DITSUM No. 044-02

Back in 2002 Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, a captured al Qaeda black-hat, claimed to have sent al Qaeda
members to Iraq to train in chemical and biological weapons. The CIA called him credible but noted
that he wouldn't know if the training had taken place. The DIA, turns out rightly, wasn't so sure Libi
had even sent them.

So Carl Levin got two paragraphs of DITSUM No. 044-02, a DIA report, declassified. The
important part:
""It is possible he does not know any further details; it is more likely this individual is intentionally misleading the debriefers," the February 2002 report said. "Ibn al-Shaykh has been undergoing debriefs for several weeks and may be describing scenarios to the debriefers that he knows will retain their interest."

What was the rest of the DIA report? Well, I'd assume that it contained Libi's claims. The two excerpted
paragraphs are all that Levin needed declassified. He didn't want the whole report because it would bring up
the question, "Why report his claims if you know them to be false?" Of course the DIA said it was
possible that he didn't know the details. They didn't *know* him to be a liar. And what about the
CIA report on Libi's claims? DIA wins this one over CIA but it's important to note that they said
"probably" false, not false with a certainty.

Maybe they should have been more bold. If they had denounced all of Libi's claims as lies, our
politicians wouldn't be caught out making statements such as these:

"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program.
He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons."