Douglas Feith
Douglas Jay Feith served as the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy[1], the third ranking civilian position at the Pentagon, from July 2001 until his resignation effective August 8, 2005.
Intelligence Controversy
Intelligence was produced by the Counter Terrorism Evaluation Group, created by Feith, while he was under secretary of defence for policy[2]. The group “developed, produced and then disseminated" Intelligence reports that linked Iraq and Al Qaeda [3]
Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticised the intelligence produced by Feith's group, he said “I think they sought this kind of intelligence. They made it clear they wanted any kind of possible connections, no matter how skimpy, and they got it,”. The Sept. 11 commission, which found “no evidence” that contacts between the Iraqi government and Al Qaeda “ever developed into a collaborative operational relationship[4].”
The intelligence included a section that contended there were "Fundamental Problems With How (the Intelligence Community) Is Assessing Information. This created the impression that there was a problem with the wider intelligence community who did not endorse the links between Al-Qaeda and Iraq[5]
References
- ↑ Jim Lobe, Feith Finds a Home, 31-October-2008, Accessed 25-April-2009
- ↑ James Risen, [1]How Pair's Finding on Terror Led to Clash on Shaping Intelligence, New York Times, 28-April-2004, Accessed 25-April-2009
- ↑ David S. Cloud and Mark Mazzetti, Prewar Intelligence Unit at Pentagon Is Criticized New York Times, 9-February-2007, Accessed 25-April-2009
- ↑ David S. Cloud and Mark Mazzetti, Prewar Intelligence Unit at Pentagon Is Criticized New York Times, 9-February-2007, Accessed 25-April-2009
- ↑ Spencer Akerman, No Faith in Feith, The Guardian, 9-February-2007, Accessed 25-April-2009
