The White House has also said that Ms. Rice relied on intelligence estimates that were provided to her.
But from the American standpoint, the timing could not have been worse, coming just two weeks after the release of a United States intelligence estimate that concluded that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003.
But as the Iraq momentum grew, Mr. Tenet approved a "national intelligence estimate" that described a fearsome set of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and programs to build more.
It called for plans to "identify the most exaggerated claims" by Bush administration officials about Iraq, and "to contrast them with the intelligence estimates that have since been declassified".
Prewar intelligence estimates that said Iraq actually possessed chemical and biological arsenals and was reconstituting its nuclear weapons program were cited by the Bush administration as the major rationale for war.
Last summer, Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee, including Bob Graham of Florida and Dick Durbin of Illinois, asked the C.I.A. to produce a national intelligence estimate that would review all of the major policy issues related to Iraq.
We simply do not know, and any intelligence estimate that would cause us to relax would be about as useful as the ones that missed his nuclear program in the early 1990's or failed to predict the Indian nuclear test in 1998 or to gain even a hint of the Sept. 11 attack.
Citing Monday's national intelligence estimate that established "beyond the shadow of a doubt" that since 2003 Iran has developed a massive arsenal of non-existent nuclear weapons, Bush said he had no option but declare immediate pre-emptive war on the obstinate regime in Tehran.
"We will contrast them with the intelligence estimates that have since been declassified". Democrats should "assiduously prepare" additional views to attach to the final report, which is now expected to be completed sometime next year.
The number of men at the base was judged enough to defend against intelligence estimates that placed the insurgent forces in the local area at only about 150 experienced fighters, though they did not know that attackers would be backed up by Al Qaeda and other guerrilla groups from neighboring regions as far away as Pakistan and Kashmir.
