UN thinks British Iraq proof based on fakes-diplomat

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L14588337.htm

VIENNA, July 14 (Reuters) - The United Nations nuclear watchdog believes Britain's evidence on Iraq trying to import uranium from Africa is all based on forged documents, a diplomat close to the agency said on Monday.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said last year intelligence showed Iraq had banned weapons of mass destruction and was trying to import uranium from Niger to support its nuclear arms programme.

U.S. President George W. Bush included the allegation in his State of the Union address in January, citing the British findings. But the White House said last week the claim was based on forged documents and should have been left out of the speech. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw on Monday said its evidence was not linked to the forged documents. It came from a third country and the Americans had not seen it.

"This information on which we relied, which was completely separate from the now notorious forged documents, came from foreign intelligence sources," Straw told BBC Radio.

A Western diplomat close the Vienna-based U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the IAEA had the impression the so-called genuine evidence was ultimately referring to the same alleged transaction described in a series of fake documents.

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[papau]

1. Seems this was on DU a week or two ago - good to see the media

catching up.

I wonder how long the US media (Reuters being non-US) will take to catch on.

And then how long for the US Media to say something.

[Liberal Veteran]

2. No suprise there...pass the dramamine....

Got to pre-medicate to beat the spin.


Warning: Excessive spin from the right will cause nausea.
If you find yourself believing the spin, try choking yourself.

[qb]

3. This was the only leg they had left to stand on

and now it has been kicked out from under them. This discredits the MI6, Condi, Colon and the rest of the crooked crew all in one blow.

[Emillereid]

4. How stupid do they think we are

We're supposed to buy the new, 'improved', albeit secret evidence ... Come one, Tony, you can do better than that.

[trapper914]

5. Watch the talkmeisters spin

This "intelligence" is rumored to have come from France. France?! Ahh, say the righties, the French knew about it because they were in cahoots with Saddam, and that's why they're being so quiet right now.

What we really need is a chicken/egg timeline of this whole thing. We know the timeline on the U.S. Ambassador's trip to Niger. The CIA sent him. Were they sending him to investigate the "intelligence" that Britain had? Were the phony documents created to support this "intelligence," and if so, when were the forgeries made?

[mike6640]

6. this is probably true

think about it a sec. France turned over his "evidence", or MI6 got it from them in order to check it out. They both may have found it to be false, France could not support the war, but would not disclose truth per confidentiality agreement that MI6 has been touting recently.