January 1, 2006 at 11:01:35

What Fate Awaits NSA Spying Whistleblower

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By David Swanson (about the author) Page 2 of 2 page(s)

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The Bush Administration also retaliated against two officials who sought to provide accurate information regarding the Administration's inappropriate reliance on the Iraqi defector known as "Curveball" and his alleged statements regarding mobile chemical weapons laboratories. The first is "Jerry," who led a CIA unit that went to Iraq and found Curveball's claims to be blatantly false and misleading. After he did so, he was chastised and transferred. According to The Los Angeles Times: "Back home . . . Jerry was 'read the riot act' and accused of 'making waves' by his office director, according to the presidential commission. He and his colleague ultimately were transferred out of the weapons center."

Another victim was David Kay, head of the Iraq Survey Group, which found the Bush Administration's WMD claims to be inaccurate, including its reliance on Curveball. "In December 2003," according to the LA Times, "Kay flew back to C.I.A. headquarters. He said he told Tenet that Curveball was a liar and he was convinced Iraq had no mobile labs or other illicit weapons. C.I.A. officials confirm their exchange. Kay said he was assigned to a windowless office without a working telephone. On Jan. 20, 2004, Bush lauded Kay and the Iraq Survey Group in his State of the Union Speech for finding 'weapons of mass destruction-related program activities. . . . Had we failed to act, the dictator's weapons of mass destruction program would continue to this day.' Kay quit three days later and went public with his concerns."

In spring 2001, according to the New York Times, an informant told the CIA that Iraq had abandoned a major element of its nuclear weapons program. However, according to a CIA officer, the agency did not share the information with other agencies or with senior policy makers. The officer, an employee for the agency for more than 20 years, including several years in intelligence related to illicit weapons, was fired in 2004. In his lawsuit, the officer states that his dismissal was punishment for his reports questioning the agency's assumptions on a series of weapons-related matters and with the agency's intelligence conclusions.

Each of these cases of retribution for truth-telling is discussed and documented in Congressman John Conyers' report, "The Constitution in Crisis; The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution, and Coverups in the Iraq War." See pages 113 133.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/5769

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David Swanson is the author of the upcoming book "Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union" by Seven Stories Press and of the introduction to "The 35 Articles of Impeachment and the Case for Prosecuting George W. (more...)

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