One Day University

What really went wrong with American Intelligence on Iraq and weapons of mass destruction? Can it go wrong again with Iran, which may be developing its own WMD? The CIA, the Pentagon, the White House, so-called information brokers, and members of the U.S.-funded Iraqi National Congress—then in exile in London—all played a role in intelligence failures. While the CIA’s reputation has been battered, its analysts never conclusively argued that Saddam Hussein still had WMD. However, the White House Intelligence Group and the Pentagon’s Office of Special Plans argued the CIA was too compartmentalized to forecast the problem. Finally, Professor Pious will examine why the administration was so willing to accept its own analysis about WMD and disregard those of the CIA.