Politics: CIA To Publish SciFi Book!

Are we sure Porter Goss (R-CIA) isn't already in charge? The CIA is about to make it's contribution to the Bush campaign...

WASHINGTON — Having failed to find banned weapons in Iraq, the CIA is preparing a final report on its search that will speculate on what the deposed regime's capabilities might have looked like years from now if left unchecked, according to congressional and intelligence officials.

The CIA plans for the report, due next month, to project as far as 2008 what Iraq might have achieved in its illegal weapons programs if the United States had not invaded the country last year, the officials said.

First installment of Bush's "October Surprise" is this hypothetical piece of speculative fiction. Hopefully enough people get out in front on this to make sure that when this report is released and Dick Cheney starts reading from it every time he crawls out of his hole, it's met with the derision it deserves.

More...

The failure to find stockpiles of banned weapons has been a source of embarrassment to the CIA, as well as to the Bush administration, which made ridding Hussein of illicit arms the main rationale for a preemptive war against Iraq.

For that reason, some officials familiar with the CIA's plans for the final report said they thought it was politically motivated and designed to focus the public's attention on hypothetical future threats.

Ya think?

"The case made by the Bush White House was that [Iraq] was an imminent threat that must be dealt with today," said a senior congressional official who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Coming out later and saying [Hussein] would have had the weapons in 2006 or 2008 … is basically a way to justify preemption."

Yeah, the CIA's been right about everything else, why don't we have 'em try and predict the future...?

Further down...

[Former U.S. Chief Weapons Inspector chosen by the CIA to head the Iraq Survey Group] David Kay was critical of the CIA during Senate testimony this week on intelligence reform proposals, saying, "Iraq was an overwhelming systemic failure of the Central Intelligence Agency."

He cited a "broken culture and management" as well as a "breakdown in analytical tradecraft." ...
The CIA disputes such criticism.

Kay is "knowledgeable about some of Iraq's [weapons] programs, but he now sees himself as qualified to make sweeping judgments on national intelligence," said Mansfield, the CIA spokesman.

"We welcome informed, constructive criticism; we could not welcome much of what Kay had to say."

David Kay. Phhfft. What the hell does he know? Of course if David Kay came up with results that the CIA and Bush wanted to hear, he might not have had to resign in disgust over the fiasco of an operation he was heading. I'd say he's more than qualified to offer whatever the hell "sweeping statements" he feels like.

Nah, nothing political going on here. Why else would the CIA be motivated to turn around a report for October that can be used to justify the War and frighten people at the same time. Whereas every report by any Commission that might possibly come up with unfavorable results for Bush has its deadline after November.

At what point does such brazen behavior ever start to cost these guys?

Will Dick Cheney collaborate with the Agency on any upcoming cookbooks?