We’re gonna take a closer look at an intelligence failure that was a major factor in taking the U.S. to war in Iraq. It’s a story of a shadow Iraqi defector who duped the bush administration into believing Sadam Hussein had mobile biological laboratories. Some at the administration thought the defector was lying. Their concerns were ignored. Our chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross reports.
When he defected from Iraq to Germany, intelligence services gave him a randomly chosen codename that would prove prophetic—“curveball”—seen here in a photo provided to ABC NEWS by intelligence sources. Curveball was the supposed insider who revealed Saddam’s biological weapons labs.
None of this true, as far as I know now. None of it.
Yet, despite growing concerns in the CIA, curveball’s tales become the principal basis for secretary of state Colin Powell’s speech to the United Nations four years ago, making the case for war. Featuring evidence of supposed mobile biological weapons labs all provided by curveball.
The source was an eyewitness, an Iraqi chemical engineer who supervised one of these facilities.
Curveball’s details were the centerpiece of the case, according to Powell’s then chief of staff, Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson.
It was almost that which mad the whole case seen effective. It was just so dramatic.
But it was all made up. As some in the CIA had suspected well before the speech, including then their head of European operations, Tyler Drumheller, who says he tried, unsuccessfully, to have his bosses take the material out of Powell’s speech.
And so we led out that paragraph completely --- just scratched it out.
You said, “Don’t say his”?
Yes, said, “This is from curveball. Don’t use this.
Drumheller says he even met personally with the number—two man in the CIA, JOHN McLAUGHLIN, to warn that curveball was a fabricator.
And John said, “Oh, my, I hope not.” You know, he said, this is all we have. And I said, “This can’t be all we have.” I said, “There must be another. There must be something else.” And he said, “No, this is really the only tangible thing we have.”
Drumheller’s allegations have created a kind of family feud in the CIA, with McLAUGHLIN denying any such meeting or warning from Drumheller.
This man never came into my office; sat down, looked me in the eye and made a case that curveball was a fabricator.
Powell told ABC NEWS he’s furious with what happened and his former chief of staff says feels deceived.
I think they hedged the truth.
As to why curveball did not tell the truth, U.S. officials describe him as a clever flake, who figured out he could have a nice life in Germany if he told stories that everybody seemed to want to hear.
It’s amazing that U.S. intelligence would put so much faith in somebody they hadn’t talked to, right?
That’s right. They didn’t talk to him prior to the speech.
Where is he now? Have they talked to him since?
He’s in Germany, protect by German intelligence. They’ve talked to him and they broke him. He essentially conceded it was all lies.
I wanna teach you that the word is very common in a movie, but we don't see very much in 英会話text book. Today's word is "NERD". This kind of faces is nerdy face. Another word of similar is "GEEK". Nerd and geek is opposite word of cool person. Noun is 名詞. So you can say "I'm a nerd." or "I'm a geek." It's little bit like ださい or おたく. ださい and おたくare kind of socially awkward people. people that don't feel comfortable in social situation or not smooth or not cool ... like me. じょｐがじぇおｐｍｊふぁｓ
Well...... I like this glass because they make me look nerdy. I wear these on when I'm on the motorcycle because they block the winds. Anyway, please remember the words "nerd" and "geek" and the adjectives【形容詞】 "nerdy" and " geeky"
one more thing おたく has the feeling of expert of something like 映画... 映画オタク・パソコンオタク・インターネットオタク but in English we can also say "computer nerd" or " computer geek"
おっぽっつ(?) more example is here. thank you very much. see you tomorrow.
Hi, everyone. About two weeks ago, I made a video introducing the expression "that's the straw that broke the camel's back. And I got a E-mail asking me how you use it.
Well.. when you describe something that was the 限界,the things that made you do something. For example, if one of my teachers is late for work three times, maybe on the four times I'll be fired him.
"YOU'RE FIRED!! Because you are late for the fourth times. That's too many times. That's the straw that broke the camel's back."
This is example. if he's late once, I'm angry but, you know, don't be late again. three times I'm getting very angry. four times, OK. that's it. That's the straw that broke the camel's back. You're fired.
OK. so, when you finally do something like... let say another example....
I have a computer and every once in a while it crashes. it freezes. I lose everything. that's annoying. that's happened two or three times. but one day it crashes and I lose my big project.
OHHH. That's it! :( That's the straw that broke the camel's back. I'm buying a new computer. I'm gonna get Mackintosh on this time, for example.
Remember that the idiom " that's the straw that broke the camel's back" can be shorten "That's the las straw!". You can say "That's the last straw!" before you take an action.
That's the last straw! You're fired!
That's the last straw! I'm getting a new computer!
That's the last straw! I want a divorce!
so any kind of strong rejection
First and then, you say decision or "that wasthe las straw!" and describe what you did before.
For example, someone ask you,
"why did you quit a job?"
" Well.... my boss maybe works on Sunday and that's was the last straw. I couldn't take anymore."
"My boss asked me on a date. That was the last straw, so I quited."
whenever need you make a major decision like quitting your job, breaking up with someone or getting a new computer or car something really makes you change.
Why did you change? Why did you make this decision? that was the last straw.
you'll say what happened and then "that was last straw."
or before you make a decision, "that's the last straw."
Remember even shorter "that's the straw that broke camel's back!" " that's the last straw!" or very short " that's it!" or "that was it"
