Mission to Niger

TownHall.com ^ | 7/14/03 | Robert Novak

[Burkeman1]

What is the time line? I don't know about Wilson. I know that very dubious info was put into the SOTU speech and that it is alleged that members of Bush's staff were made aware that this info was dubious by the CIA. Meanwhile British intel was assuring us that their intel was hard on the Niger story. I now know that a Clinton hold over- Tenent has taken the fall but hasn't really since it is still quite murkey who knew what when. Bush gets a pass on this I guess.

[piasa]

he was the acting Ambassador and was responsible for the negotiations that resulted in the release of several hundred American hostages. He was the last official American to meet with Saddam Hussein before the launching of ''Desert Storm.''

From one of his handy little bios...

One of the biggest reasons the hostages were released is because of the political backlash after Mr. Hussein had his picture taken while patting terrified hostage kids on the head... the scene didn't play any better in Paris than it did in Peoria.

Not to mention the guy the press originally credited with gaining their release was Jessie Jackson. People have been padding his resume with that too.

[Burkeman1]

Yes- I will agree to that.

[Mo1]

Good .. now read the text and read what the media prints .. they like to change words that make it not sound the same

Maureen Dowd would be proud at how many in the media are handling this .. it's right up her ally

[kattracks]

What is the time line? I don't know about Wilson.

But you are more than willing to blast President Bush while admitting not knowing about the timeline or Wilson.

I know that very dubious info was put into the SOTU speech and that it is alleged that members of Bush's staff were made aware that this info was dubious by the CIA.

Alleged by the very same man you admit you don't know about. Claims made by the Dems, who are basing their claims on what Wilson has said.

[PeaceBeWithYou]

What part of this was incorrect?

"The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."

Bear in mind that the Brits have intel other than the documentation about Niger that was proven false after the SOTU address.

How many countries in Africa have uranium besides Niger?

Would the government or the mining company officials tell Joe Wilson, a known employee of the US Government, that they had sold uranium to Saddam?

[William McKinley]

ping.

[William McKinley]

Yes, the story is Wilson, as it should be. Contrary to what Novak says here, he did not take a "measured" stance on Iraq- he was a vocal opponent who was hob-nobbing with the radical fringes. He had no qualifications for the mission, being a diplomat not a spook, having no expertise in detecting forged documents, not being a weapons expert, etc. He injected himself into the story by writing an op-ed five months after the SOTU. It is reasonable to want to explore his motivations and how such an unqualified person (why was his wife not tagged for the mission, for example--she was much more qualified for the job) was sent on a job that the Democrats seem to feel was so vital?

[Miss Marple]

Novak has missed some important points in this column, most particularly Wilson's anumus against the administration and his active work against the war.

I also find it interesting that Pincus wrote a story in the Washington Post, apparently from information he gleaned from either Wilson or his wife (my take on what Novak said, anyway). This means someone wanted this story to come out during the African trip.

Now, I ask myself this: how appropriate is it for the husband of one of the CIA's WMD people to be agitating against the war and writing op-ed pieces in the papers?

[Brilliant]

Why would anyone believe the CIA when it says that the uranium claim was false? The CIA has never been right before.

[kattracks]

I ask myself how much of Wilson's animus is shared by his wife.

[alnick]

I'd like to know who in the CIA thought that it was appropriate to send Wilson over there in the first place. That person should be fired.

[HateBill]

Novak has missed some important points in this column, most particularly Wilson's anumus against the administration and his active work against the war.

Novak shared Wilson's views against the war and perhaps that is why he "missed some important points."

[gov_bean_ counter]

I want to know who in the CIA is leaking worse than Janet Reno's depends.

[Miss Marple]

I believe we can point a suspicious finger at Wilson's wife.

[Mr. Bird]

Wilson made an oral report in Langley that an Iraqi uranium purchase was "highly unlikely,

Regardless of timelines, or who knew what about Wilson and his report, there has never been a statement by Bush or any administration source that said Iraq had purchased or obtained in some other fashion uranium, from Niger or any other locale. The record shows that the statement(s) in question all profess the exact same idea: at some point, Iraq sought to obtain uranium. Their success, or lack thereof, in doing so is not pertinent now and it wasn't then.

If a killer is searching for a weapon to murder you, yet is encountering difficulty finding one, it doesn't make him any less dangerous.

[AmericanVictory]

The story is front page in today's Washington Times. We can't find it posted on FR. It makes you wonder about all the coziness between the Clintons and Chirac. Just another coincidence, no doubt.

[AmericanVictory]

Where is the thread? We can't find it, and consider it truly important because of the close relationship and substantial communications between Chirac and the Clintons.

[AmericanVictory]

Novak has consistently against the Iraq War.

[nopardons]

It's calleds : The French Secret Service kept the CIA and the USA in the dark about uranium . I'll ping you to it, if you can't find it.