By William Hamilton
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 16, 2004; 12:20 PM
Beginning in late December, 2001, President Bush met repeatedly with Army Gen. Tommy R. Franks and his war cabinet to plan the U.S. attack on Iraq even as he and administration spokesmen insisted they were pursuing a diplomatic solution, according to a new book on the origins of the war.
The intensive war planning throughout 2002 created its own momentum, according to "Plan of Attack" by Bob Woodward, fueled in part by the CIA's conclusion Saddam Hussein could not be removed from power except through a war and CIA Director George J. Tenet's assurance to the president that it was a "slam dunk" case that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.
[The CIA briefing on the subject] used communications intercepts, satellite photos, diagrams and other intelligence. "Nice try," Bush said when he was finished, according to the book. "I don't think this quite -- it's not something that Joe Public would understand or would gain a lot of confidence from."
He then turned to Tenet, McLaughlin's boss and said, "I've been told all this intelligence about having WMD and this is the best we've got?"
"It's a slam dunk case," Tenet replied, throwing his arms in the air. Tenet later told associates he realized he should have said the evidence on weapons was not ironclad, according to Woodward.
Asked how many times Director Tenet had actually slam dunked a basketball, a CIA spokesman declined to comment. Observers note that the 51-year old Tenet, a Greek-American with the build and leaping ability of a fireplug, would seem to be an unlikely candidate for slam-dunking anything. "He's one of the whiter white boys out there, for on thing," said ESPN commentator Schmooze Schmingle, "And we all know white men can't dunk. Plus, he's what, five-ten? Not going to happen."
Coach Bush continues to give Tenet significant playing time, despite his inability to rebound: he has yet to pull down one offensive rebound this year, despite the plethora of opportunities provided by the Bush Team's many missed shots. In the meantime, Condoleeza Rice is rumored to be in foul trouble, and may have to sit down for fear of fouling out before the game is over. "She tried to keep her elbows in and not pick up any whistles during the 9/11 Commission testimony," said Schmingle, "but the ref clearly thinks she chop-blocked Richard Clarke, and he called her on it." Clarke made his free throws and currently leads the NSC in credibility points. "He can't slam-dunk, either," said another observer, "but he knows it and sticks to what he does best - taking outside shots."
Remember, Kids, the part in bold is actual 100% news-flavored media product.
The rest is the fakey part.
Home Previous Lines of the Day
