A scathing Senate intelligence committee report says President George W. Bush and his administration “misrepresented the intelligence and threat” from Iraq on the eve of invasion in 2003.

John D. Rockefeller IV, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, noted, “Before taking the country to war, this administration owed it to the American people to give them a 100 per cent accurate picture of the threat we faced. Unfortunately, our committee has concluded that the administration made significant claims that were not supported by the intelligence.”

Rockefeller said in making the case for war, the Bush administration “repeatedly presented intelligence as fact when in reality it was unsubstantiated, contradicted, or even non-existent.” “As a result, the American people were led to believe that the threat from Iraq was much greater than actually existed,” he said. The findings are part of a report on prewar intelligence.

Rockefeller said he believed the Bush administration was “fixated on Iraq” and used the September 11, 2001, attacks by Al-Qaida as justification for overthrowing Saddam Hussein.

“To accomplish this, top administration officials made repeated statements that falsely linked Iraq and Al-Qaida as a single threat and insinuated that Iraq played a role in 9/11. Sadly, the Bush administration led the nation into war under false pretenses,” he said.

At the White House, press secretary Dana Perino said: “We had the intelligence that we had, fully vetted, but it was wrong. We certainly regret that and we’ve taken measures to fix it.”

Rockefeller noted there was “no question we all relied on flawed intelligence. But, there is a fundamental difference between relying on incorrect intelligence and deliberately painting a picture to the American people that you know is not fully accurate.”

He said his committee’s report is about “holding our government accountable, and making sure these mistakes never happen again.”

Chandigarh, June 6
A new chair in Sikh and Punjabi (Language) Studies has been introduced at the University of California, Riverside(UCR), USA, and Dr Pashaura Singh, a professor of religious studies at UCR, has been appointed to the position, which is intended to further the study on Sikhism and Sikh culture, according to a statement issued by the university.

The chair has been endowed with contributions from the Saini Foundation, a number of individuals and the Sikh Foundation. It is the second chair that the Sikh Foundation has funded in California, said Narinder Kapany, founding chairperson of the Palo Alto-based organisation.

The first was at University of California, Santa Barbara. The UCR chair honours late Dr. Jasbir Singh Saini, who was known for his expertise in treating heart-rhythm problems and served as the chief of the Cardiology Department at Thunderbird Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Pashaura Singh taught at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, for 13 years and joined the UCR faculty in religious studies in 2005.

He has written and edited several books, including his most recent “Life and Work of Guru Arjan: History, Memory and Biography in the Sikh Tradition”. His current project focuses on the music of the Sikh tradition.

Showing generosity, the Nepal government on Wednesday decided to provide the Nagarjuna Palace, one of the nationalised palaces, to deposed King Gyanendra Shah and his family member for their temporary accommodation. A Cabinet meeting held at Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s official residence in Baluwatar this morning agreed to provide the palace situated on 10 km northern outskirts of Kathmandu for the time being and necessary security for the dethroned royal couple.

Emerging from the Cabinet meeting, minister for information and communication and CPN-(Maoist) spokesperson Krishna Bahadur Mahara said, “The former King and his family are allowed to stay in the Nagarjuna palace for the time being.”

The deposed royal couple would get only the residential buildings at the hill-pop surrounded by ropani jungle of the Shivapuri Wildlife Reserve Centre, he added. The Nagarjuna Palace, which was nationalised by the government in August 2007, used to be a summer retreat for the deposed royal family members in the past.

The government reached the decision as former King Gyanendra pleaded the government to assist him by making arrangement for his accommodation prior to his vacating the Narayanhity Palace.

The Bush administration has conveyed to political and security leadership of Pakistan that it no longer considers President Pervez Musharraf as indispensable to its interests in the region, but would like his exit to be as smooth as possible, it is reliably learned.

