Robert Bidinotto has an interesting article up discussing the admission in the Washington Post that their reporting on the matter of former CIA agent Valerie Plame and former US ambassador Joe Wilson was completely wrong.
Buried in this editorial is the fact with the most far-reaching implications: that Joe Wilson falsely claimed that he had “debunked” White House charges that Saddam had been trying to buy uranium in Niger. It turns out that Saddam had been trying to buy uranium, so that Iraq could build nuclear weapons.
Thus, it turns out that the White House stands vindicated on one of its key arguments for going to war against Saddam: that this thug and his regime were actively pursuing a WMD program. So…where are all the headlines about this? Except for this editorial admission by the Post (which implies that the newspaper had been taken in, rather than played a key roll in disseminating the lies), where are the media mea culpas, retractions, and apologies for many months of false, anti-Bush “conspiracy” stories? Don’t hold your breath.
I must confess when I quickly zipped through the specific WaPo article mentioned earlier today, I paid more attention to the Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson aspects of this saga and not really pick up on what I now realise was the ‘bombshell’ aspect to all of this: it seems that Saddam really was shopping for uranium in Niger.
Interesting.
It would be unsurprising if he had been shopping for all sorts of strange things after that very weird supergun affair. Indeed some of the supergun bits seem to have come under suspicion of being nuclear engineering bits at one point.
What’s the actual evidence, though? We aren’t told.
It is entirely possible both that Saddam was in fact seeking uranium supplies in the Sudan and that the evidence offered at the time that he was so doing was, er, enhanced. Neither would have a great deal of bearing on the war itself, since (1) the player (leaving aside apocalyptic prophets like Richard Perle) keenest to have people believe Iraq had useable stocks of N/B/C weapons appears to have been the Iraqi government itself, and (2) having uranium is an awful long way from having a bomb.
Sorry. For “Sudan” read “Niger”. Sudan/Saddam… it’s all very confusing.
Hang on a minute. I think Bidinotto is making a logical leap-of-faith by deciding that
simply because Wilson was lying about debunking charges that the Iraqis were hunting for uranium in Niger. That makes Wilson a liar, but it doesn’t conclusively make the charges correct. Certainly, in light of this development, a new investigation needs to be launched that will seek to determine whether the Iraqis attempted to procure uranium.
No, it really isn’t. A nuclear weapon is 1940’s technology and moreover the claims being made were that the Baathists had a nuclear programme, which it would seem they did.
The fact that Wilson was less than truthful in his public statements about both his report and CIA’s assessment of it is old news. It was documented in the “Report On The U.S. Intelligence Community’s Prewar Intelligence Assessments On Iraq” in 2004. Relevant section here.
I would be very surprised if Saddam was not actively seeking to acquire stuff to make WMDs. There is no doubt that the peacenik lobby has tried overly hard to make out that Saddam was harmless and had no WMD programme of note. The truth is that pretty much all the scumbag Baathist regimes of the region, such as Syria and Iraq, have form in this area.
“What’s the actual evidence, though? We aren’t told”
It is in official Wilson report, hehe. His newspaper article said the contrary.
As I recall, the concern of Uranium shopping was quickly backed up by European Intelligence services. Then the hapless media types tryed to portray that the release of this info by Bush adminstration was a big goof that would further alienate our allies. When this flopped, Media Whore Joe Wilson then alleged in an interview that Bush administration leaked identity of his secret agent wife. This was the meme that was ageed on by left wing kooks … er well democrat party and there media boosters. Now the whole party is ending and 90% of Americans who make this place work never cared anyway,
…… except that why would such a dishy woman marry such a fat corpulent old man.
Of course the wife was not a “secret agent” (that was just more media spin) the lady was C.I.A. (thousands of people work for the C.I.A.) but that does not make her Jane Bond.
If Fox was as good as it should be, such things as the fact that Saddam was after uranium would be all over the news.
It would be a good “liberal lies of the media” story (the defence of the “Schools of Journalism” is pathetic – “we do not bar Republicans from the teaching staff”, yes ONE Republican in the Harvard school, ONE at the Columbia school…., and “we leave our politics outside the class room” – pull the other one, it is has got bells on).
As for Saddam – of course he was after nukes.
The Israeli’s blow up one of his efforts way back in 1981.
It will be harder to deal with Iran – as their plants are scattered about and often well protected.
Those mininukes that Donald Rumsfeld wanted would help deal with the underground plants – but he was denied them.
Perhaps a full nuclear attack will have to be launched against Iranian nuclear bases – but the P.R. consequences of such an attack would be terrible (particularly in the Islamic world).
But if the other choice is New York and Washington D.C. (and London) going “boom”……….
Sadly Mr Khan of Pakistan has sold atomic technology to anyone who wanted it.
The tools are out there, the best way to use them is now well known, so it is just a matter of the raw material.
Most likely (with all the North Korean, Iranian, former Soviet Union…… stuff) atomic terrorism is inevitable – but the government can not be blamed for trying to stop it.
People with resources should consider not living or having assets in cities of great political importance.
Hitchens has been all over this story of Iraq ACTUALLY shopping for Uranium in Niger.
http://www.slate.com/id/2139609/
http://www.slate.com/id/2148555/?nav=navoa
And do follow his links………
He’s reasonably handsome for a middle age pudge. They probably married younger when they were both more attractive.
She’s showing some age on her face, too.
I think it’s sweet when aging people getting uglier stay together rather than dispose of their formerly beautiful partner.
Their market value is compromised by being big fat liars and selfish opportunists and traitors. Perhaps they stay together out of necessity.
Their market value is compromised by being big fat liars and selfish opportunists and traitors
Au contraire. If they weren’t mendacious, self-absorbed, lefty fellow travellers, they wouldn’t have any market value at all. Their value to their supporters rests entirely on their willingness to do anything to advance certain agendas, truth (and self-respect) be damned.
If Saddam didn’t get the 500 tons of yellowcake from Niger, where did he get it?