* [2006-05-30] Niger probes uranium health scare
Richard Hamilton, BBC News

July 11, 2003

UK continues to stand behind its Iraq-Niger link

The US was never made privvy to the particular intelligence information which the UK continues to stand behind. Back in September 2002, the CIA urged UK to drop the claimed link, but UK was confident that they had info that the CIA did not have, and thus refused to follow CIA's advice.

[Source: Walter Pincus (Washington Post staff writer), "CIA Asked Britain To Drop Iraq Claim; Advice on Alleged Uranium Buy Was Refused", The Washington Post, July 11, 2003, p. A1]

Highlights

* Iraq-Niger Uranium Link - CIA, in Sept 2002, urged UK to drop it from dossier

* Iraq-Niger Uranium Link - Bush administration wasn't trying to mislead, sez Powell

* Iraq-Niger Uranium Link - UK stands behind its 2002 conclusions; never shared the basis with USA

* Iraq-Niger Uranium Link - how it evolved in speechwriting for 2003 State of the Union address

* Iraq-Niger Uranium Link - UK might yet be right, sez Powell

July 10, 2003

Iraq - Niger link - Ambassador Wilson's 2002 report didn't mention forgery angle

He reported that Niger's government denied the purported uranium sale. Press Secretary Fleischer notes that such an official denial was not an earth shaking surprise, certainly not enough to reverse intelligence assessment.

[Source: Richard W. Stevenson, "Bush Skirts Question on 'Evidence' and Defends War", New York Times, July 10, 2003, p. 13]

Highlights

* Iraq - Niger link - Bush brushes off question of accuracy

* Iraq - Niger link shuldn't have been in speech, sez Fleischer

* Iraq - Niger link - forgeries weren't the only evidence, sez Fleischer