FP: "A U.S. official who asked for anonymity said that the White House had not pulled the plug. Freeman, the source said, decided that the criticism was never going to go away, and that therefore he couldn't do the job. [...] By the time Freeman spoke with Blair Tuesday, it had become clear to both men that Freeman's presence at the NIC would engender sharp attacks on anything the intelligence community said, and that the credibility of the intelligence product would suffer, not be enhanced. Under the circumstances, Freeman felt that the best thing for the NIC and the country was to withdraw."

Posted by Laura at March 11, 2009 10:08 PM