A cable classified "secret" went out from CIA headquarters to the White House Situation Room in March 2002 reporting on a visit to the African country of Niger by a retired diplomat on a special mission for the CIA. The envoy, whose name has not been disclosed, was investigating allied intelligence reports that Iraq had tried to buy uranium ore from that country. His account said Iraq had sought closer economic ties with Niger but had not discussed a uranium sale.
The original intelligence reports were based on documents that were shown after Bush's speech to be crude forgeries. But at the time, they raised alarms in the Bush administration that Iraq was acquiring the ingredients for a nuclear weapon. In his January speech, Bush cited British accounts of Iraq's attempt to buy uranium among other tell-tale signs and said that "Saddam Hussein has not credibly explained these activities. He clearly has much to hide."
The Washington Post reported Thursday that the CIA report on the envoy's trip lacked details that would have warned the White House that the uranium-buying allegations were suspect. This failure, the article suggested, may have helped lead Bush to repeat the allegations long after U.S. intelligence had determined that they were groundless.
I wonder if that retired diplomat was Joseph "Mr. Africa" Wilson?