Ryder's Reward

Last night I linked Dave's post about Thomas Ryder recieving a $20,000.00 bonus, so I thought I would revisit the story about an inexperienced man who was moved into a critical position of importance, overrode every expert, completed his mission and was quietly shifted to another job $20,500.00 richer.

The strange story of Ryder's Reward is an illustration of how the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy.

"That's a hell of a lot of money for an intelligence director who had no experience or background in intelligence, and who'd only been running the office for nine months," "Something's fishy."
[...]
Energy officials say Ryder rubber-stamped the administration's conclusion that Baghdad was reactivating a nuclear weapons program over the objections of Energy's nuclear weapons research labs and senior members of his own staff.

"He was doing their bidding,"
[...]
Oddly, Energy headquarters signed on to the hawkish position on Iraq nukes even though Energy's labs debunked the centerpiece of its evidence – that the thick-walled aluminum tubes it sought were more likely intended for artillery rockets than gas centrifuges used to enrich uranium for nuclear bombs.
[...]

Ryder is said to have brought two scientists to the NIE meeting at Langley to debate the tubing issue, one from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the other from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Though the prevailing view among physicists and engineers at both labs was that the aluminum tubes were more likely intended for Iraq's conventional artillery program, the scientist that Ryder brought from Oak Ridge leaned the other way – that they were more likely used for the nuclear program, though he did not rule out artillery use, sources say.

The White House's harder line that the tubes were really suited only for the nuclear program was driven by CIA analyst Joe T. (Langley has asked that his full last name not be disclosed for his protection), though he is said to have received the blessing of senior CIA officials like Robert Walpole and Tenet himself. The former Oak Ridge engineer works in a CIA unit known by the acronym WINPAC, which analyzes intelligence about dual-use technology and export controls.

"He was the spark plug for them on the whole issue," said David Albright, a physicist who helped inspect Iraqi nuclear sites last decade. "But most scientists at the labs disagreed with him," arguing that the tubes Iraq sought were too thick for gas centrifuges, and had a coating that would flake off in the corrosive gases of centrifuges. However, they were ideal for artillery rockets, they argued, and matched ones Iraq had previously used for rockets.

"The debate over whether Baghdad was trying to acquire nuclear weapons pretty much came down to the tubes," said one Energy official. "Yet even though DOE voted against the tubes, Ryder still argued that the program was being reconstituted."
[...]
Bonuses that big are rare, and Energy insiders say they cannot recall previous intelligence chiefs receiving as much bonus money as Ryder, who is said to be close to Abraham.
[...]
Yet despite Ryder's alleged outstanding performance, Abraham didn't keep him in the top position. In February, he was replaced by CIA official John Russak. By July, Ryder had been relocated to another department – energy assurance.

I have to confess that I cheated by going directly to Shakespear's Sister for today's Downing Street Update

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to mention Ryder's Reward when you contact these media outlets and politely ask them to cover the Downing Street Memo today:

(A) ABC Nightline. email: nightline@abcnews.com

(B) NBC News. email: nightly@nbc.com phone: 212-664-4971 fax: 212-664-4426

(C) Wall Street Journal. email: wsjcontact@dowjones.com phone: 212-416-2000 fax: 212-416-2658

(You already know all the emphasis was mine)