Shock and Awe Page #5

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Biden, please.

Son of a b*tch.

Biden told Bush, "There's a

reason your father didn't go...

"to Baghdad. He knew he would

have to stay...

"for at least five years."

I got Michael O'Hanlon

at Brookings saying...

"You definitely cannot

count on it being a cakewalk."

We gotta hit it harder

than that.

All right, well, hang on. I got

an official at the U.N...

that says, "There's widespread

concern...

"that this will destabilize

the whole Middle East."

Let me see what you have.

Well, wait, I got... I got...

Just give it to me,

give, give, give.

Okay.

All right.

Let's see here... all right.

You guys are smart.

You know what's unfolding here.

Our readers need to know what

we've learned.

"In the best case scenario, U.S.

troops could be stuck in Iraq...

"for years trying to teach the

inner workings of democracy...

"to a nation that has never

known it. In the worst case...

"scenario, an invasion could

cause Iraq's fractious ethnic...

"groups to break off into their

own mini-states...

"trapping American combat forces

in the middle...

"of a bloody civil war

for decades."

Boss man's got balls.

Yeah.

Sh*t.

Were those for me?

No. Yes.

But I thought it might be

a little, I don't know...

a little too soon to be giving

each other gifts.

It would've been all right.

Okay.

Well, I think they landed

on my car...

so if you want to grab them

on the way to dinner...

maybe we can do that?

- Great.

- Great.

Okay, so what was the most

embarrassing thing...

you did to prepare for tonight?

All right.

I will admit, that to prepare

for tonight...

I did kind of a cram session

on Iraq...

and the history of the Muslim

world.

Really?

Yes.

Now I know that 1400 years ago,

after the death of Muhammad...

Muslims fought over who was to

be his rightful heir...

and that caused a split

into two factions...

the Sunnis and the Shiites.

And they've been at war

ever since.

Then, at the end of World War I,

the British and the French...

arbitrarily divided the Arab

world into countries...

putting the Sunni majority

in charge.

But the country that became Iraq

is made up of only 20% Sunni.

So, Saddam Hussein, a Sunni,

with an iron fist rules...

the majority Shiite

population...

and the 20% Kurdish population

in northern Iraq.

But if Saddam Hussein were

removed, it could possibly...

reignite that 1400-year-old

sectarian war.

Now, after reading your

stories...

I know that Iran is the top

sponsor of terror, not Iraq.

That a man named Ahmed Chalabi

seems to be a con artist...

who wants to replace

Saddam Hussein.

That the neo-cons in the Bush

Administration...

are pushing for an invasion.

And you are quickly becoming

my favorite writer.

Wow.

Um... I guess it's my turn.

Give it to me.

Okay, I will admit that...

This is a little embarrassing.

I asked my ex-wife to watch

my two sons tonight.

Why is that embarrassing?

Because a babysitter would

expect me home...

at the end of the evening and...

Should we get the check?

Tell your boss we're gonna run

it whether he comments or not!

Actually yes, it is a matter

of life and death!

We're talking about going

to f***ing war!

Hello?

I'm guessing that was

a no comment?

What are you grinning

about?

What? I'm not grinning.

- You're grinning.

- I'm not grinning.

- I'm not...

- What have you got over there?

Relax! Don't worry about it.

Oh my God, she could

do my taxes.

- All right, relax.

- (PHONE RINGING)

- Strobel, Knight Ridder.

- Of course.

Okay.

All right, I'll be right there.

Let's go, this could be

something.

So, how does this work?

Do you ask me questions or do

I just start talking?

Why don't you just begin...

and we'll ask the questions

when we have them.

If it's off the record,

I have to say so, right?

Do you want it to be

off the record?

I want people to know what

I know, but not who I am.

It'll be background.

You'll be referred to

as a U.S. official.

So, whatever you feel

comfortable telling us.

I believe your prediction about

what could and will happen...

if we go to war is spot on.

And we're a lot closer

than you think.

How close?

A secret war planning group

with a parallel intelligence...

operation has been set up

to bypass...

the rest of the

intelligence community.

How do you know this?

They meet in the building

where I work.

And which building is that?

The one with the five sides.

But you're not a part

of that unit?

No.

So, how do you know about this?

My desk is across the hall.

What office do you work for?

Near East South Asia division,

but you can't disclose that.

You're an analyst?

Yes... but you can't disclose

that, either.

I'm speaking to you because

I'm an American citizen...

and I don't like what these

people are doing.

Half a dozen men, most of whom

have never served...

in the military are making

decisions...

based on shoddy intelligence,

and those decisions...

will impact our men

and women in uniform.

And as someone who has worn that

uniform, I can't remain silent.

You said shoddy intelligence.

What do you mean by that?

They've designed a process

that doesn't conform...

to any basic tenet

of intelligence gathering.

In what way?

A decision is made,

then the intelligence...

is sought to support

that decision.

How do you know this?

They have no interest

in Arabic speakers.

Israelis come in without

passes...

without even being entered

into a security log.

And for years the government has

been funding a group...

of exiled dissidents called the

Iraqi National Congress.

Led by Ahmad Chalabi, we know.

Who they want to install

as the new leader of Iraq.

Yeah, we've been trying to get

a meeting with him.

Do you know who set up

this operation?

Donald Rumsfeld.

Is there any evidence to

indicate that Iraq...

has attempted to or is willing

to supply terrorists...

with weapons of mass

destruction?

The reports that say that

something hasn't happened...

are always interesting to me

because as we know...

there are known knowns, there

are things we know we know.

We also know there are known

unknowns.

That is to say, we know there

are some things we do not know.

But there are also unknown

unknowns.

The one's we don't know

we don't know.

We're working on a theory that

the administration...

has already decided to go

to war...

and is now focused on how

to justify it.

It's not a theory.

We've also been told by a number

of individuals that...

Rumsfeld's the one spearheading

this intelligence gathering.

I wouldn't exactly

call it intelligence gathering.

It's more like

intelligence cherry picking.

And if they don't find

any cherries...

they just grab a piece

of sh*t...

and they paint it red, and they

stick it in a Shirley Temple.

You seem irritated.

I'm out there looking for

weapons that might not exist...

to justify a war that might

not be wise.

And have you found any evidence

of WMD?

No, sir.

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