The Longest Now

The Man With No Ear

Nicholas D. Kristof/The New York Times
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

… Hawks need to wrestle with the reckless exaggerations of intelligence that were used to mislead the American public. Instead, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld declared Tuesday, “I don’t know anybody in any government or any intelligence agency who suggested that the Iraqis had nuclear weapons.”

Let me help. Mr. Rumsfeld, meet George Tenet, director of central intelligence, who immediately before the Congressional vote on Iraq last October issued a report asserting: “Most analysts assess Iraq is reconstituting its nuclear weapons program.” Meet Vice President Dick Cheney, who said about Saddam on March 16: “We believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons.”