Undersecretary of Defense for Policy staff member Christina Shelton uncovered a CIA assessment relating to the activities of the Iraqi intelligence service, which included reports (dating back to 1996) of links between al Qaida and Iraq. When she asked why this information was not included in new intelligence assessments, “One official told her that citing these reports of Iraq-al Qaida connections ‘would be playing into the hands of people like [Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul] Wolfowitz.’ Shelton considered this a disturbingly unprofessional comment and promptly wrote a memo recounting the exchange. Officials in my [Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith’s] office later provided that memo [dated January 16, 2007] to the Senate Intelligence Committee, and to other congressional committees that requested our documents on pre-Iraq-war intelligence.”
– Douglas Feith, War and Decision, Pages 264-265