In a dispute with serious political repercussions for Tony Blair and George Bush, the CIA and MI6 have made it clear that they do not believe each other's intelligence, notably about a claim that Iraq was trying to obtain uranium from the west African state of Niger for nuclear weapons.
Documents claiming that Iraq was seeking uranium from Niger have turned out to be forgeries. But British intelligence sources said yesterday that MI6 had separate information to back the claim. MI6 was provided the information by a third party which insisted neither the source nor the intelligence could be passed on.
(This, by the way, was the British intelligence that Bush "learned" of in the 16 words -- unseen and unsourced; faith-based.)
In a further indication of Whitehall distancing itself from Washington, a British official said yesterday that even if the CIA had been provided with all the information available to British intelligence, "it may not have come to the same conclusion as us".
Britain's intelligence agencies are angry about America's treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, not least because of unfavourable impact on the Arab world and Muslim opinion in Britain. They were also angered by persistent and unfounded attempts by the US to link al-Qaida to Saddam Hussein. Officials are also dismayed by the way in which the dispute over Iraq's banned weapons has put them and the government in the spotlight.
They are even more alarmed about how the CIA is fuelling the unwelcome debate.
Pass the popcorn.