"This rhymes with what happened over Iraq WMD"

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'There's no reason to rush this'

Syria 2013 vs. Iraq 2002-03: "There are enough similarities that it makes one very nervous," former State Department intelligence analyst Greg Thielmann tells Guardian national security editor Spencer Ackerman (@attackerman). Spencer reports:

"This rhymes with what happened over Iraq WMD," said Thielmann, one of the few voices of caution inside the US intelligence agencies when compiling the infamously erroneous 2002 National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq.

Thielmann said that post-Iraq intelligence reforms give him confidence that the spy agencies are not overstating their cases, and expressed confidence that Barack Obama would only go to war as a last resort. But he raised questions about the seeming vagueness in the intelligence.

"I would have thought there would be incentives inside the intelligence community to find out what’s going on that the US would have gotten some samples and established a chain of custody," he said. "If the CIA and others can’t get into rebel-held territory to collect samples, we sure are wasting a lot of money."

If reasonable doubts persist about the intelligence after any strike on Syria, Thielmann believes it will have a "devastating effect" on US credibility.

"We're still suffering today for what happened from Iraq WMD," Thielmann said. "That's the reason why it's very important to take more days and let the UN gather evidence and reach their conclusions. There’s no reason to rush this."

read: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/29/syria-crisis-iran-says-all-efforts-must-be-made-to-prevent-military-action-live#block-521f7c0ee4b0b76ce52c77ba


A U.N. chemical weapons expert (2nd L) takes a picture of a person affected by an apparent gas attack, at a hospital where she is being treated , in the Damascus suburb of Zamalka August 29, 2013. (STRINGER/REUTERS)

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