White House admits Bush wrong about Iraqi nukes

Capitol Hill Blue ^ | July 8, 2003

[leftiesareloonie]

After weeks of denial, the White House Monday finally admitted President Bush lied in his January State of the Union Address when he claimed Iraq had sought significant quantities of uranium in Africa.

The acknowledgment came as a British parliamentary commission questioned the reliability of British intelligence about Saddam Hussein's efforts to obtain weapons of mass destruction in the run-up to the war in Iraq.

Bush said in his State of the Union address that the British government had learned that Saddam recently sought significant quantities of uranium in Africa.

The president's statement was incorrect because it was based on forged documents from the African nation of Niger, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer acknowledged.

An intelligence consultant who was present at two White House briefings where the uranium report was discussed confirmed that the President was told the intelligence was questionable and that his national security advisors urged him not to include the claim in his State of the Union address.

"The report had already been discredited," said Terrance J. Wilkinson, a CIA advisor present at two White House briefings. "This point was clearly made when the President was in the room during at least two of the briefings."

Bush's response was anger, Wilkinson said.

"He said that if the current operatives working for the CIA couldn't prove the story was true, then the agency had better find some who could," Wilkinson said. "He said he knew the story was true and so would the world after American troops secured the country." 

[My2Cents]

Sadly, from their perspective, no one reads "Capitol Hill Blue."

[Psycho_Bunny]

Um....I don't see a "lie" here.

This article is pure spin.

[dirtboy]

I agree. This could be Bush's Watergate. Seriously.

I seriously doubt that.

And Capitol Hill Blue is a reputable mag.

Yeah, they start out an article with this claim:

After weeks of denial, the White House Monday finally admitted President Bush lied

When this is what actually happened:

The president's statement was incorrect because it was based on forged documents from the African nation of Niger, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer acknowledged.

A reputable mag does not spin the story in the very first paragraph.

[sinkspur]

And Capitol Hill Blue is a reputable mag.

You're kidding, right?

Doug Thompson hates George W. Bush's guts.

The word "lie" above is itself a lie, since George Bush believed the information he had received was true.

[Rodney King]

Is this a reliable source? The troubling thing is that Wilkinson, whoever he is, goes on the record claiming to have been present at briefings where Bush basically say to hell with the evidence, I'm going with my gut. I hope for Bush's sake and the GOP's sake this guy Wilkinson is not credible. If he is, and if others back him up, then Bush is probably a very deep trouble.

Here's what I don't get: If you sit in on top secret natinal security meetings, are you really allowed to just go out and blab about them to the press?

[leftiesareloonie]

The only thing that gives one pause is the fact that there is a NAMED source who claims to have been AT PRESIDENTIAL BRIEFINGS.

That shouldn't be too hard to confirm or disconfirm.

I once heard Ellsworth on some show lamenting the fact that they weren't any "courageous insiders" as he called them will to "tell the truth that could only be told from the inside." Maybe this guy thinks he's an Ellsworth.

Maybe he's just a kook. Anybody ever heard anything about him?

[Guillermo]

I want to see the exact quote where the WH said "Bush lied".

In the SOTU address, Bush mentioned a British report about uranium. Where is the lie? Did the Brits not publish a report about Iraq trying to obtain uranium from Niger?

[Cyber Liberty]

Your check is in the mail. Really.

[My2Cents]

The buried cylotron and the plans to build a uranium-enrichment apparatus are proof enough that Saddam was interested in developing nukes, was hiding evidence from the inspectors, and was willing to wait-out the world.

[tdadams]

Do you read previous posts (as in #19) before you post?

[dead]

Capitol Hill Blue is fun to read, but so are Marvel Comics.

[onyx]

It's 'here-we-go-again' time!

Bush didn't "LIE" --- he stated 'facts' that he was assured were true at the time. Only of late, has the original 'top-secret' info been shown to be falsified.

Sheeeeeeeesh. Some people, (even here) act like salivating democrats lying in wait to "get" POTUS.

[dirtboy]

Doug Thompson hates George W. Bush's guts.

I believe that Doug sold CHB a few months ago. Looks like it's gone even further downhill since then.

[mict42]

Bush did not Lie!!! He repeated false information from British Intelligence. That is not lying. Get it straight guys and gals.

[sinkspur]

Do you read previous posts (as in #19) before you post?

How many do I have to read before I can respond?

Lighten up, td. It's no big deal.

[dirtboy]

Do you read previous posts (as in #19) before you post?

Do you check the time stamp of posts before you make such a demand?

[Spidey]

C'mon! Think about it.

The title of this piece is a lie in itself.

Did Thompson provide a quote from the White House saying Bush lied? No, of course not. Why? Because there wasn't one.

CHB is well known for it's leftie leanings.

But in his favor, at least he does provide a name this time, most of his stories cite "unnamed sources" just like the NY Slimes.

[OldFriend]

The named source is claiming that he deduced the claim was false. He had no concrete evidence or information.

Better to asssume the worst than pretend we're safe. Didn't 9/11 prove the falsity of that hope.

[Protagoras]

It depends on the what the meaning of is is.

[dirtboy]

Capitol Hill Blue Sold

From the article:

"We intend to use Blue as a test bed for new techniques and concepts for web journalism," Lowrey said.

New techniques and concepts? Salon tried this kind of nonsense already and look where it got them.