Although the CIA initially seemed reluctant to take the fall for the Bush administration, indeed stating that they warned the administration 10 months before Bush gave his State of the Union speech that the claims about Iraq trying to purchase uranium in Africa were untrue, they are now rolling over and taking the fall for Bush's lie.

CIA Director George Tenet is now claiming that the CIA "wrongly allowed" Bush to deliver his lie to the nation. Were they supposed to forcefully stop him somehow? What more were they supposed to do exactly, after already telling him that the claim was false?

Tenet wrote in a statement, "These 16 words should never have been included in the text written for the president. This was a mistake."

Yes, that's true. However, the CIA doesn't write the president's speeches. It was a mistake, but it was the Bush administration's mistake. It was hardly the fault of the CIA that the Bush administration made the decision to lie to the country.

But this morning, Condoleezza Rice laid the blame squarely on the CIA, claiming that the speech was cleared with the agency. Some members of Congress demanded that someone be held accountable.

Maybe they should start with Condoleezza Rice, Bush's national security advisor.

Maybe someone should be asking the question, "how did this assertion get into Bush's speech in the first place, especially considering the CIA had specifically warned the administration about it 10 months earlier?" Or how about, "why do we keep hearing mumblings of CIA workers saying they felt pressured to produce intelligence reports that would support starting a war?"

If you ask me, it sounds like the Bush administration knows they're in trouble, and they found a scapegoat in the CIA, which has already been causing them grief. By focusing unwanted attention and blame on the CIA, they not only absolve themselves of their misdeed but they also tie the CIA up in defending itself-- killing two birds with one stone.

---Nick

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