Ex-CIA McGovern: No President has lied so baldly and so often and so demonstrably

Two new Independent UK Articles and Robert Greenwalds documentary reveal a new rising pressure on the US Government- by current and former US Officials and Intelligence Members

Independent -November 9

An unprecedented array of US intelligence professionals, diplomats and former Pentagon officials have gone on record to lambast the Bush administration for its distortion of the case for war against Iraq. In their view, the very foundations of intelligence-gathering have been damaged in ways that could take years, even decades, to repair.

A new documentary film beginning to circulate in the United States features one powerful condemnation after another, from the sort of people who usually stay discreetly in the shadows - a former director of the CIA, two former assistant secretaries of defence, a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia and even the man who served as President Bush's Secretary of the Army until just a few months ago.

Between them, the two dozen interviewees reveal how the pre-war intelligence record on Iraq showed virtually the opposite of the picture the administration painted to Congress, to US voters and to the world. They also reconstruct the way senior White House officials - notably Vice-President Dick Cheney - leaned on the CIA to find evidence that would fit a preordained set of conclusions.

"There was never a clear and present danger. There was never an imminent threat. Iraq - and we have very good intelligence on this - was never part of the picture of terrorism," says Mel Goodman, a veteran CIA analyst who now teaches at the National War College.

...The hour-long film - entitled Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War - was put together by Robert Greenwald, a veteran TV producer in the forefront of Hollywood's anti-war movement who never suspected, when he started out, that so many establishment figures would stand up and be counted.

"My attitude was, wow, CIA people, I thought these were the bad guys," Mr Greenwald said. "Not everyone agreed on everything. Not everyone was against the war itself. But there was a universally shared opinion that we had been misled about the reasons for the war."

...As the former CIA analyst Ray McGovern argues with particular force, the traditional role of the CIA has been to act as a scrupulously accurate source of information and analysis for presidents pondering grave international decisions. That role, he said, had now been "prostituted" and the CIA may never be the same. "Where is Bush going to turn to now? Where is his reliable source of information now Iraq is spinning out of control? He's frittered that away," Mr McGovern said. "And the profound indignity is that he probably doesn't even realise it."

'No President has lied so baldly and so often and so demonstrably'

"The intelligence process is a bit like virginity," says Ray McGovern, who worked as a CIA analyst for 27 years. "Once you prostitute it, it's never the same. Your credibility never recovers. "Watching what has happened with Iraq over the past several months has been like watching your daughter being raped."

... "Now we know that no other President of the United States has ever lied so baldly and so often and so demonstrably ... The presumption now has to be that he's lying any time that he's saying anything."

"Unless what has happened in the past year and a half is recognised as a scandal, in which the CIA has been badly abused, then there's no hope," he said. "I pin my hopes mostly on the press these days. Turns out, surprise surprise, that even the US press doesn't like to be lied to."

INTERVIEWEES

David Albright Robert Baer Milt Bearden Rand Beers Bill Christison Kathleen McGrath Christison David Corn Philip Coyle John Dean Patrick Eddington Chas Freeman Graham Fuller Mel Goodman John Brady Kiesling Karen Kwiatkowski Patrick Lang Dr. David C. MacMichael Ray McGovern Scott Ritter The Rt Honorable Clare Short Stansfield Turner The Honorable Henry Waxman Thomas E. White Joe Wilson Colonel Mary Ann Wright Peter Zimmerman

PRODUCER/DIRECTOR
Robert Greenwald

Robert Greenwald has executive produced and/or directed 49 television movies, miniseries and feature films, and is the executive producer of the compelling 2002 documentary, "UNPRECEDENTED," about the stealing of the 2000 presidential election in Florida.  Accepted to more than 50 film festivals in the past year, "UNPRECEDENTED" has been seen around the country and is currently running on the Sundance Channel, with distribution by "Shout."   

Television projects have included  "THE CROOKD E" (CBS), based on the true story of the Enron collapse; "BLONDE" (CBS), a miniseries based on Joyce Carol Oates' best-selling fictional biography of Marilyn Monroe; "THE BURNING BED" (NBC), starring Farrah Fawcett as an abused housewife,  "OUR GUYS" (ABC) based on the true story of rape in a small town; "REDEEMER" (USA), based on the true story of a convicted felon’s road to forgiveness with the sister of his victim; "SHATTERED SPIRITS" (ABC) about alcoholism; "FORGOTTEN PRISONERS" (TNT) about Amnesty International; "HIROSHIMA" (NBC); and "SHARING THE SECRET" (CBS), which won the Peabody Award for its realistic portrayal of an eating-disordered teen.  Greenwald also produced and directed the feature film, "STEAL THIS MOVIE", starring Vincent D’Onofrio as 60's radical Abbie Hoffman.  

In 2002, Greenwald formed a publishing company, RDV Books, with Danny Goldberg and Victor Goldberg.  In association with Akashic Press, RDV released its first publication, "It's A Free Country," on September 11, 2002. The book is a collection of writings on the eroding state of civil liberties since 9/11.  In 2003, RDV published "September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows," about that group's work against vengeance; and "Artburn," a collection, with commentary, of guerilla poster artist Robbie Conal's work.  

  Also in 2002, Greenwald and Mike Farrell started "Artists United," a group of actors and others opposed to war in Iraq, which continues to work toward publicizing progressive causes.  

Greenwald is the 2003 recipient of awards and honors for his political work by the ACLU Foundation of Southern California; the L.A. chapter of the National Lawyers Guild; and by Physicians for Social Responsibility.  He is on the Board of Directors of "A Place Called Home," a Los Angeles program for at-risk youth; and of the Venice Community Housing Corporation.  He's an advisor to the organization "Homies Unidos," a gang violence intervention program.

(Former) Mossad chief: invasion has created a holy war

By Kim Sengupta and Kendah El-Ali

Independent -09 November 2003

A former chief of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service, has accused the United States and Britain of lack of foresight over the Iraq invasion and warned of even greater violence unless the civic infrastructure is established quickly.

Major General Danny Yatom said the presence of Western forces in Iraq has presented the opportunity for a holy war, or jihad, by Islamists in a country surrounded by Muslim neighbours. ...