Powell: Niger evidence too weak for UN presentation

[Nottingham]

Powell: Niger evidence too weak for UN presentation
By Andrew Buncombe and Kim Sengupta
11 July 2003


Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, said yesterday he did not mention the alleged Iraq-Niger uranium deal in his now famous presentation to the UN Security Council because he "did not think it was strong enough" ­ even though President George Bush included it in his State of the Union address just a week before.

In a revelation that adds further doubts to whether the White House knew it was making false accusations when Mr Bush addressed Congress on 28 January, General Powell said that having looked at the intelligence on which the claim was based he decided not to use it. "I didn't think it was strong enough," General Powell told reporters in Pretoria, South Africa, where he is accompanying the President on his tour of Africa. " was not standing the test of time ... I didn't use it, and we haven't used it since."

General Powell's presentation before the UN Security Council on 5 February was perhaps the most comprehensive public explanation of the Bush administration's case for ousting Saddam Hussein. Supported by audio recordings and graphics, the Secretary of State made a seemingly persuasive case that the Iraqi leader had developed weapons of mass destruction. "We know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass destruction ­ he's determined to make more," he told the Council. "... Should we take the risk that he will not some day use these weapons?"

snip......

But his admission that he had personally looked at the intelligence and concluded it was not valid raises new questions about who knew what at the most senior levels of the administration. Despite this, General Powell claimed yesterday that Mr Bush had no reason to apologise for making the false accusation. "There was no effort or attempt on the part of the president or anyone else in the administration to mislead or to deceive the American people," he said. "The President was presenting what seemed to be a reasonable statement at that time."

more......
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/story.jsp?story=423531


Bush doesn't have to Apologize for Misleading the People. Colin doesn't have to apologize for his giving Bullshit to the UN


Well these people are all living in a Freakin Fantasy World. :bounce:
We just had a Premptive Strike War over this Bullshit. :bounce:

[pansypoo53219]

1. so

Colon Bowell didn't REALLY want to smear TOO MUCH bullshit at the UN? he drew the line at the crap Bushit used??? well now, he is 'principled' after all.

[jpak]

2. Niger evidence too weak to present????

What about the rest of his UN speech.

Every single statement was a fucking lie.

Every last one of them.

Whatya got to say about that Colon?????

[Nottingham]

3. Baawaahaaa! JPak! Right On there! Ya Colon better not be bragging

My Presentation of Bullshit was Better than Bush's Bullshit

are these people Freakin for REAL!

:bounce:

[janx]

5. The Powell presentation at the UN was horrible.

How anyone could believe a word of it is still a complete mystery to me. And the expression on his face when he did it showed me that he didn't even want to be doing it!

[jpak]

6. Wasn't Tenet sitting right behind him the whole time????

Why did he let Poor Poor Pitiful Powell make all those "mistakes" at the UN????

Damn him! Damn him to Hell!!!!

[janx]

4. Let's see...the CIA knew. Cheney knew. The State Dept. knew...

The National Security Council knew--hey. Isn't Candi supposed to be the National Security Advisor to the president?

So ALL of these agencies and individuals knew, and Chimpy did not?

Also, I want to know a LOT more about what Candi knew.

[BenDavid]

7. Maybe

Harry Belefonte said it right about Powell. I would say Powell has lost a lot of respect not only here in America but around the world, but then again, he do have to support is Massah....

[joeybee12]

9. Powell is vastly over-rated

He only has a reputation, which he meticulously cultivated in the media. He's not that smart, and he's not that politically savvy since he keeps being duped by the evil minions in Dumbo's administration.

[jpak]

8. For those who have forgotten this stirring piece of oratory

The Text of Lies...

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/02/05/iraq/main539459.shtml

[gratuitous]

10. "No effort . . . to deceive the American people"

"And besides, we haven't resorted to that scurrilous piece of bullshit since, so what's the big schmeal?"

