Selective Use of Intelligence

Quote of the day:
“If someone spends $500 for a television and $2500 for a refrigerator, does that mean they watch the refrigerator five times more than the TV?”
--Preston Creston

Quote of the day no. 2:
“There was precious little consideration, that I’m aware of, about the big picture of what would come next. While some policy makers were eager to say that we would be greeted as liberators, what they failed to mention is that the intelligence community told them that such a greeting would last only for a limited period.”
--George Tenet, former CIA director

That quote comes from Tenet’s book At The Center of the Storm, which is being released tomorrow. He scored an interview with 60 Minutes which will be on tomorrow night.

It looks like we’re hearing from a Bush administration insider about selective use of intelligence leading up to the Iraq war. There may be a theme developing here.

Former counter-terrorism chief Richard Clarke made pretty much the same point in his book Against All Enemies. He said that intelligence about al Qaeda activites and locations was simply being ignored in the months and weeks leading up to 9/11.

Clarke’s book came out three years ago, and his major premise has yet to be credibly refuted. Maybe we’re finally getting the message.