dubious meets credulous

His nom de guerre was Curveball, but it could have been Nutball.

Curveball's German handlers for the past six years said his information was often vague, mostly secondhand and impossible to confirm. "This was not substantial evidence," a senior German intelligence official said. "We made clear we could not verify the things he said."

The German authorities, speaking about the case for the first time, also said that their informant had emotional and mental problems. "He is not a ... psychologically stable guy," said a BND official who supervised the case. "He is not a completely normal person," a BND analyst agreed.

Perhaps it's time Bush pulled a Monty Burns. "Ooh, the Germans are mad at me. I'm so scared! Oooh, the Germans!"