"The White House had embraced a British report that Iraq had purchased 500 tons of uranium from the African nation of Niger, allegedly to restart its nuclear weapons program."
No, the British claimed that Iraq had shown an interest in buying uranium, that's all that Bush put forth.
Facts are dangerous things.
Correct. Tenet, intentionally or unintentionally, compounded the problem with his July 11, 2003 Press release that was intended to "counter" Wilson's NYT article.
Tenet referred to the statement in the STOTU address by stating that, "These 16 words should never have been included in the text written for the President." "The background above makes it even more troubling that the 16 words eventually made it into the State of the Union speech. This was a mistake."
The President was factually correct and the British to this day stand behind their assessment. Tenet had no business questioning whether the statement should have been left in the address. He tried to nuance the issue by saying,
"Some of the language was changed. From what we know now, Agency officials in the end concurred that the text in the speech was factually correct - i.e. that the British government report said that Iraq sought uranium from Africa. This should not have been the test for clearing a Presidential address. This did not rise to the level of certainty which should be required for Presidential speeches, and should have ensured that it was removed.
I don't know if Bush cleared this press release, but it was a mistake. Tenet, a long time Dem staffer, may have set a trap for Bush.