DoD Inspector General

The Defense Department Inspector General Thomas F. Gimble briefed members of the Senate Armed Services Committee February 9. Gimble later briefed staff from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Armed Services Committee, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

His (pdf) "Report on the Review of Pre-Iraqi War Activities by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy" is posted on the OIG website. So is the "Executive Summary."

Here are some key findings from the report:

The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy [OUSD(P)] developed, produced, and then disseminated alternative intelligence Iraq and al-Qaida relationship, which included assessments on the some conclusions that were inconsistent with the consensus of the Intelligence Community, to senior decision makers.

Gimble is referencing Doug Feith in this sentence.

In response to questions from Senator Levin (MI), the report notes that Feith produced an alternative intelligence briefing with conclusions that differed from those of the intelligence community -- and were "not fully supported by underlying intelligence."

The Executive Summary added this:

we believe the actions were inappropriate because a policy office was producing intelligence products and was not clearly conveying to senior decision-makers the variance with the consensus of the Intelligence Community.

Question: why did it take so long to reveal these simple conclusions?

Alternative read: isn't it great that the Democratic Congress was able to demand this information in short order?

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