Intelligence backs claim Iraq tried to buy uranium

Financial Times ^ | 27 June 2004 | Mark Huband

[NavySEAL F-16]

Illicit sales of uranium from Niger were being negotiated with five states including Iraq at least three years before the US-led invasion, senior European intelligence officials have told the Financial Times.

Intelligence officers learned between 1999 and 2001 that uranium smugglers planned to sell illicitly mined Nigerien uranium ore, or refined ore called yellow cake, to Iran, Libya, China, North Korea and Iraq.

These claims support the assertion made in the British government dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programme in September 2002 that Iraq had sought to buy uranium from an African country, confirmed later as Niger. George W. Bush, US president, referred to the issue in his State of the Union address in January 2003.

[Grampa Dave]

"It makes me so crazy that this is another "invisible" story totally ignored by the elite media."

Save it and blast their editors with emails and ask them why they are ignoring reality and printing Michael Moore fiction as news?

Also, send copies to your friends and relatives to insure that they get to see this.

[Atlantic Friend]

The article ends with something like "however, the European intelligence sources state that the smugglers were the ones looking for markets". Does that mean Iraq actively sought uranium, or was approached by the Nigerians ?

I can just picture tons of e-mail beginning with " I am the widow of a deceased Nigerian General. All you need to do is to give me your bank account number and I will be able to spirit away some large uranium deposit of which I will gladly give you 20%..."

[pttttt]

Interesting and no great surprise. Wonder why this is coming out now.

[Sacajaweau]

Joe Wilson said in one of his interviews...That he couldn't find any evidence that Iraq was looking to purchsase Yellow Cake through LEGAL Channels and if they were trying to obtain it, they would be doing it illegally.

By gosh, by golly.....In other words, his report was worthless...but I'm sure he enjoyed the tea and enhanced HIS PRIVATE BUSINESS courtesy of our tax dollars.