee members Wednesday, said Tenet named the official. But the Illinois Democrat said that person's identity could not be revealed because of the confidentiality of the proceedings.

Durbin, appearing on ABC's "Good Morning America," said that Tenet "certainly told us who the person was who was insistent on putting this language in which the CIA knew to be incredible, this language about the uranium shipment from Africa."

"And there was this negotiation between the White House and the CIA about just how far you could go and be close to the truth and unfortunately those sixteen words were included in the most important speech the president delivers in any given year," Durbin added.

A proposal by Sen. Jon Corzine, D-N.J., for an independent investigation of the prewar intelligence was defeated Wednesday in the Senate on a 51-45 vote. Corzine sought to include the amendment as part of a $386.6 billion defense spending bill.


GOP Fundraising in Question

Republican state attorneys general in at least six states solicited political contributions from corporations or trade groups subject to lawsuits or regulations by their state governments.


Lieberman Comes Out Swinging

The mild-mannered Connecticut senator, his presidential campaign stalled in the Democratic Party's middling mass, is directing harsher salvos at President Bush and -- most notably -- his rivals.

He says Howard Dean probably can't get elected, accuses John Kerry of waffling on Iraq and calls Dick Gephardt's health care plan "big-government spending."

The most conservative of the field's nine candidates, Lieberman may finally be following the advice of frustrated advisers and even former President Clinton. Their counsel: Toughen your spine in a primary race dominated by liberal voters and angry partisans.

"I'm the only Democrat who can win in November of '04 because I can take on the president where he is supposed to be strong -- on defense, security and values -- and beat him where we know he's weak -- on his failed economic policies and on his divisive, right-wing agenda," Lieberman told 75 supporters at Hyman's Seafood restaurant this week.

If Lieberman is on the offensive, perhaps it's because his campaign needs a lift. His lead in national polls has evaporated, and he lags in key early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire. He raised a solid $5 million from April to June, but his fast-spending ways forced a staff shake-up.

Lieberman's atypical strategy has the campaign barely dabbling in Iowa and seeking a top-three finish in New Hampshire in January. He hopes to break out Feb. 3 when several states, including South Carolina with its military ties and conservative nature, stage primaries.

Lieberman, an orthodox Jew, is faring well among the sizable black population here because the community appreciates his religious devotion and ties to former Vice President Al Gore, said advisers who cited private polls.


House Panel Votes to Block FCC's New Media Rule

The House Appropriations Committee moved in a bipartisan vote yesterday to block the Federal Communications Commission from easing a rule that limits ownership concentration in commercial television markets.

An amendment approved in a 40 to 25 vote applies to a June 2 FCC decision that would allow networks to acquire stations that reach as much as 45 percent of the national television audience. By preventing the FCC from spending money to carry out its ruling, the committee's action effectively would keep the current limit of 35 percent.

The White House supports the FCC ruling. The White House budget office said it would recommend that President Bush veto the fiscal 2004 spending bill for the Commerce, Justice and State departments unless the Obey amendment was deleted.

The House committee's action yesterday was also opposed by Rep. W.J. "Billy" Tauzin (R-La.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the FCC.

The Appropriations Committee vote let stand other parts of the FCC's ruling, such as the easing of limits on media cross-ownership. A Republican amendment that also would have pared back that part of the ruling was defeated on a voice vote.


New Saddam (?) Tape Urges Jihad Against Two Liars

"What will the two liars Bush and Blair say to their people and to humanity? What will they tell the world? What they said was wrong and baseless," said the voice, which could not be independently confirmed as Hussein's.

The 20-minute tape was carried by satellite networks al-Arabiya and al-Jazeera, which broadcast a similar tape earlier this month that the CIA later concluded was probably Hussein's voice.

The voice on the tape, as with at least two previous tapes that have emerged since Hussein disappeared before the war, urged all Iraqis to wage jihad, or holy war, against the "evil aggressors" occupying the country.

The tape also blasted the country's new Governing Council, saying it takes instructions "from Washington, Tel Aviv and London," whose leaders want to "partition Iraq and the whole Arab homeland."

The voice on the tape lavished praise on the town of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, which has been among the most active sites for attacks against U.S. soldiers. The town was called "the crown jewel of faith, the great Fallujah."

"The Iraqi president is a patriotic man," said Abdul Rahman Janabi, 25, a university student. "Every honest Iraqi person should resist the Americans. If the resistance continues several months, the Americans will leave."

He echoed a common complaint among average Iraqis: that life under the U.S. occupation is no better than life under Hussein. "We were secure when Saddam was the government," he said. "But now there is no security. We are living in terror."

Firas Noaimi, 26, who owns a men’s clothing shop, said jihad against the U.S. forces was "a natural thing, because we are all Muslims."

"Saddam will return, God willing," he said. "And God willing, the Americans will leave. If I get a weapon I will resist too. Not because I am defending Saddam Hussein, but because I am defending my country."

But many others said they'd had enough of Hussein, and had no interest in following his call to fight against the Americans. "He has no power; these are hollow words from a hollow man," said Mohammed Thamer, 23, who owns an electronics parts store here.

Youssef Lazar, 42, who works at a currency exchange company, said Iraqis "should give the Americans a chance."

"I mean, we have waited more than 35 years for a better life," he said. Referring to the day Baghdad fell with relatively little resistance against U.S. forces, he said, "If Saddam likes resistance so much, where was he on April 9?"

Mohammed Hashim, 32, a mechanic, said Hussein’s speech left him unmoved. "We didn’t listen to him before, why should we listen to him now?" he said. "We hate this man. He put us through a black tunnel. But now we finally see the light."