http://www.startribune.com/stories/1762/3982121.html

CIA wanted British to drop uranium reference


Published July 11, 2003 IBOK11


In September 2002, the CIA tried unsuccessfully to persuade the British
government to drop from an official intelligence paper a reference to Iraqi
attempts to buy uranium in Africa that President Bush included in his State
of the Union address four months later, senior administration officials said
Thursday.

The British government rejected the suggestion, saying it had separate
intelligence that had not been made available to the United States.

At the time, the CIA was completing its own classified national intelligence
estimate on Iraq's chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs.
Although the CIA paper mentioned alleged Iraqi attempts to buy uranium from
three African countries, it warned that State Department analysts were
questioning its accuracy when it came to Niger and that CIA personnel
considered reports on other African countries to be "sketchy," a senior
administration official said.

The latest disclosures further illustrate the lack of confidence expressed
by the U.S. intelligence community in the months leading up to Bush's speech
about allegations of Iraqi efforts to buy uranium in Africa. Even so, Bush
used the charge -- citing British intelligence as its source -- in the Jan.
28 address as part of his effort to convince Congress and the American
people that Iraq had an ongoing program to build weapons of mass destruction
and posed a serious threat to the United States.

At a news conference in Botswana, Secretary of State Colin Powell defended
the president's use of the intelligence. "There was no effort or attempt on
the part of the president or anyone else in the administration to mislead or
to deceive the American people," he said.

Washington Post

WMD doubts

Senior officials in Prime Minister Tony Blair's government say privately
that they no longer believe that unconventional weapons will be uncovered in
Iraq, British news organizations reported.

Correspondents from the BBC and Reuters who cover 10 Downing Street said
unidentified officials contend that the weapons had existed but that they
were dismantled or hidden beyond discovery before allied troops entered Iraq
in March.

Blair's official spokesman refuted the reports and turned aside suggestions
that the government was backing off from its previous insistence that the
threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction justified going to war.
The failure to discover the weapons has undermined Blair's credibility,
dented his public support and turned a majority of Britons against a war
they once supported.

New York Times



--
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FAIR USE NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which
has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I am
making such material available in an effort to advance understanding of
environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and
social justice issues, etc. I believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any
such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107

"If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so
long as I'm the dictator." - GW Bush 12/18/2000.

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that
we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic
and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
---Theodore Roosevelt

"Feels Good!"
---George W. Bush on the Brink of Declaring War on Iraq.

The CIA did object to Bush making the claim . . . unless he attributed
the intelligence to the British (which he did). The only problem: the
British report was based on the CIA's intelligence.

Either way it was a conscious deception.

Now the administration has pressured Tenet into taking responsibility.
How craven can Bush be? Just think of the smart action: if Bush said,
"As president I take full responsibility for what goes on in my
administration. This statement was bogus and it should never have been
uttered. I will make sure nothing like this ever happens again. I'm
sorry for allowing such a thing to happen," he would be seen as a leader
rather than a person led. He might as well have just said, "well, I
said what they said I could say."

His blaming of others and his refusal to take responsibility only gives
credence to the accusation that he knowingly tried to mislead the
American people and the Congress (especially since it is a fact that the
CIA, the State Dept., and the NSA knew the info was incorrect before the
State of the Union address).


Gandalf Grey wrote:
>
> http://www.startribune.com/stories/1762/3982121.html
>
> CIA wanted British to drop uranium reference
>
> Published July 11, 2003 IBOK11
>
> In September 2002, the CIA tried unsuccessfully to persuade the British
> government to drop from an official intelligence paper a reference to Iraqi
> attempts to buy uranium in Africa that President Bush included in his State
> of the Union address four months later, senior administration officials said
> Thursday.
>
> The British government rejected the suggestion, saying it had separate
> intelligence that had not been made available to the United States.
>
> At the time, the CIA was completing its own classified national intelligence
> estimate on Iraq's chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs.
> Although the CIA paper mentioned alleged Iraqi attempts to buy uranium from
> three African countries, it warned that State Department analysts were
> questioning its accuracy when it came to Niger and that CIA personnel
> considered reports on other African countries to be "sketchy," a senior
> administration official said.
>
> The latest disclosures further illustrate the lack of confidence expressed
> by the U.S. intelligence community in the months leading up to Bush's speech
> about allegations of Iraqi efforts to buy uranium in Africa. Even so, Bush
> used the charge -- citing British intelligence as its source -- in the Jan.
> 28 address as part of his effort to convince Congress and the American
> people that Iraq had an ongoing program to build weapons of mass destruction
> and posed a serious threat to the United States.
>
> At a news conference in Botswana, Secretary of State Colin Powell defended
> the president's use of the intelligence. "There was no effort or attempt on
> the part of the president or anyone else in the administration to mislead or
> to deceive the American people," he said.
>
> Washington Post
>
> WMD doubts
>
> Senior officials in Prime Minister Tony Blair's government say privately
> that they no longer believe that unconventional weapons will be uncovered in
> Iraq, British news organizations reported.
>
> Correspondents from the BBC and Reuters who cover 10 Downing Street said
> unidentified officials contend that the weapons had existed but that they
> were dismantled or hidden beyond discovery before allied troops entered Iraq
> in March.
>
> Blair's official spokesman refuted the reports and turned aside suggestions
> that the government was backing off from its previous insistence that the
> threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction justified going to war.
> The failure to discover the weapons has undermined Blair's credibility,
> dented his public support and turned a majority of Britons against a war
> they once supported.
>
> New York Times
>
> --
> --
> FAIR USE NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which
> has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I am
> making such material available in an effort to advance understanding of
> environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and
> social justice issues, etc. I believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any
> such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
> Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107
>
> "If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so
> long as I'm the dictator." - GW Bush 12/18/2000.
>
> "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that
> we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic
> and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
> ---Theodore Roosevelt
>
> "Feels Good!"
> ---George W. Bush on the Brink of Declaring War on Iraq.