Rumsfeld Denies Rift Exists Between Pentagon and C.I.A.
Mr. Rumsfeld said the Pentagon's senior leaders ask tough questions of the intelligence reports they receive, but he described the debate as "effective interaction."

He spoke at an afternoon news conference that his aides said was organized specifically to respond to reports of rifts between the Pentagon's senior civilian leaders and the C.I.A., and to counter those who say Mr. Rumsfeld and his advisers are trying to mold intelligence findings to bolster those in the administration who advocate attacking Iraq.

Mr. Rumsfeld cited an editorial in The New York Times on Wednesday that called on him to present what he described as "bulletproof" evidence of links between Al Qaeda and Iraq, and also an article today in the newspaper describing an intelligence unit at the Pentagon assigned to mine reports from other spy agencies for information on Al Qaeda and Iraq that had been missed or ignored.

Advocates of the unit's work say its assignment is to use powerful computers and new software to mine for data on the capacities of President Saddam Hussein of Iraq, and of his suspected ties to terrorist groups — information that might have been diluted or even ignored by intelligence analysts who do not believe in the severity of the Iraqi threat.

But critics have said the team is at work finding only information that fits the most hawkish views on Iraq and risks politicizing the intelligence process. Should America go to war to topple Mr. Hussein, then public support requires a full and fair discussion of the evidence against the Iraqi leader, the critics say.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/25/international/25INTE.html