British Intelligence on Iraq
Last Wednesday, Colin Powell asked extra attention from the Security Council for a report from the British "intelligence" services. He thanked the UK for their 'exquisit' report on the Iraqi misguidance of UN inspectors. Not that big a deal... untill someone discovered they made a mistake. A big one. See for yourself:
The British report
Now let's compare that to this text:
Report written by Ibrahim al-Marashi, an Iraq-American student, in September last year
British intelligence my a@@
Re: British Intelligence on Iraq
Sorry this is little off topic here but I felt I should point this out this from Negatives post:
Quote:
Report written by Ibrahim al-Marashi, an Iraq-American student, in September last year
A student ? Where did it say he was a student ? At the bottom of the report it says;
Quote:
Ibrahim al-Marashi is a research associate at the Center for Non-Proliferation Studies in Monterey, California as well as a lecturer at the US Naval Postgraduate School. He is currently working on a project on Iraqi intelligence operations in northern Iraq and Kuwait.
I know what a lecturer is but a Research Associate ?? - I might be old and sometimes not all that wise - so I checked up on what is needed to qualify as a Research Associate in a selected field and found this for a Research Associate with LifeSpan BioSciences Tissue Bank to give me some sort of idea:
Quote:
Qualifications:
* Bachelor's Degree (B.S.) in related field.
* Knowledge of vertebrate anatomy required.
* Knowledge of pathology procedures, medical terminology, and histology procedures preferred.
* PC skills including MS Excel, email, and experience using search tools.
* Data entry skills preferred.
* Detail oriented, organized, adaptable, and flexible.
* Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
* Ability to work well independently and as a member of a team.
* Microscopy experience helpful.
Source: http://www.oregon-bioscience.com/showjob?jobid=1263
Whoever quoted Mr Ibrahim al-Marashi a student, may not be doing him or his work justice, the man is obviously qualified in his field of expertise beyond that of a student - please tell me if I am wrong.
Found this here on the man:
Quote:
Ibrahim Marashi is a Research Associate at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) of the Monterey Institute of International Studies. His research focuses on the diffusion of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons and missile technologies in the Middle East, particularly Iraq and Iran.
Marashi received a MA in Political Science at the Arab Studies Center at Georgetown in 1997. He has a BA in History and Near Eastern Studies from the University of California Los Angeles.
Prior to joining CNS, Marashi worked with the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University on a project classifying captured Iraqi state documents. He was also a researcher on Iran-Iraq affairs at the US State Department, Congressional Research Service, and National Defense University.
Source: http://cns.miis.edu/cns/staff/mara.htm
Looks to me that the man may know his subject matter but whether a government should use the material without consultation with the author as to recency and correctness - well that another thing.