AlterNet: War on Iraq: Who Forged the Niger Documents?: "Well, in this case, the Germans had told the CIA's head of the European desk on the operations side, Tyler Drumheller, who I spoke to, but he wasn't comfortable going on the radio. He was told by Curveball's handlers in Germany that the guy was crazy and a fabricator and the real question, I guess, is he passed this information on to the top people inside the agency, the Deputy Director McLaughlin and the Director George Tenet, both of whom are now - well, I don't know about McLaughlin. He works for CNN. But, I believe George Tenet says he doesn't remember the conversation."

(Via AlterNet.)

US unready for rising threat of 'moles' | csmonitor.com: "Because the US has reached such lone, superpower status, government officials say, at least 90 countries - in addition to Al Qaeda - are attempting to steal some of the nation's most sacred secrets.

It's not only foes, like members of terror groups or nations that are adversaries of the US, but friends as well. The top five countries trying to snoop on US plans and cutting-edge technology, according to an official who works closely with the FBI on this issue, are China, Russia, Israel, France, and North Korea. Others running close behind: Cuba, Pakistan, and India."

(Via Salon.)

IAEA Discredited "Curveball" in February 2003: "The Washington Post notices that the WMD Commission reveals that IAEA inspections in February 2003 discredited ‘Curveball’—the defector whose claims about mobile bio-weapons made a liar out of Colin Powell"

...

"Turns out—if you read the footnotes—the IAEA visited the facility in question and discredited Curveball’s description"

...

"The Post then alludes to the incongruity of Bush Administration efforts to oust IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei and shut down UNMOVIC.

No word yet on whether the President plans to give Curveball the Presidential Medal of Freedom."

(Via ArmsControlWonk.com.)

Defense Tech: DARPA COMES DOWN TO EARTH: "Back in 2003, the Senate Armed Services Committee was worried enough about Darpa getting overly-practical that it launched an investigation into whether the agency had 'raided' its basic research budget to finance 'near-term goals.'

Now, the Times reports, Darpa is cutting its funds for 'open-ended 'blue sky' research by the nation's best computer scientists... in favor of financing more classified work and narrowly defined projects that promise a more immediate payoff.'

This week, in responding to a query from the staff of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Darpa officials acknowledged for the first time a shift in focus. They revealed that within a relatively steady budget for computer science research that rose slightly from $546 million in 2001 to $583 million last year, the portion going to university researchers has fallen from $214 million to $123 million.

The agency cited a number of reasons for the decline: increased reliance on corporate research; a need for more classified projects since 9/11; Congress's decision to end controversial projects like Total Information Awareness because of privacy fears; and the shift of some basic research to advanced weapons systems development.

In Silicon Valley, executives are also starting to worry about the consequences of Darpa's stinting on basic research in computer science.

'This has been a phenomenal system for harnessing intellectual horsepower for the country,' said David L. Tennenhouse, a former Darpa official who is now director of research for Intel. 'We should be careful how we tinker with it.'"

(Via a DefenseTech.)

huh?: "There it is, the work product of an intelligence commission hand-picked by Bush for the specific purpose of proving him and his Administration incompetent, with the hope that this would exonerate him of outright deception.  Its leader was a former Reagan aide used as the back-channel contact to Khomeini during the 1980 election, in an episode that  may well prove to have been outright treason if the story is ever told.    Put it this way:    His connections to terrorism are far better documented than Saddam Hussein's. 

The sordid process which climaxed with a cake, a Bible, and an Iran-Contra connection had investigator Lawrence Walsh stating that the  first President Bush withheld information and made false statements about  his own part in this scandal.  Silberman was also waist-deep in slime during the smearing of Bill Clinton.

   

...

"Short version of their findings:

   

1. We weren't asked to look at the political use or misuse of intelligence.
2. Notwithstanding the fact that we didn't look for it, we're willing to say we didn't find it.

Bush responded to the report by urging the Senate to confirm John Negroponte, a known collaborator of the Contras, who were also clearly terrorists by even the strictest definition."

(Via Night Light.)

All-Embracing Man of Action for a New Era of Papacy: "'I have come,' he said in lightly accented Italian, 'from a faraway country - far away, but always so close in the communion of faith.'

There were scattered cheers, and they grew louder as he went on.

'I do not know whether I can express myself in your - in our - Italian language,' he said, pausing.

The crowd roared appreciatively, and the laughter swelled into resounding cheers.

'If I make mistakes,' he added, beaming suddenly, 'you will correct me.'

Tumult erupted.

The cheers went on and on, and then grew into rhythmic waves that broke on the basilica facade and echoed across the square in a thundering crescendo:

'Viva il Papa!"

'Viva il Papa!"

(Via NY Times.)

The Onion | Bush Launches Preemptive Attack On Social Security: "ST. LOUIS, MO - At an appearance at the St. Louis Convention Center Sunday evening, President Bush declared the 'grave and pressing need' for a preemptive attack on the Social Security program.

'My fellow citizens, at this hour, brave administration and congressional forces are in the early stages of an all-out attack on Social Security, with the ultimate goal of bringing down the oppressive legacy of the New Deal, and big government itself,' Bush said. 'Through bold and decisive action, we will liberate our grandparents and our grandchildren from the threats of the system established by Franklin D. Roosevelt to provide retirement compensation for America's workers.'"

Note: Laugh

(Via The Onion.)