[MJY1288]

Wilson never saw the document, that document wasn't even in our possession until several months after Wilson returned from Niger

[MJY1288]

To use Wilson's own admission... "It was a bit of literary flair"

[okie01]

President Bush spoke his "sixteen words" in his State of the Union address on January 28, 2003. You might be interested in what Amb. Joseph C. Wilson IV (ret.) had to say about Iraq on January 14.

Former Diplomat To Give Views On Possible War With Iraq at UCSB

Further, Wilson essentially repeated these remarks in an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times in February -- after the President's SOTU.

Quite a difference from his op-ed in the New York Times on July 8, huh...???

Could having been hired by the Kerry campaign in May have had anything to do with Wilson's one-eighty?

[Eagles6]

Good info. I have a stack of stuff that I give to folks when they say "NoWMDs!" "Bush Lied". This will add good weight.

[Howlin]

Granted that Mr Wilson was correct in saying that the document he saw was in fact a forgery.

The only time Joe Wilson could have possibly seen those documents was when they were being 'forged,' if you tend to go with that theory.

They were not in United States possession until 8 months at least AFTER he went to Niger.

[Wendy44]

I remembered reading this a long time ago, and finally found the link:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,81148,00.html

"The 25-member group, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, composed mostly of former CIA analysts along with a few operational agents, is urging employees inside the intelligence agency to break the law and leak any information they have that could show the Bush administration is engineering the release of evidence to match its penchant for war."

It was about that time we began seeing anonymous sources, i.e., the "ex-diplomat", a "former intelligence officer", etc., quoted in stories about cooked intelligence, forged papers, and missions at the behest of the Vice President.

When Rice, Cheney, and other officials denied seeing any such reports about forged documents, Wilson came out as the ex-diplomat and from that point on a bunch of indignant intelligence community people hailed him as a "whistleblower"--exactly as McGovern describes in the article.

There was a turning point after the SOTU address when Wilson began to call attention to the forgeries, even though he hadn't in interviews shortly afterward. I think this article is the turning point and marks about when the plan was hatched. I think that's why he gave completely contradictory interviews before and didn't dispute the SOTU 16 words until months later.

[Howlin]

The Bush Administration has never claimed that iraq purchased yellowcake uranium

Ding! Ding! Ding! Move to the head of the class.

[Shermy]

Wilson claims the first time he saw them is when Andrea Mitchell presented them to him after his famous article. He maintained he didn't read them then, or ever.

Well, why not? If a reporter had them, isn't he a tad bit curious? What explains his rigid answers and actions.

The reason is quite simple.

Valerie told him about the reports in early 2002, might have shown him the documents when acquired.

She's not supposed to discuss such things, or take home homework. Wilson has to keep that possibility out of question lest she lose her job.

[kcvl]

"I have a number of clients, and basically we help them with their sort of investments in countries like Niger," explains Wilson. "Niger was of some interest because it has some gold deposits coming onstream. We had some clients who were interested in gold.... We were looking to set up a gold-mine company out of London."

[GOPJ]

bump