The ref only criticizes the 2017 memo and Patrick Lawrence's article; it says absolutely nothing about "several false warnings", "repeated conspiracy theories", and VIPS' activities in general |
This lede text is supported by sourced article text. Unless you can tell us about the unilateral Israeli attack on Iran, the US Troops felled by chemical WMD etc, this lede is NPOV summary. Use talk. |
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'''Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity''' ('''VIPS''') is a group of former officers of the [[United States Intelligence Community]]. It was formed in January 2003 when the group issued a statement accusing the [[George W. Bush|Bush Administration]] of misrepresenting U.S. national intelligence information in order to push the US and its allies toward [[2003 invasion of Iraq|that year's US-led invasion of Iraq]]. The group issued a letter stating that intelligence analysts were not being heeded by policy makers. The group initially numbered 25, mostly retired analysts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,81148,00.html|title=Ex-CIA Accuse Bush of Manipulating Iraq Evidence|publisher=Associated Press|date=March 17, 2003}}</ref> |
'''Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity''' ('''VIPS''') is a group of former officers of the [[United States Intelligence Community]]. It was formed in January 2003 when the group issued a statement accusing the [[George W. Bush|Bush Administration]] of misrepresenting U.S. national intelligence information in order to push the US and its allies toward [[2003 invasion of Iraq|that year's US-led invasion of Iraq]]. The group issued a letter stating that intelligence analysts were not being heeded by policy makers. The group initially numbered 25, mostly retired analysts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,81148,00.html|title=Ex-CIA Accuse Bush of Manipulating Iraq Evidence|publisher=Associated Press|date=March 17, 2003}}</ref> More recently it has issued several false warnings and repeated [[conspiracy theories]].<ref>[http://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/08/11/conspiracy-theories-on-the-left/]</ref> |
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==February 2003 memo== |
==February 2003 memo== |
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On February 7, 2003, VIPS released a "Memorandum for The President" criticizing US Secretary of State [[Colin Powell]]'s speech before the United Nations and stating that VIPS was afraid Saddam Hussein would use his chemical weapons against U.S. troops if the U.S. invaded. In May 2003, 70 days after the invasion, ''[[The New York Times]]'' columnist Nicholas D. Kristof noted that no [[WMD|weapons of mass destruction]] had been found in Iraq and noted that VIPS was among the many then-current and former officials who decried the Bush Administration's misuse of intelligence information.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/30/opinion/save-our-spooks.html|title=Save Our Spooks|date=30 May 2003|work=The New York Times}}</ref> In early 2004, chief US weapons inspector [[David Kay]] stated that no stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction could be found in Iraq.<ref>Michael W. Robbins, [http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2004/03/skeptical-spy The Skeptical Spy], ''[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]'', March 10, 2004.</ref> |
On February 7, 2003, VIPS released a "Memorandum for The President" criticizing US Secretary of State [[Colin Powell]]'s speech before the United Nations and stating that VIPS was afraid Saddam Hussein would use his chemical weapons against U.S. troops if the U.S. invaded. In May 2003, 70 days after the invasion, ''[[The New York Times]]'' columnist Nicholas D. Kristof noted that no [[WMD|weapons of mass destruction]] had been found in Iraq and noted that VIPS was among the many then-current and former officials who decried the Bush Administration's misuse of intelligence information.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/30/opinion/save-our-spooks.html|title=Save Our Spooks|date=30 May 2003|work=The New York Times}}</ref> In early 2004, chief US weapons inspector [[David Kay]] stated that no stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction could be found in Iraq.<ref>Michael W. Robbins, [http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2004/03/skeptical-spy The Skeptical Spy], ''[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]'', March 10, 2004.</ref> |
Revision as of 02:33, 22 August 2017
Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) is a group of former officers of the United States Intelligence Community. It was formed in January 2003 when the group issued a statement accusing the Bush Administration of misrepresenting U.S. national intelligence information in order to push the US and its allies toward that year's US-led invasion of Iraq. The group issued a letter stating that intelligence analysts were not being heeded by policy makers. The group initially numbered 25, mostly retired analysts.[1] More recently it has issued several false warnings and repeated conspiracy theories.[2]
February 2003 memo
On February 7, 2003, VIPS released a "Memorandum for The President" criticizing US Secretary of State Colin Powell's speech before the United Nations and stating that VIPS was afraid Saddam Hussein would use his chemical weapons against U.S. troops if the U.S. invaded. In May 2003, 70 days after the invasion, The New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof noted that no weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq and noted that VIPS was among the many then-current and former officials who decried the Bush Administration's misuse of intelligence information.[3] In early 2004, chief US weapons inspector David Kay stated that no stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction could be found in Iraq.[4]
August 2010 memo
On August 3, 2010, VIPS publicly released another "MEMORANDUM FOR: The President" claiming that the government of Israel has a record of deceiving the U.S. government and estimated that Israel would unilaterally attack Iran "as early as this month."[5][6]
August 2013 memo
After the Ghouta chemical attack VIPS issued an "open letter" to President Obama claiming that their "co-workers" and "numerous sources in the Middle East" have informed them that Bashar al-Assad was not responsible for the attack, contrary to the position of the US government and foreign intelligence agencies. However, when asked about the identity of their sources, the group's report turned out to be based on an article from a conspiracy website "Global Research" and, Infowars, the radio show of the far right commentator and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.[7]
December 2016 and July 2017 memos
In December 2016, VIPS released a memorandum criticizing allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections as "evidence-free". The memorandum asserted that the 2016 Democratic National Committee email leak was the result of an internal leak and not a Russian hack.[8] On July 24, 2017, VIPS released another memorandum which also argued that the DNC was not hacked, this time based on statements by the Forensicator, an anonymous investigator, and Skip Folden, an IBM Program Manager.[9]
See also
References
- ^ "Ex-CIA Accuse Bush of Manipulating Iraq Evidence". Associated Press. March 17, 2003.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Save Our Spooks". The New York Times. 30 May 2003.
- ^ Michael W. Robbins, The Skeptical Spy, Mother Jones, March 10, 2004.
- ^ Lahav Harkov, Obama misplaced trust in Netanyahu, Jerusalem Post, August 5, 2010.
- ^ Dana Karni, Will Israel Bomb Iran This Month? Archived August 15, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Fox News, August 5, 2010.
- ^ [2]
- ^ "US Intelligence Agencies Disagree on Russian Hacking in Presidential Poll". CNN-News18. December 15, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
- ^ Ryan, Danielle (August 15, 2017). "What if the DNC Russian 'hack' was really a leak after all? A new report raises questions media and Democrats would rather ignore". Salon. Retrieved August 18, 2017.