Suskind to Release CIA Interview Transcripts on 'Forged' Document

Source: CQ politics

Author Ron Suskind says he will release transcripts of his interviews with a top CIA official that will confirm his story that in 2003 the White House ordered the agency to fabricate a phony document linking Iraq to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C.

The letter, written by an Iraqi intelligence official under the control of the CIA, according to Suskind, was concocted to mislead the public into believing that Saddam Hussein conspired with Osama Bin Laden in the attacks, and had gotten uranium from Niger to make nuclear weapons, thus justifying the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

...

But in a telephone interview this evening, Suskind said he is planning to release transcripts of his on-the-record interviews with Richer to back up his story.

"There are lots of transcripts, lots of tapes," Suskind told me. "In the next couple days the transcripts will be coming out."

Suskind said he will probably post them on his own Web site.

Read more: http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/spytalk/2008/08/suskind-to-release-cia-intervi.html

ask someone to forge a letter on an issue this serious!" it reminded me of her "noone would have ever imagined anyone would use planed as missles and fly them into buildings!" comment. I don't believe EITHER comment was true!!!!

What would the White House consider unserious enough to ask someone to forge a letter?

Is this an actual quote and if so, could you source it. It could be very, very useful.

She really did say "on an issue this serious". Too bad the mainstream media won't pick up on that softball lobbed from the CYA Condi.

As you say, anything Condi Lies 'R' Us says is, by definition, a lie.

Sadly I won't be near a radio or internet when he's on. Try to listen if you can.

www.thomhartmann.com

a.m. He certainly seems very confident to me. Please, please, please let this revelation be the one to send * over the edge of the impeachment table!

Wow. A real smoking gun. Please let it be true.

It's as if he is saying, "Hey, guys, don't you see what I've got here? This is IT!!!!"

his answers were confident and concise. I loved how he kept using the word "irrefutable" over and over again. And calling out George Tenet for the liar he is, while still referring to him as a "good guy". It's clear that George Tenet was just another one of Dick Cheney's amiable lackeys/victims, as was Scooter Libby.

him a bone with the Medal of Freedom, didn't he? I think Tenet is likely, if not soon, sometime in the future, to give us the truth. Scooter, on the other hand, is a willing participant, imho.

Phil Giraldi (former CIA counter-terrorism head) says that the letter was forged, but it wasn't Tenet who ordered Richer - Giraldi says Cheney ordered Feith at OSP to do it. Either way, this is going to be interesting.

What makes my blood boil is not the content of Suskind's revelation .. but how everyone seems to be taking the story in the stride. Democrats treat this as another story that is true but of no use to them ... and rethuglicans are confident in the knowledge that no one is going to do anything about it. Those bastard republicans spend $125 million in investigating a blow job ....and what are we doing in return for much more serious crimes that has led to thousands of deaths and 100's of billions of dollars.. ... I wish the whole white house crew is killed execution style on national tv for what they have done to America ... I hope Cheney's carcass is fed to mad dogs ..

at worst, a felonious crime against the U.S. at best. Now there is a smoking gun to prove it. Behind the scenes everybody is freaking out you can be sure of that, but they've got to put up a calm front so that the entire country, if not the world, doesn't go batshit crazy. We're already on the verge of a complete market collapse, they're trying to keep things in check as best they can for as long as they can.

I feel like I'm seeing a pile up on the interstate. Cars keep running into it for days and days but police, fire, and rescue never show up. People keep calling 911, but the responders are all too busy eating donuts or something.

I can barely focus on work I am so pissed off and plain weirded out by the lack of response.

Also, why do posts about Suskind seem to sink so fast on DU?

are the same players who always controlled the message before. Until late last year, I don't think the internet grassroots had the chops to force them to deal with these issues - now, we do. And the landscape will never be the same. I don't think the usual players have fully gotten the memo yet.

Who is the name of gawd is watching this garbage on TV --- ???

Are you saying that thing can actually be connected to some outside feed? I'm doubting the veracity of what you say but maybe............

In other words, I've been off the teat since the late nineties and I don't have any desire to re-latch.

Congratulations on disconnecting --- !!!

very interesting. Who could have predicted it was dick? :sarcasm:


http://www.ronsuskind.com/thewayoftheworld/transcripts/

A note to readers

I've decided to post a partial transcript of one of a number of taped conversations in which Rob Richer and I discussed, on the record, the Habbush letter. We discussed it many times through the spring of 2008.

Rob Richer received a copy of The Way of the World on Monday night, August 4, the day before publication. On Tuesday, he said he had read key portions of the book and was comfortable with what they contained. Later that day, though, he issued the following the statement:

"I never received direction from George Tenet or anyone else in my chain of command to fabricate a document from Habbash as outlined in Mr Suskind's book."

The conversation below took place in June 2008. As in all of our conversations, it shows Rob pressing to get at truth and embrace probity.

This posting is contrary to my practice across 25 years as a journalist. But the issues, in this matter, are simply too important to stand as discredited in any way.

--Ron Suskind


Interview Transcript

. . . Ron Suskind: I know we've talked through these things eight ways to Sunday, and hour after hour, but here's what I want you to ask yourself. Prior to me jogging your memory, okay--forget Habbush part one, okay.

Rob Richer: Okay.

Ron: You know, the prewar stuff, cause there's zillions of people in on that part. And there's people in on the second part, too. But here's my question to you: before I, as I said, before I jog your memory on this stuff, what do you--and I think I have a good idea, cause I've asked you this seven different ways, but I just want to make absolutely sure--what do you remember? If I just grabbed you on the street and said what do you remember of the second part, okay--with the letter and all the rest--what would be the high marks in terms of what you--memory's the best editor I think's a line from Tennyson--

Rob: Exactly.