This sharp twist in Washington’s thinking, according to knowledgeable sources, stems from a reassessment of the fast changing ground realities on Pakistan’s political landscape. The groundswell of popular anger and resentment against Musharraf, voiced through the lawyers and his erstwhile buddies, has become irresistible. It is now evident that Musharraf’s position is increasingly becoming untenable and the administration can support him only at the cost of a severe damage to its interest in the region.

Policy planners in the State Department and Pentagon have held this view for quite long since the stunning outcome of the February 18 polls. They were, however, hamstrung by President Bush’s stubborn defence of his trusted ally. “This hurdle has now been removed,” says a diplomatic source privy to the fresh signals coming from Washington. It is believed that President Bush, Musharraf’s only backer left in Washington, has finally been persuaded to accept the inevitable and be prepared to bid adieu to his beleaguered friend.

The administration analysts agree that a qualitative change has already occurred in Pakistan’s political landscape in which Musharraf’s ability to influence policies and course of events has diminished substantially. Those who matter in the new dispensation include coalition leadership, with Asif Zardari sitting on top, and army chief Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani as the key factor in decision-making on issues like terrorism. Musharraf is left with no levers to influence either of the two sets of wielders of power in Pakistan.

The US President, however, is worried that Musharraf’s detractors may humiliate him by dragging him to courts or instituting impeachment process in Parliament for which requisite numbers are available to the coalition. Such an outcome will also have a devastating impact on domestic political scenario in America for the Republican Party in the November elections. It will, however, be different if Musharraf is allowed a graceful departure. The US diplomats are currently busy to ensure such an outcome.

Initial vibes from Washington about a distinct shift in the US stance were subtle and guarded. But the PPP co-chairman’s bluster against Musharraf in a PTI interview had panicked both Musharraf and his American friends. Zardari bluntly described Musharraf a relic of the past for whose ouster he was under tremendous public pressure. His statement smashed a fairyland edifice Musharraf was attempting to erect through realignment of political forces. This strategy relied on bringing the PPP closer to the MQM and the PML-Q for new permutation in which his inveterate foe Nawaz Sharif was to be isolated.

BRIEFLY

India, China vow to boost strategic ties 
Beijing: Seeking to build on the positive momentum in their relationship, India and China on Friday vowed to strengthen their strategic ties and keep their border peaceful while exploring ways to address the “difficult” bilateral issues. India also said it was ready to join hands with China to evolve a new flexible “security architecture” that will be “open” and “inclusive” to ensure peace and stability in Asia and beyond. In an address to the prestigious Peking University, Mukherjee said the two countries need to resolve the differences on boundary issue through negotiations in a “constructive and forward looking manner”. — PTI

Indian student attacked, robbed
Sydney: A 22-year-old Indian student was attacked, drugged and robbed while waiting for a bus in Melbourne today. Detective senior constable Mark Sontag said it is believed that someone approached Sam from behind and put something over his head that led to him losing his consciousness. “It’s extremely unusual, I’ve never seen this method used before in the execution of an armed robbery,” Sontag said. The next thing Sam remembers is waking up and finding his mobile phone and wallet missing. The wallet had cash and cards. Sam told reporters that he remembered smelling something and being very scared. — IANS

Rare Brazilian stamps sold above $2 million
NEW YORK: A rare Brazilian stamp series known as the “Pack Strip” has sold for $2,185,000 at a Manhattan auction of early South American postage stamps. The Siegel Auction Galleries says the 1843 series of "Bull's Eyes" stamps-considered the rarest among Brazilian collector stamps-was sold on Thursday to a buyer bidding by phone. It contains two 30-reis denomination stamps joined with one 60-reis. — AP

Drunken mother lets toddler take the wheel
WASINGTON: A patrol officer stopped a car for suspicious driving and found to his surprise that a drunken mother had let her one-year-old son take the wheel, the Ohio state police department said. Marya Green (29) of Goshen Township was arrested on Thursday night and found to have a 0.11 per cent blood alcohol level-well above the 0.08 per cent legal limit, the town’s police department spokeswoman Mandy Storer said. — AFP