I wish to point out that Pres. Bush said, "Africa" not Niger in his speech. I keep seeing that mistake repeatedly. It is an inaccurate quote when Niger is used.
Bush's 2003 State of the Union Address
snip
The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.
Our intelligence sources tell us that he has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production.
Saddam Hussein has not credibly explained these activities. He clearly has much to hide.
The dictator of Iraq is not disarming. To the contrary, he is deceiving.
From intelligence sources, we know, for instance, that thousands of Iraqi security personnel are at work hiding documents and materials from the U.N. inspectors, sanitizing inspection sites and monitoring the inspectors themselves.
http://tinyurl.com/51hb