Ron: What were the parts that you remember most vividly?

Rob: You're talking about Habbush himself, correct?

Ron: No, I'm talking about the second part, with the letter being passed from--through George and down the ranks. Cause at one point--and I know we have recollections at the top and that's fine--you have recollections, not from me but from your own memory on that--

Rob: Let me tell you what I know, just so before you color any of it. Is that when you first asked me about it I remember just really telling you that it was a non-event, and if you were to ask me today I would tell you it was a non-event. It came down from the seventh floor. It was part of--as I remember it, it wasn't so much to influence America--that's illegal--but it was kinda like a covert, a way to influence Iraqis.

. . .

Rob: To characterize it right, I would say, right: it came to us, George had a raised eyebrow, and basically we passed it on--it was to--and passed this on into the organization. You know, it was: 'Okay, we gotta do this, but make it go away.' To be honest with you, I don't want to make it sound--I for sure don't want to portray this as George jumping: 'Okay, this has gotta happen.' As I remember it--and, again, it's still vague, so I'll be very straight with you on this--is it wasn't that important. It was: 'This is unbelievable. This is just like all the other garbage we get about . . . I mean Mohammad Atta and links to al Qaeda. 'Rob,' you know, 'do something with this.' I think it was more like that than: 'Get this done.'

Ron: Do something with this, right. Get this, this is like--

Rob: It died a natural death as you know.

Ron: 'This thing stinks, take it.'

Rob: Yeah, kinda like that, yeah. But, you know, we got so much garbage that first couple—that year.

Ron: Were there other things like this where we were creating product?

Rob: You know, I don't remember that.

. . .

Ron: The intent--the basic raison d'etre of this product is to get, is to create, here's a letter with what's in it. Okay, here's what we want on the letter, we want it to be released as essentially a representation of something Habbush says. That's all it says, that's the one paragraph. And then you pass it to whomever to do it. To get it done.

Rob: It probably passed through five or six people. George probably showed it to me, but then passed it probably to Jim Pavitt, the DDO, who then passed it down to his chief of staff who passed it to me. Cause that's how--you know, so I saw the original. I got a copy of it. But it was, there probably was--

Ron: Right. You saw the original with the White House stationery, but you didn't--down the ranks, then it creates other paper.

Rob: Yeah, no, exactly. But I couldn't tell you--again: I remember it happening, I remember a terrible brief kinda joking dialogue about it, but that was it.

. . .

Ron: Now this is from the Vice President's Office is how you remembered it--not from the president?

Rob: No, no, no. What I remember is George saying, 'we got this from'--basically, from what George said was 'downtown.'

Ron: Which is the White House?

Rob: Yes. But he did not--in my memory--never said president, vice president, or NSC. Okay? But now--he may have hinted--just by the way he said it, it would have--cause almost all that stuff came from one place only: Scooter Libby and the shop around the vice president.

Ron: Yeah, right.

Rob: But he didn't say that specifically. I would naturally--I would probably stand on my, basically, my reputation and say it came from the vice president.

Ron: Right, I'm with you, I'm with you. But there wasn't anything in the writing that you remember saying the vice president.

Rob: Nope.

Ron: It just had the White House stationery.

Rob: Exactly right.

Ron: That's fine, White House stationery's fine. Everything's from there. You know, that's the center point. But not OVP's Office. It's just the White House. It comes from the White House. That's plain and simple.

Rob: And you know, if you've ever seen the vice president's stationery, it's on the White House letterhead. It may have said OVP. I don't remember that, so I don't want to mislead you. . . .

Feith's shop of horrors. I wonder if the OSP is mentioned in Ron's book?

I was wondering when the good guys at the CIA were going to declar war on Bushco. This is it, folks.

WHY DON'T THE WHORES IN THE MEDIA ASK TO SEE IT AND PUBLISH IT?

is your answer. The media whores are the same as they ever were.

my Dog, what will it take?

http://www.ronsuskind.com/thewayoftheworld/transcripts/

Ron: The intent--the basic raison d'etre of this product is to get, is to create, here's a letter with what's in it. Okay, here's what we want on the letter, we want it to be released as essentially a representation of something Habbush says. That's all it says, that's the one paragraph. And then you pass it to whomever to do it. To get it done.

Rob: It probably passed through five or six people. George probably showed it to me, but then passed it probably to Jim Pavitt, the DDO, who then passed it down to his chief of staff who passed it to me. Cause that's how--you know, so I saw the original. I got a copy of it. But it was, there probably was--

Ron: Right. You saw the original with the White House stationery, but you didn't--down the ranks, then it creates other paper.

Rob: Yeah, no, exactly. But I couldn't tell you--again: I remember it happening, I remember a terrible brief kinda joking dialogue about it, but that was it.

. . .

Ron: Now this is from the Vice President's Office is how you remembered it--not from the president?

Rob: No, no, no. What I remember is George saying, 'we got this from'--basically, from what George said was 'downtown.'

Ron: Which is the White House?

Rob: Yes. But he did not--in my memory--never said president, vice president, or NSC. Okay? But now--he may have hinted--just by the way he said it, it would have--cause almost all that stuff came from one place only: Scooter Libby and the shop around the vice president.

Ron: Yeah, right.

What Rob Richer is saying is that he originally saw the essential points which went into the Iraq letter on White House letterhead.

Edited to add: sorry for the dupe Leftchick.