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5.) Wilson Has Claimed His 1999 Trip To Niger Was Not Suggested By His Wife:

Wilson Claims CIA Thought To Ask Him To Make Trip Because He Had Previously Made Trip For Them In 1999, Not Because Of His Wife’s Suggestion. CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: “Who first raised your name, then, based on what you know? Who came up with the idea to send you there?” Joe Wilson: “The CIA knew my name from a trip, and it’s in the report, that I had taken in 1999 related to uranium activities but not related to Iraq. I had served for 23 years in government including as Bill Clinton’s Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council. I had done a lot of work with the Niger government during a period punctuated by a military coup and a subsequent assassination of a president. So I knew all the people there.” (CNN’s “Late Edition,” 7/18/04)

In Fact, His Wife Suggested Him For 1999 Trip, As Well. “The former ambassador had traveled previously to Niger on the CIA’s behalf … The former ambassador was selected for the 1999 trip after his wife mentioned to her supervisors that her husband was planning a business trip to Niger in the near future and might be willing to use his contacts in the region …” (Select Committee On Intelligence, “Report On The U.S. Intelligence Community’s Prewar Intelligence Assessments On Iraq,” U.S. Senate, 7/7/04)

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I'm a bit skeptical about his claims that he knew all these people in Niger. In his book, he makes it sound like all he needed to do was show up in Niger and within hours the word would get out that the boys were back in town and all these old buddies of his would be lined up at his door, eager to meet him, hoist a few drinks, and talk about old times, pretty girls, and uranium. But he had only visited there once or twice in 1999, and apart from that hadn't been there in many years. So I'm thinking he's making himself out as more of an old Niger hand than he really was, in order to sell the idea that he was a logical choice for the trip, and possibly also to help explain how he could have pulled off this in-depth investigation in such a short time.

In his book, he talks about how there are only two flights a week to the Niger capital, about 10 hours apart, and that 10 hours was too short for his investigation, but eight days was way more than he needed, but he was forced to stay for the whole eight days. So, again, I am suspicious. He talks about dinner parties and checking out the natural wonders, and he had some business discussions, and I'm thinking there's not enough time even in eight days for a solid investigation, but he's saying the investigation could be done in a couple of days, leaving time for schmoozing and dinner parties and sightseeing. And why should anyone talk to him, or admit illegal activities, in the first place? And did he give the CIA any notes about his investigation, and name the "dozens" of people he interviewed?