Sounds like a CYA ploy, as there is also this:
According to Lawrence Wilkerson, a close aide to Powell at the time, the BND "did not just send their information about Curveball as a chance operation. It was carefully considered what they sent to us, each and every word was weighed very carefully." He continues: "I can’t exclude the Germans completely here from their share of guilt."
Wilkerson is not alone in pointing the finger at Germany. The former US weapons inspector in Iraq David Kay is clear in his criticism of the way the BND handled "Curveball." He says the BND did not make "all the appropriate efforts to validate the source." He also says that, by rejecting CIA requests to be allowed to question "Curveball" directly, German intelligence prevented others from taking over the job of evaluation. "That was dishonest, unprofessional and irresponsible," Kay says.
In 2004, the CIA officially classified "Curveball" as a "fabricator" -- secret service lingo for liar. The BND, however, has never officially admitted to having been taken in by a fraud. The spy agency still provides cover for "Curveball" and even today refuses to answer questions about their source -- due to “fundamental considerations." Instead, the government refers to a letter sent to then-CIA head George Tenet by then-BND President August Hanning on Dec. 20, 2002. The information provided by "Curveball," Hanning wrote, "was in essence judged as plausible and convincing, but it couldn't be confirmed."
From:
http://www.spiegel.de/...ilures-a-542708.html And this from June 2003:
Hanning warned against jumping to conclusions about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq -- still not discovered three months after Saddam's overthrow -- noting that the necessary materials for chemical weapons were imported before the war. "These chemicals have still not been found. We are still asking ourselves where these substances are. Before the war there were loads of facts that made us suspicious. This suspicion continues up until today," he said.
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Taco cat spelled backwards is....taco cat.