In a fascinating interview with Germany's Der Spiegel magazine, Former European CIA Chief Tyler Drumheller recounts what it was like working for the CIA during the run up to the Iraq War and talks -- to the extent he can -- about how the administration dealt with the extraordinary renditions we've been hearing so much about lately. Drumheller first broke his silence back in April of last year on CBS' 60 minutes. (h/t Glenn)
Drumheller: I had assured my German friends that ["Curveball's" claims] wouldn't be in the speech. I really thought that I had put it to bed. I had warned the CIA deputy John McLaughlin that this case could be fabricated. The night before the speech, then CIA director George Tenet called me at home. I said: "Hey Boss, be careful with that German report. It's supposed to be taken out. There are a lot of problems with that." He said: "Yeah, yeah. Right. Dont worry about that."
SPIEGEL: But it turned out to be the centerpiece in Powell's presentation -- and nobody had told him about the doubts.
Drumheller: I turned on the TV in my office, and there it was. So the first thing I thought, having worked in the government all my life, was that we probably gave Powell the wrong speech. We checked our files and found out that they had just ignored it.
SPIEGEL: So the White House just ignored the fact that the whole story might have been untrue?
Drumheller: The policy was set. The war in Iraq was coming and they were looking for intelligence to fit into the policy. Read more...
