TEAM B

The conservatives have a history of doubting the analyses of the US intelligence community and coming up with their own interpretations. In 1976, George Bush, then head of the CIA, appointed a team of outside experts to review the intelligence on Soviet intentions. Known as Team B, it was headed by Prof. Richard Pipes and Paul Wolfowitz was one of the team's members. Team B offered a more dire analysis of Soviet intentions.

In the mid-90s, the GOP Congress set up a special commission to study the threat of ballistic missiles to the US. The commission was headed by Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz was a member. The commission offered a more dire analysis of the threat from ballistic missiles.

In 2001, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz set up his own Team B in the Pentagon to analyze the threat from Iraq. Known to the public as the Office of Special Plans (OSP) and headed by Abram Shulsky, an old friend of Wolfowitz, OSP offered a more dire analysis of the threat from Saddam.

The pattern is unmistakable and unfortunate.

SOURCE: The Rise of the Vulcans, pp. 73-75, hardcover edition.