Hair on Fire

If you have a spare three hours or so, you might want to go over to C-Span and check out the video of yesterday's democrat-only (plus one lone republican) hearing on Iraq pre-war intelligence. It was, for me at least, most informative. Testifying were an array of intelligence bureaucrats, sober, well-informed and truly angry about what was wrought over their better judgment, and in their names.

I found Paul Pillar particularly impressive.

It was Paul Pillar who most explicitly embraced that conclusion. Pillar, who retired from the CIA last year, was most recently the national intelligence officer for Near East and South Asia, a post guaranteed him both a front-row seat to the Iraq debacle and, not coincidentally, the eternal hatred of the right. In 2004, Robert Novak fingered him as the general leading a CIA coup against Bush's reelection, and, after he resurfaced this year to pen a widely-read Foreign Affairs article detailing the politicization of Iraq intelligence, Pillar was re-vilified by The Weekly Standard. The reasons for such attacks are simple enough. Pillar has consistently said, and repeated yesterday, that intelligence analysts working on Iraq operated in an environment "in which the policymaker has already set his course, is using intelligence to publicly justify that course, will welcome analysis that supports the policy, and will spurn analysis that does not support it." Even Bush's handpicked WMD commission conceded that point--and, in a buried passage, quoted Pillar as saying so--but refused to explore its implications, preferring to blame the intelligence community and exonerate the president. Pillar didn't shy away. "The documents from the U.K. are remarkably consistent with the perception from my end of the [intelligence] community," he told the panel. "We're paid to figure out political analysis, though that's usually used on foreign governments." The liberal-heavy room allowed itself a chuckle.

Single most stunning moment, via the Progress Report:

Lawrence Wilkerson, Secretary of State Colin Powell's former chief of staff, said he needed just three words to explain why a small number of individuals in the administration “had more influence…than the professionals.” "The Vice President," he said.

That lone republican attending the hearing was the much maligned Walter "Freedom Fires" Jones, whose mea culpa was heartfelt and, given his presence in the room, meaningful.

David Corn has an excellent wrapup at The Nation.

[UPDATE]: VIdeo of Wilkerson's "three words" testimony at Crooks and Liars. Think Progress has the transcript.