It is getting a little strange out there - the way the left and the MSM is reaching for things to try and work up a tall tale of Presidential deception: the White House issued the following in response to a Washington Post piece:
The Washington Post Implies That The Presidential Daily Brief (PDB) Was Superior To The National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) Given To Congress.
"But Bush does not share his most sensitive intelligence, such as the President's Daily Brief, with lawmakers. Also, the National Intelligence Estimate summarizing the intelligence community's views about the threat from Iraq was given to Congress just days before the vote to authorize the use of force in that country." (Dana Milbank And Walter Pincus, "Asterisks Dot White House's Iraq Argument," The Washington Post, 11/12/05)
But The PDB Was The Focus Of Intelligence Reform And Was More "Problematic" Than The NIE Given To Congress.
The Robb-Silberman Commission Found The PDB To Contain Similar Intelligence In "More Alarmist" And "Less Nuanced" Language. "As problematic as the October 2002 NIE was, it was not the Community's biggest analytic failure on Iraq. Even more misleading was the river of intelligence that flowed from the CIA to top policymakers over long periods of time--in the President's Daily Brief (PDB) and in its more widely distributed companion, the Senior Executive Intelligence Brief (SEIB). These daily reports were, if anything, more alarmist and less nuanced than the NIE." (Charles S. Robb And Laurence H. Silberman, The Commission On The Intelligence Capabilities Of The United States Regarding Weapons Of Mass Destruction, 3/31/05, Pg. 14)
The Robb-Silberman Commission Reported That The Intelligence In The PDB Was Not "Markedly Different" Than The Intelligence Given To Congress In The NIE. "It was not that the intelligence was markedly different. Rather, it was that the PDBs and SEIBs, with their attention-grabbing headlines and drumbeat of repetition, left an impression of many corroborating reports where in fact there were very few sources.
Ah, the PDB - first the left/MSM coalition was trying to tell us that the PDB provided President Bush with all the info he needed to connect the pre-9/11 dots and arrest bin Laden before the attacks...I guess they've given up on that tactic. But never let it be said that the left/MSM coalition lacks a "if at first your lies don't succeed; lie, lie again" spirit - now we're supposed to believe that a brief summary of intelligence activity is superior to the National Intelligence Estimate provided to Congress before the vote to authorise the use of force in Iraq.
Nice try, guys, but that is just plain and simple stupid.
Posted by Mark Noonan at November 14, 2005 03:42 PM
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Don Surber linked with What Did Dems Know & When Did They Forget It?
Meanwhile, the White House took the unusual step of rebutting a WaPo story over pre-war intelligence. Seems Potomac fever has been replaced with amnesia. It raises the question of what did Democrats forget and when did they forget it?
[Read More]
Tracked on November 14, 2005 05:48 PM
Don Surber linked with What Did Dems Know & When Did They Forget It?
Meanwhile, the White House took the unusual step of rebutting a WaPo story over pre-war intelligence. Seems Potomac fever has been replaced with amnesia. It raises the question of what did Democrats forget and when did they forget it?
[Read More]
Tracked on November 14, 2005 05:54 PM
Comments
The problem is that whatever the Dems and MSM put out is what most Americans will hear, if they hear anything at all. You can refute that nonsense perfectly within the blog world and still have little effect on general perceptions. For example, the War on Terror and the democratization of Iran are going very well, but according to polls, most people think the opposite. And of course, "Bush lied" is simply unchallenged in far too many minds.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon at November 14, 2005 05:15 PM
The contents of the PDB is immaterial. They were not provided to Congress, so therefore the Congress did not have access to the same intelligence as the president.
Also, does each member of congress have a national security advisor, or did congress create a white house Iraqi group that spent six months analyzing intelligence?
Posted by: BarneyG2000 at November 14, 2005 05:38 PM
Posted by: semby at November 14, 2005 05:43 PM
I just wish that our fellow Repubs wouldn't cut and run at the first sign of low polling numbers. I was disappointed with Sen. Frist because of today's resolution.
Posted by:
Jason Green at November 14, 2005 11:34 PM
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The problem is that whatever the Dems and MSM put out is what most Americans will hear, if they hear anything at all. You can refute that nonsense perfectly within the blog world and still have little effect on general perceptions. For example, the War on Terror and the democratization of Iran are going very well, but according to polls, most people think the opposite. And of course, "Bush lied" is simply unchallenged in far too many minds.
The contents of the PDB is immaterial. They were not provided to Congress, so therefore the Congress did not have access to the same intelligence as the president.
Also, does each member of congress have a national security advisor, or did congress create a white house Iraqi group that spent six months analyzing intelligence?
President Bush Strikes Back - Part 3
Setting the Record Straight: Senator Levin on Iraq
I just wish that our fellow Repubs wouldn't cut and run at the first sign of low polling numbers. I was disappointed with Sen. Frist because of today's resolution.