Much Iraqi defector information unusable-NY Times
( 2003-09-29 21:49) (Agencies)
A Defense Intelligence Agency internal review determined that much of the
information Iraqi defectors gave to U.S. officials could not be substantiated or
was otherwise unusable, the New York Times reported on Monday, citing federal
sources.
Also, some defectors from Iraq that the Iraqi National Congress had
introduced to U.S. intelligence officials gave false information about their
credentials and misled interviewers about how much they knew about the Iraqi
government's weapons program, said the paper.
Other Defense Department officials, who defended the arrangement between the
exile group and defense intelligence agents to the Times, said U.S. officials
had already met the information with skepticism but it still helped improve
awareness and helped confirm what agents already knew.
No more than one-third of the information gained from the defectors was
potentially useful and many leads did not pan out, officials told the daily.
Some of the intelligence in question includes information on Iraq's suspected
program for nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Data provided about the
Iraqi government is also doubted, the officials informed the Times.
The arrangement between the United States and the exile group, which was
funded by taxpayers, may have wasted more than $1 million, officials informed
the Times, adding that they and others now question the credibility of the
group's leader, Ahmad Chalabi, as well as doubt the Iraqi National Congress.
At least half a dozen defectors were debriefed by defense intelligence agents
in late 2002 and early 2003, according to the daily.
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