Letter: Bad intelligence Democrats’ fault

Wednesday, July 14, 2004 | 8:51 a.m.

The Senate Intelligence Committee reports that key U.S. assertions leading to the 2003 invasion of Iraq -- that Saddam Hussein had chemical and biological weapons and was working to make nuclear weapons -- were wrong and based on false or overstated CIA analyses.

Well, what contributions were made over the years to erode the CIA's intelligence gathering efforts? I say look to former Rep. and Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J. Torricelli led congressional efforts in the mid-1990s that handcuffed the CIA's abilities to recruit spies. This restriction, a key policy among many Clinton administration policies, forbade the CIA from recruiting known terrorists and other criminals, rendering the CIA bereft of all intelligence gathering capabilities.

But many Democrats are now saying that President Bush and other officials twisted the evidence to back their calls for war against Iraq. I ask: Why can't the Democrats who are making this claim admit to their past errors in judgment that led to the intelligence failures?

The answer is obvious. This is an election year. For once, however, politics must take a back seat. The problems within the CIA must be identified and fixed, once and for all.

A healthy fix would be for swing voters to get educated on the issues and retain the Bush administration to guide us through the perilous times to come.

MARK E. WILSON