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Biden Takes on Bush over NIE

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December 04, 2007 6:30 PM

ABC News' Brian Wheeler reports: Senator Joseph Biden D-Del., today alleged that President Bush had intentionally misled the American people with regard to the danger posed by Iranian nuclear ambitions.

On a conference call with reporters Senator Biden said, "After all we've been through, for this President to knowingly disregard or once again misrepresent intelligence about an issue of war and peace, I find outrageous."

At issue is when President Bush learned about the conclusions pertaining to Iran’s nuclear weapons program in the National Intelligence Estimate released Tuesday.

Biden said today, "Are you telling me a president who's briefed every single morning, who’s fixated on Iran, is not told back in August that the tentative conclusion of 16 intelligence agencies of the United States government said [Iran] had abandoned their effort for nuclear weapons in 2003?"

President Bush addressed the question at a morning news conference. "I was made aware of the NIE last week. In August, [Director of National Intelligence] Mike McConnell came in and said, ‘We have some new information.’ He didn't tell me what the information was," he said.

Yesterday ABC News reported national security advisor Stephen Hadley had told the president in August or September, "We have new information; it is interesting; it is going to take us some time to understand it."

When pressed about the possibility that the president was told new information existed but did not pursue or was not informed by his advisors as to the specific nature of that information, Senator Biden was typically blunt: "If that’s true, he has the most incompetent staff in modern American history and he is one of the most incompetent presidents in modern American history."

If the president had known in August or September that US intelligence services were preparing to judge Iran had shuttered its weapons program back in 2003, then comments he made in October warning that Iranian nukes might lead to World War III, could be seen as an attempt to pump up the threat posed by Iran. The White House has conversely claimed the NIE legitimizes its concerns by saying Iran did have a nuclear weapons program prior to 2003.

Senator Biden also today reiterated that should President Bush initiate an attack on Iran without Congress approval, Biden would call for impeachment. In an afternoon Democratic debate hosted by NPR, Biden stated flatly, "you cannot trust this president."

December 4, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (9)

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What is NIE?

Posted by: AJ | Dec 4, 2007 8:07:00 PM

It is the National Intelligence Estimate.

Posted by: SaraReynolds | Dec 4, 2007 9:08:38 PM

Good for Biden. He really tells it like it is.
Can you imagine any company being run like Bush and his 'team' run our country? Wouldn't you think any information about Iran would get fast-tracked, or at least that Bush would ask for clarification right away? Sheesh.

Posted by: Lydia | Dec 4, 2007 10:10:57 PM

Has everyone forgotten, the N.I.E. was wrong before (Iraq), why would we believe it this time??

Posted by: John | Dec 5, 2007 10:02:45 AM

NIE was not wrong on Iraq. Bush and Co re-wrote the report and used unverified intelligence.

Posted by: Louis | Dec 5, 2007 12:58:47 PM

It seems either Bush's staff is always seeking to maintain the President's "plausible deniability" or Bush is flat out lying about what he knows and when he knew it. Either way it's gross incompetency or criminal intent... and begs the question: why has this President not yet been impeached?? Come on Joe, stand up with a resolution for impeachment or sit down in the do-nothing quagmire with all the other sell-out, chickenspit Dems....

Posted by: Boo Radley | Dec 5, 2007 1:47:59 PM

Presidential candidate Senator Joe Biden admitted meeting with the chief financier of the 9/11 hijackers in the days after September 11 after being confronted by We Are Change founder Luke Rudkowski in the press room following Sunday's Democratic debate in New Hampshire.

According to the FBI and as confirmed by various news reports at the time, Pakistani ISI General Mahmoud Ahmad instructed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the alleged assassin of Daniel Pearl, to wire $100,000 to alleged lead hijacker Mohammed Atta in the summer of 2001.

Arriving exactly one week before 9/11, the general met with Pentagon, White House National Security Council and CIA officials, including George Tenet and Marc Grossman, then U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.

On the very morning of 9/11, Ahmad was at a breakfast meeting on Capitol Hill hosted by Senator Bob Graham and Rep. Porter Goss, the chairmen of the Senate and House Intelligence committees.

Two days after the attack on the twin towers and the Pentagon, on September 13th, Senator Joseph Biden, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, met with the ISI chief.

No adequate explanation has been forthcoming as to why top government and intelligence officials were meeting with the money man behind the alleged hijackers before and after 9/11.

Shortly after the Democratic debate had finished on Sunday, Prison Planet reporter Rudkowski was able to get access to the CNN spin room and confront presidential candidate Biden about his 9/11 meeting with the Pakistani General.

"We asked him the question - what was he doing with the head of the Pakistani ISI General Mahmoud Ahmad," said Rudkowski.

"He told me - he admitted that he met with him - he met with the head of the Pakistani ISI - he said I told them not to do it, I told them not to wire the money - I told them to stop supporting the Taliban, which shows he had foreknowledge of them supporting him."

"I told him - sir, he funded the hijackers, you did business with him, you let him go - he's free," said Rudkowski, to which Biden responded, "Get a life kid," after which Rudkowski was pushed away by Biden's security staff.

Biden's comments demand immediate explanation and an investigation into why Mohammed Atta's chief financier was allowed to leave the United States without even being questioned by authorities after having met with top Bush administration and other public officials.

Posted by: bagman | Dec 5, 2007 2:11:22 PM

Hey Boo Boo, What were those Japanease,s doing back on Dec 7 1941 in the White House. I think Biden knew back then, they were going to attack! Just your avg. Bear Boo Boo! Come on Boo, enlist now, and be army strong, you know you want to, then we american,s can know fer sure with you on the job, that we will get all the right answer! Uncle Sam Want,s You! Baby Boo! Hellooo!

Posted by: MikeP | Dec 5, 2007 6:00:32 PM

GOP Attack Playbook, Page 543: Boo is trying the same methods used on the elementary school playgrounds: when a kid gets caught stealing from another kid's bookbag, he tries to misdirect the teacher by yelling, "But Bobby stole Mary's lunch money last week! You need to go after him, not me!" I am sick to death of Republicans using such childish methods to duck responsibility for the crimes they commit and the lies they tell. I'm doubly sick of the gullible media and the gutless Democrats falling for it time after time.

Hey, Republicans, here's a thought: why not "man up" and actually take responsibility for what you do? If you're tough enough to protect this country from terrorists and illegal aliens and whatever, you're tough enough not to start whining and lying when you get caught with your pants down and your hand in the till. Or are you?

Posted by: Max Black | Dec 7, 2007 12:34:05 PM

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