Daily Kos Blast From The Past - Summer, 2002

Click here for the Daily Kos article, entitled "Putting the horse before the cart," dated September 11, 2002. In the summer of 2002, of course, the Bush/Cheney White House was gearing up to attack Iraq, which they did in the spring of 2003. USA Today published an article which included the following paragraph:

The White House still has not requested that the CIA and other intelligence agencies produce a National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, a formal document that would compile all the intelligence data into a single analysis. An intelligence official says that's because the White House doesn't want to detail the uncertainties that persist about Iraq's arsenal and Saddam's intentions. A senior administration official says such an assessment simply wasn't seen as helpful.

In other words, the White House -- determined to attack Iraq -- didn't want to gather and compile all the available information, because it was riddled with uncertainties and inconsistencies which would undermine their case for war. Damn the torpedoes facts -- full speed ahead!