“The small circle of senior civilians in the Defense Department who dominated planning for postwar Iraq failed to prepare for the setbacks that have erupted during the past two months, according to interviews with more than a dozen current and former senior government officials. The sources explained that there were no real postwar plans because […]
7/12/2003
Regarding the Iraq/Niger uranium issue, White House Spokesman Ari Fleischer said, in a briefing on July 12, 2003: ” ‘The President [Bush] sees this as much ado, that it’s beside the point of the central threat that Saddam Hussein presented. …Yes, the President has moved on. And I think, frankly, much of the country has […]
7/12/2003
On July 12, 2003, “The Washington Post and other newspapers received the latest column from Robert Novak …’[Former Ambassador Joe] Wilson never worked for the CIA, but his wife, Valerie Plame, is an agency operative on weapons of mass destruction. Two senior administration officials told me that Wilson’s wife suggested sending him to Niger to […]
7/12/2003
“By the end of the week [July 12, 2003], [presidential Advisor Karl] Rove had discussed [former Ambassador Joe] Wilson’s wife [Valerie Plame] with two reporters ([Robert] Novak and [Matt] Cooper). [Vice presidential Chief of Staff Scooter] Libby had also done so with two reporters (Cooper and [Judith] Miller). And [Deputy Secretary of State Richard] Armitage […]
7/12/2003
On July 12, 2003, White House Press Secretary Ari “Fleischer spoke to reporters at the National Hospital in Abuja, Nigeria, and pronounced the Niger matter [of allegedly selling uranium to Iraq] closed. ‘The president [Bush] has moved on,’ he said.” – Michael Isikoff and David Corn, Hubris, Page 276 […]
7/11/2003
On July 11, 2003, “President Bush and the national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, told reporters traveling with the president in Africa that the CIA had approved the language in the [January 28, 2003] State of the Union address [which claimed Iraq sought to purchase uranium from Niger]. ‘I gave a speech to the nation that […]
7/11/2003
“On July 11, 2003, [CIA Director George] Tenet released a statement in which he sought to explain how the ‘sixteen words’ [about Iraq attempting to purchase uranium from Niger] had ended up in the State of the Union speech [by President Bush on January 28, 2003]. ‘First, CIA approved the President’s State of the Union […]
7/11/2003
President Bush’s January 28, 2003, State of the Union address made claims of Iraq buying yellowcake uranium from Niger, which had already been unsubstantiated by the CIA. “A new firestorm ignited and the question quickly arose over who put the faulty assertion in the speech.” CIA Director George Tenet and Deputy National Security Advisor Stephen […]
7/11/2003
On July 11, 2003, CIA Director George Tenet made a statement “in which he said that the ‘sixteen words [about Iraq agreeing to purchase uranium from Niger] should never have been included’ in [President] Bush’s [January 28, 2003, State of the Union] speech, and that the ‘CIA should have ensured’ they were removed in the […]
7/11/2003
On July 11, 2003, “the White House and the CIA accepted joint responsibility for the [misinformation in the January 28, 2003] State of the Union address, with [CIA Director George] Tenet saying, ‘These 16 words [suggesting Iraq attempted to obtain uranium from Africa] should never have been included in the text written for the President […]