I haven't noticed a big rush to correct the record, that's what the big deal is, you bloodthirsty cabal of greedheads. Thousands of people have died because of that lie, that's what the big deal is. If you need it spelled out for you, Mr. Powell, I suggest you head over to Dover AFB and watch the caskets being offloaded. Then go look the families in the eye and explain to them why lying to support an invasion isn't a big deal.

If we hadn't been on this for the last six weeks, you lying-ass weasels would have just gone on with business as usual, wouldn't you? If it had been one more atrocity swept under the carpet, like the submarine catastrophe, the spy plane incident with China, Crash Cart's secret energy meetings, and so on and so forth, you bastards would have just kept lining your overstuffed pockets while murdering more and more people. Wouldn't you?

[Nottingham]

11. Gratuoutous that kinda says it! JPak was Tenet sitting behind Powell Reall

Wow shouldn't somebody have stood up sooner before we entered a war and say something! Hell. Byrdie was right take your time! :bounce:

[theHandpuppet]

12. Well said!!

What's the big deal, Colin? Bush lied, thousands died!

There's a special room in hell reserved for those involved in this war crime. Now for a few words from someone who thought the lying and killing for oil might be a "big deal":



Thou Shalt Not Kill.
Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness Against Thy Neighbor.
Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Goods.
--- God

[IndianaGreen]

13. An excellent rebuttal from the Dean campaign

Uranium and Niger: Pattern of Deceit

February 2002.................. (Ambassador Wilson: ) In February 2002, I was informed by officials at the Central Intelligence Agency that Vice President Dick Cheney's office had questions about a particular intelligence report. While I never saw the report, I was told that it referred to a memorandum of agreement that documented the sale of uranium yellowcake — a form of lightly processed ore — by Niger to Iraq in the late 1990's. The agency officials asked if I would travel to Niger to check out the story so they could provide a response to the vice president's office…

Before I left Niger, I briefed the ambassador on my findings, which were consistent with her own. I also shared my conclusions with members of her staff. In early March, I arrived in Washington and promptly provided a detailed briefing to the C.I.A. I later shared my conclusions with the State Department African Affairs Bureau. There was nothing secret or earth-shattering in my report, just as there was nothing secret about my trip.

Though I did not file a written report, there should be at least four documents in United States government archives confirming my mission. The documents should include the ambassador's report of my debriefing in Niamey, a separate report written by the embassy staff, a C.I.A. report summing up my trip, and a specific answer from the agency to the office of the vice president (this may have been delivered orally). While I have not seen any of these reports, I have spent enough time in government to know that this is standard operating procedure.

I thought the Niger matter was settled and went back to my life. (I did take part in the Iraq debate, arguing that a strict containment regime backed by the threat of force was preferable to an invasion.) In September 2002, however, Niger re-emerged. The British government published a "white paper" asserting that Saddam Hussein and his unconventional arms posed an immediate danger. As evidence, the report cited Iraq's attempts to purchase uranium from an African country. (Wilson, Joseph, What I didn’t Find In Africa,” NY Times, 7/06/2003)

September 26, 2002........... “Powell, appearing before a closed hearing of the Senate Foreign Relation Committee, also cited Iraq’s attempt to obtain uranium for Niger as evidence of persistent nuclear ambitions.” (New Yorker, 3/31/2003)

December 2002................. The US government withheld from United Nations weapons inspectors evidence to back its claim that the Iraqi government had attempted to obtain uranium from Africa, despite repeated pledges to co-operate fully with the inspectors.

In a letter released on Tuesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency said it was forced to wait six weeks for the evidence - from December 2002 to early February 2003 - at a critical time, when it was investigating US charges that Iraq was reconstituting its nuclear programme.

During that period, the US several times repeated the allegations, most notably in President George W. Bush's January State of the Union address. (Alden, Edward, Guy Dinmore and James Harding, Financial Times, 7/09/2003)

December 19, 2002........... “Washington, for the first time, publicly identified Niger as the alleged seller of the nuclear materials .” (New Yorker, 3/31/2003)

More...

http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/PageServer?pagename=niger_timeline