July 14, 2003

France denies being behind false intelligence on Iraq nuclear claim

France Monday denied being a source of intelligence on claims that Iraq had sought to buy uranium from the African state of Niger, as reported by the British newspaper the Financial Times.

"Contrary to the insinuations which appeared in the British press, France is not behind the intelligence published in the British dossier dated September 24, 2002 and relative to the nuclear program of Iraq," the French foreign ministry said in a statement.

The Financial Times on Monday fingered both Italian and French intelligence services as being the likely sources of information that the regime of deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had tried to buy uranium from Niger.

Italy has already denied being behind the intelligence.

The information -- which US intelligence has failed to corroborate -- was used to bolster US President George W. Bush's justification for going to war against Iraq, when he included it in his State of the Union speech in January.

Britain continues to stand by the intelligence.

Not only do they continue to stand behind it, but check this out:
Blair to blame France for Niger uranium row

TONY Blair is preparing a face-saving compromise with the United States in an attempt to heal the rift over whether Saddam Hussein was trying to buy uranium from Niger.

France is expected to be blamed for the split between the CIA and MI6 - on the grounds that Paris intelligence agencies shared hard evidence with Britain, but refused to show it to the US.[And then, the Frogs turned around and told Saddam to get rid of any evidence in Iraq!--Jen]

As Britain is forbidden from passing on this intelligence, it will be argued, the UK can be sure about the Niger connection - even though the CIA says there is not enough evidence to substantiate the claim.

Aides to both the Prime Minister and George Bush, the US president, are anxious to draw a line under the dispute before Thursday, when Mr Blair is due to address a joint session of the US Congress. [I didn't know that Tone was coming for a visit!--Jen]
[...]

A White House spokesman said Washington is not denying Britain’s claim about the Niger connection, merely saying that the CIA does not have enough evidence to corroborate it.
[Which I'm sure is something our senior officials always like to do here in the honest U.S.A.!]

"The president said that Iraq was seeking uranium in Africa. That still may be absolute fact," said Ari Fleischer in his last day as White House spokesman, adding. "This revisionist notion that somehow this is now the core of why we went to war or a fundamental underpinning of the president’s decisions is a bunch of bull."
[Gosh, am I going to miss Ari!]

George Tenet, the head of the CIA, has publicly apologised for allowing Niger to be mentioned even with this caveat - a sign that, even now, the US does not believe Britain’s assertion.[Hmm. I'm not sure where the British or The Scotsman writer are getting this impression!--J.T.]

Mr Bush also defended his decision to mention the Niger connection - on the caveat that he was citing British intelligence.

"When I gave the speech the [Niger] line was relevant," he said.

He acknowledged that the CIA has since admitted that some documents about Niger had been forged.

Mr Bush yesterday defended the quality of intelligence he receives as "darn good" and said he remained convinced that Saddam was attempting to develop a weapons programme that threatened the world.

"Our country made the right decision," Mr Bush said.

"I think I get darn good intelligence and the speeches I have given are backed by good intelligence."

The United Nations nuclear watchdog was last night said to believe that Britain’s evidence on Iraq trying to import uranium from Africa is all based on the forged documents - not from French intelligence.

A diplomat in Vienna said in the UN’s many dealings with London during its weapon-hunt earlier this year, it saw nothing which has not now been proven to be untrue.

IOW, we're talking about the very fine MI6 British intel service, right?
I think the French set us all up with this dodgy intel--America, Britain, Bush and Blair--so that just this kind of Liberal sh-tstorm would result.
Damn them.
After reading Saddam's Bombmaker by Dr. Hamir Hamza, I became convinced that Saddam had been trying to buy nukes for 3 decades from Africa, Europe, Asia...everywhere and anywhere he thought would sell them to Baathist Iraq.
All of the Left seems to be forgetting that Saddam had already successfully built the Osirak nuclear reactor in 1981, which the Israeli Air Force was forced to bomb for Israel's security!
What would keep Saddam from replacing it with a better one that could make nuclear weapons in the more than 20 years that have passed since then?
The Dims and the Liberal Left live in a sick dream world where Bush "can't be trusted" and Klintoon could!
Only a group of folks who love to parse and debate the meaning of the word "is" could take a 16-word sentence of President Bush's and try and inflame the nation with it for days!