Spies and leaks
Spies rely ond deductions John Podhoretz says. "...Analysts work much like any rational thinker: They try to collate secret information with things everybody knows to form a clear picture of what's really going on."
"...Did the U.S. government overreact to bits of information suggesting Saddam might be trying to secure uranium yellowcake? Perhaps. But when dealing with a grudge-bearing madman who operated in complete defiance of all international standards, the prudent posture was to assume the worst, not hope for the best.
"Making assumptions is part of intelligence gathering. Joseph Wilson, a longtime foreign service officer, wrote in Sunday's New York Times that he spent a few days in Niger (at the behest of the CIA) drinking tea with officials there. The well-caffeinated Wilson then determined that Saddam had not procured yellowcake from Niger.
"That's nice. But it's a deduction. For Wilson to decide the government was deliberately misleading the American people because it failed to accept his deduction as fact is an amazing act of hubris."
Spies rely ond deductions John Podhoretz says. "...Analysts work much like any rational thinker: They try to collate secret information with things everybody knows to form a clear picture of what's really going on."
"...Did the U.S. government overreact to bits of information suggesting Saddam might be trying to secure uranium yellowcake? Perhaps. But when dealing with a grudge-bearing madman who operated in complete defiance of all international standards, the prudent posture was to assume the worst, not hope for the best.
"Making assumptions is part of intelligence gathering. Joseph Wilson, a longtime foreign service officer, wrote in Sunday's New York Times that he spent a few days in Niger (at the behest of the CIA) drinking tea with officials there. The well-caffeinated Wilson then determined that Saddam had not procured yellowcake from Niger.
"That's nice. But it's a deduction. For Wilson to decide the government was deliberately misleading the American people because it failed to accept his deduction as fact is an amazing act of hubris."
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