Missed Opportunity
Reported by Eleanor - July 18, 2004 -
On Fox News Sunday (July 18, 5:00 p.m.), the Chris Wallace interview of James McLaughlin, did not clarify some of the most pressing questions regarding U.S. security and intelligence.
When asked about a permanent director being appointed during the political season, McLaughlin said, "I take no position on that." When asked if there is still a possibility of WMD in Iraq, he answered that the longer we look, the more likely that no weapons exist. McLaughlin would not discuss the "slam dunk" comment by Tenet, responding that he will not discuss the oval office meeting, but criticized the "nuanced" view.
McLaughlin said that the connection between Al Qaeda and Sadam is an "argument about words." The view of the intelligence community is that they 1)had meetings 2) provided training 3) a safe haven. "There was no operational relationship that we can say." Also, "Policy makers judge on more than intelligence, not just what we said. They had more conviction than we did."
On the subject of a current terror threat as great as any since 9/11, McLaughlin answered that he had "lots of confidence it's more than chatter. " An "attack inside the US is a brass ring" for the terrorists. (We'll hear that phrase a lot now)
When asked if the Joe Wilson report "misrepresented" the Iraq/Niger yellowcake claim, McLaughlin refused to take a position.
To end the interview, Wallace asked "why a CIA director would come on a talk show." McLaughlin responded that people are saying things, and he wanted a chance to "stand up and say what we're doing."
Comment: My big questions weren't answered. The answers are just as fuzzy as before. Wallace asked a lot of questions, but didn't dig deep enough to get at the most important answers.
