Karen Bass: “we have heard plenty of questionable statements today from Members about misrepresentation of intelligence and alleged…”

“we have heard plenty of questionable statements today from Members about misrepresentation of intelligence and alleged use of military force, without enough information to back up that action. As a former member of the Committee on Intelligence, I would remind Members about one particular incident and the, quote, ``depth of intelligence'' supporting that action. Not long ago the United States, on the order of the Commander in Chief launched a cruise missile attack against a pharmaceutical plant in Sudan, destroying the facility and taking human life. At the time, the action was justified by the President and his administration on the grounds that the al-Shifa plant was involved in the production of chemical weapons and had ties to Iraq and possibly al Qaeda which had just bombed two U.S. embassies in Africa. What was the administration's basis for making these claims? What was the entire intelligence record that backed up this military action? This represents the entire intelligence on the al-Shifa plant. Yes, the entirety of the intelligence record connecting the al-Shifa plant to chemical weapons production was this, a single soil sample collected by a friend of a friend of a source. That is it. The Intelligence Community did not know who actually owned the plant or have any other clear and convincing evidence to connect al-Shifa to weapons of mass destruction production; all it had was a bit of dirt and many unanswered question.…”