Prior to our invasion of Iraq on March 2003, there were some monumental failures conducted by the intelligence community (IC). These failures pertain specifically to the assessment of Saddam Hussein having weapons of mass destruction (WMD) which was the IC’s ultimate end state goal. The United States was not alone in its inaccuracies. In fact, it was a multinational effort. This short report will review the history leading up to the failures that played a major factor into the assessments. In addition, it will describe what specific intelligence subsets (INTs) performed poorly and how other INTs could have played a role. Finally, it will list some possible alternative outcomes. President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair told the public
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An NIE is a document made of coordinated judgments of all U.S. intelligence agencies for congress and other policy makers. The NIC released an NIE of Iraq and Weapons of Mass Destruction many months sooner than any other NIE. This short time line could have prevented the IC from vetting some of the sources and discrediting others as would happen later. The NIE released to Congress, would play a significant role in a flavorful vote for the Iraq war. Unfortunately, we know now that there were significant errors in the report. One excerpt from the declassified NIE (2002) states:
A foreign government service reported that as of early 2001, Niger planned to send several tons “pure uranium” (probably yellowcake) to Iraq. As of early 2001, Niger and Iraq reportedly were still working out arrangements for this deal, which could be for up to 500 tons of yellowcake (p. …show more content…
Another fact defending the theory that the invasion would not have happened is that the majority of Congress members failed to read the NIE report in its fullest. In the NIE, the beginning pages contained strong accusations of Iraq’s WMD programs. However, the few Congress members that did read the whole report are the ones who voted against the Iraq war stating uncertainties. Although the headlines contained strong accusations, the details in the report were very vague and relied on intelligence from other
An NIE is a document made of coordinated judgments of all U.S. intelligence agencies for congress and other policy makers. The NIC released an NIE of Iraq and Weapons of Mass Destruction many months sooner than any other NIE. This short time line could have prevented the IC from vetting some of the sources and discrediting others as would happen later. The NIE released to Congress, would play a significant role in a flavorful vote for the Iraq war. Unfortunately, we know now that there were significant errors in the report. One excerpt from the declassified NIE (2002) states:
A foreign government service reported that as of early 2001, Niger planned to send several tons “pure uranium” (probably yellowcake) to Iraq. As of early 2001, Niger and Iraq reportedly were still working out arrangements for this deal, which could be for up to 500 tons of yellowcake (p. …show more content…
Another fact defending the theory that the invasion would not have happened is that the majority of Congress members failed to read the NIE report in its fullest. In the NIE, the beginning pages contained strong accusations of Iraq’s WMD programs. However, the few Congress members that did read the whole report are the ones who voted against the Iraq war stating uncertainties. Although the headlines contained strong accusations, the details in the report were very vague and relied on intelligence from other