What Did the CIA REALLY Find in Iraq? (Ep5/6)

Description

Who was “Curveball”? Why did Colin Powell rely so heavily on flawed intelligence in his presentation to the UN? And how did this set the tone for the opposition to war? As David and Gordon reach the penultimate episode in their series on Iraq WMD, they discuss how things could have gone so badly wrong. 00:00 Why were MI6 and CIA so quick to believe unreliable sources? 01:41 AD 02:48 Why the CIA relied on British intelligence 05:01 Bush prepares the State of the Union case for war 05:55 WINPAC and the CIA’s internal WMD analysis 08:23 The aluminium tubes claim 10:15 Iraq, uranium and the “British government has learned…” line 12:08 What is yellow cake uranium? 13:24 The forged Niger documents 16:22 How the uranium claim reached Cheney’s team 17:41 Joe Wilson’s trip to Niger 21:16 The Valerie Plame leak 22:16 Why the uranium claim stayed alive 25:05 Curveball and the mobile biological labs 25:32 Colin Powell prepares to make the case at the UN 27:16 Gordon’s meeting with an Iraqi defector 31:24 The fabricator notice that wasn’t acted on 33:17 Who was Curveball? 35:31 Why Curveball’s reports became so influential 38:37 MI6 and CIA doubts about Curveball 41:44 Powell’s UN speech is drafted at CIA headquarters 45:13 Why Curveball still made it into the speech 46:49 Curveball admits he made it all up 48:03 Could Colin Powell have stopped the war? 49:38 Next time: inspectors on the ground in Iraq ------------------- ➡️ Join the Declassified Club to go deeper into the world of espionage with exclusive Q&As, interviews with top intelligence insiders, regular livestreams, ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, and weekly deep dives into original spy stories. Members also get curated reading lists, special book discounts, prize draws, and access to our private chat community. Just go to https://therestisclassified.com 🔓 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 🗞️ Sign-up for our free newsletter where producer B