The British Government is now confirming that Saddam Hussein did try to buy uranium from Niger. The evidence for the British claim used in Bush’s 2003 State of the Union address was completely unrelated to a group of forged documents making the same assertion.
The Financial Times revealed last week that a key part of the UK’s intelligence on the uranium came from a European intelligence service that undertook a three-year surveillance of an alleged clandestine uranium-smuggling operation of which Iraq was a part.
Intelligence officials have now confirmed that the results of this operation formed an important part of the conclusions of British intelligence. The same information was passed to the US but US officials did not incorporate it in their assessment.
So, everyone who said that Bush "lied" about Iraq and African uranium can now official begin eating their crow. And Ambassador Wilson has proven himself once again to be a completely incompenent publicity-seeker whose mission to Niger was a waste of taxpayer dollars. Since he’s made so much money off his book deal, how about reimbursing the government for the money he frittered away drinking sweet tea and doing absolutely no investigation?
Gregory Djerejian wonders who will be the first to admit that Wilson was wrong?
Again, the mainstream media is AWOL on the story…
Intelligence officials have now confirmed that the results of this operation formed an important part of the conclusions of British intelligence. The same information was passed to the US but US officials did not incorporate it in their assessment.
If the US has the report, why didn’t they use it in the first place?
This all seems very specious. If the report they’re talking about was genuine, and it was geuinely handed to the US but ignored, even when the uranium claim blew up in Bush’s face, this doesn’t vindicate Bush – it proves his adminstration are idiots.
Probably the reason that this is being “ignored by the US media” is because the story simply doesn’t have any legs.
Of course, now that The Washington Post has already picked up the story and admitted that Wilson was a liar, the spin on this issue is becoming even more desperate than it was before…
I’m still awaiting your rebuttal, Jay.