By Joby Warrick
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 1, 2008; A02
A former CIA operative who says he tried to warn the agency about faulty intelligence on Iraqi weapons programs now contends that CIA officials also ignored evidence that Iran had suspended work on a nuclear bomb.
The onetime undercover agent, who has been barred by the CIA from using his real name, filed a motion in federal court late Friday asking the government to declassify legal documents describing what he says was a deliberate suppression of findings on Iran that were contrary to agency views at the time.
The former operative alleged in a 2004 lawsuit that the CIA fired him after he repeatedly clashed with senior managers over his attempts to file reports that challenged the conventional wisdom about weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. Key details of his claim have not been made public because they describe events the CIA deems secret.
The consensus view on Iran’s nuclear program shifted dramatically last December with the release of a landmark intelligence report that concluded that Iran halted work on nuclear weapons design in 2003. The publication of the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran undermined the CIA’s rationale for censoring the former officer’s lawsuit, said his attorney, Roy Krieger.
“On five occasions he was ordered to either falsify his reporting on WMD in the Near East, or not to file his reports at all,” Krieger said in an interview.
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Ben, who seems somehow connected with the NSA, is auditioning with this little speech:
I hate blogs!
Hate them, hate them, hate them!
I hate them so much that I frequently and eloquently write about how much I hate blogs and then I unfurl these little globs of incendiary hate upon the world. Well, not really the ‘whole’ world just the parts with electricity,… and computers, …and the internet. Ok so I unfurl my hatred of blogs on the ‘developed’ world you know the part of the world you think about not the parts with impoverished orphans, trying to avoid disease and bullets eating dirt for sustenance, they don’t have computers so they cant read blogs so who cares about them? You know come to think of it those little orphan bastards probably hate blogs too! They are cheap entertainment and keep the ‘whole’ world distracted so the orphans don’t get noticed! Hmm, I can use this! I need to go to that ‘other’ world, you know, the third world (btw where in the hell is the 2nd world? Just wondering) and raise up an army of orphan soldiers to strike back at blogs! Yes, yes this can work. Hey, they probably already have guns right? Awesome my army is already equipped with munitions. All I need to do is organize them! Ill have to act fast before McDonalds can get a hold of them for meat for Big Macs and double cheese burgers ( C’mon only a buck for 100% beef I think not!) If only there were a way to quickly get a message out to thousands and thousands of orphans all at once. But how? Arrgghh, a blog would work! Wait, No!
I HATE BLOGS!!
The U.S. Postal Service recently released a new stamp for the state of Colorado featuring the state’s flag and a mountain in the background. Unfortunately, the stamp’s designer must have been on something when he created it because he featured a mountain from Wyoming on it. The problem was first identified by Bob Michael, a mountain climber, when he realized he had seen the peak before. After looking into it, he realized it was Wyoming’s Mount Helen located in the Wind River Range. A Denver news crew looked into the claim and was startled to find Michael was correct, even though the artist strongly disagrees. [Read more →]
A Lund, Sweden second-grader was utterly disappointed when his teacher decided to take away his birthday invitations from the whole class. The student handed out invitations before class began to all but two students, causing a bit of a stir. Apparently the school has an actual rule regarding the matter and the teacher felt it was best to mess up the party for everyone as opposed to having a couple of students feel left out. We think he was more jealous of not being invited instead of being opposed to the invitations being handed only to certain students but that’s just our opinion. [Read more →]
Last April, McDonald’s issued a series of American Idol themed Happy Meal toys in the US based on musical genres such as disco, country, soul, and rock. Well, “New Wave Nigel” happens to sport an orange jumpsuit, pink shades, and Devo’s energy dome hat. That signature red flower pot hat is what distinguishes Devo from other post-punk banks, and the band is currently suing the food chain for their indiscretion. Further complicating matters is the fact that the toy plays a song suspiciously like Devo’s music. Hmm… the last time I ate McDonald’s I think it made me sick, so I hope Devo beats McDonald’s in this lawsuit. We can’t really see why they wouldn’t. Whip it… whip it good!
We’ve heard of lock downs for criminals with guns, stranger people on campus, and the like. But a ninja? Public schools in Barnegat, New Jersey were locked down temporarily after someone reported a seeing a ninja running through the woods behind an elementary school. Worried, school officials wanted to make sure the ninja wasn’t an assassin of children. Fortunately, the ninja was just a camp counselor dressed in karate garb and was carrying a plastic sword. He was late to a costume-themed day and decided to put his ninja skills to go use, skillfully navigating the trees in the forest. Apparently his ninja skills aren’t the greatest however, as he was both spotted and caused a school lock down. Haha.
Here’s a video of a banned Smart ForTwo commercial boasting about the benefits of the two-passenger car. Not only are these cars smaller, easier to park, and more fuel efficient, but according to this commercial they also help protect you from backseat killers. This was a perfect marketing campaign for the car. Too bad the commercial was banned.
53-year-old Tim Egan and his nephew were bicycling in Boulder, Colorado on Tuesday in order to train for the Triple Bypass Bike Race when they had a run in with an animal. The two were going down a hill at about 45 mph when Egan saw a big blur rush out from the trees. At first he thought it was a big dog but was completely startled when he realized it was actually a bear and he was on a collision course with it. Before he could react, Egan had slammed into the bear and was thrown off his bike. That was the least of his worries. [Read more →]
