'Office of Special Plans'

In the fall of 2002, as the Bush administration was building its case for the invasion of Iraq, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld authorized his Under Secretary, Douglas Feith, and Deputy Secretary, Paul Wolfowitz, to establish a secret intelligence unit within the Pentagon. The group, known as the Office of Special Plans, was tasked with producing intelligence to support the argument for invading Iraq. This office provided raw intelligence—much of it unvetted by the CIA—to both the White House and Congress. At times, its reports contradicted the CIA’s assessments, such as the claim that Iraq had sought to purchase uranium from Niger. Why did the Department of Defense feel the need to create a secret intelligence unit at this time, and which foreign intelligence agency might it have collaborated? Join the conversation and get answers to these questions and more on According2Sam episode #360.