John Spratt: “I think this is very necessary. This is not a fine debate about semantics or definitions, it's an issue about the…”

“I think this is very necessary. This is not a fine debate about semantics or definitions, it's an issue about the integrity of the intelligence process in the United States of America. It's well-known now that because of a focus that was created by Vice President Cheney in the lead-up to the Iraq war and the exclusion of the broader views of the intelligence community, that the intelligence that was provided to the Congress and other decision makers was not comprehensive and not accurate. So the question arises about the language in the bill. Instead of taking the newly formed and reformed national intelligence agencies and getting their opinion on the capabilities of Iran, it would single out one component of those agencies, the Department of Defense, to write a new opinion. I, for one Member, can speak for myself, am concerned that this is an attempt to redirect our intelligence and to get intelligence that is only coming from a small portion of the intelligence community, the same failing that led to the lead-up and the faulty intelligence for the Iraq war.”