Curveball confirms suspicions he lied about Iraq weapons of mass destruction

An informant called "Curveball" who was credited with intelligence used to start the Iraq war has confessed that he lied to the CIA. Curveball is an Iraqi named Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi. He told his handlers a story about concealed labs where Iraqi scientists worked on biological weapons. Lies about Iraqi WMD were told, Curveball said, to encourage Bush into a war that would depose Hussein. This is a story a pay day loan couldn’t have bought to make up.

Lie from Curveball something Powell and Bush continue

Claims by Curveball that Iraq had WMD have long been discredited. It has been something Curveball would always say is truth. He would say he never lied. On February 16, he said he lied though. He told this to the Guardian. Al-Janabi got out of Saddam Hussein's Iraq and went to Germany. He then said that all over Iraq there were hidden bioweapons when talking to German intelligence. United States Secretary of State Colin Powel spoke to the United Nations while George W. Bush gave a State of the Union address in 2003 to confirm the truth in Curveball's claims. Bush admits that WMD were not really in Iraq after the U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003.

Tale from Curveball worries CIA

When al-Janabi got there, it was hard to believe him. German intelligence was not so sure about what was going on. The asylum application was what former CIA in Europe Tyler Drumheller thought al-Janabi's false testimony was about. CIA Chief George Tenet was warned by Drumheller that Curveball was not reliable since he never believed the story. After al-Janabi fesses up, Drumheller told The Guardian that if Curveball lied to oust Saddam Hussein, then he is “one of the world’s greatest strategic planners.”. Another thing Drumheller mentioned was that the Bush administration needed evidence to go to war for the public. That is why they used Curveball's story.

Curveball faces backlash for coming clean

The man called Curveball said he was proud of helping the Bush administration start the Iraq war, which has killed almost 4,500 U.S. military personnel and more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians. However in his adopted home of Germany, a German politician said al-Janabi violated a warmongering law that makes actions that lead to war a criminal offense. Even though it had been known that al-Janabi lied, $4,000 a month was being paid to him still by German intelligence. In Iraq, politicians scorned his stated desire to return and called for his permanent exile.

Articles cited

The Guardian

guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/16/colin-powell-CIA-curveball

New York Times

nytimes.com/2011/02/16/world/middleeast/16curveball.html

Los Angeles Times

latimesblogs.latimes.com/chatter/2011/02/curveball.html