CBS News: Bush Knew Iraq Info Was False

[MonstaThrilla]

Posted an hour ago:

(CBS) Senior administration officials tell CBS News the President?s mistaken claim that Iraq tried to buy uranium from Africa was included in his State of the Union address -- despite objections from the CIA.

Before the speech was delivered, the portions dealing with Iraq?s weapons of mass destruction were checked with the CIA for accuracy, reports CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin.

CIA officials warned members of the President?s National Security Council staff the intelligence was not good enough to make the flat statement Iraq tried to buy uranium from Africa.

The White House officials responded that a paper issued by the British government contained the unequivocal assertion: ?Iraq has ... sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.? As long as the statement was attributed to British Intelligence, the White House officials argued, it would be factually accurate. The CIA officials dropped their objections and that?s how it was delivered.

?The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa,? Mr. Bush said.

The statement was technically correct, since it accurately reflected the British paper. But the bottom line is the White House knowingly included in a presidential address information its own CIA had explicitly warned might not be true.

Today at a press conference during the President?s trip to Africa, Secretary of State Colin Powell portrayed it as an honest mistake.

?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,? said Powell.

But eight days after the State of the Union, when Powell addressed the U.N., he deliberately left out any reference to Iraqi attempts to buy uranium from Africa.

?I didn?t use the uranium at that point because I didn?t think that was sufficiently strong as evidence to present before the world,? Powell said.

That is exactly what CIA officials told the White House before the State of the Union. The top CIA official, Director George Tenet, was not involved in those discussions and apparently never warned the President he was on thin ice.

Secretary Powell said today he read the State of the Union speech before it was delivered and understood it had been seen and cleared by the intelligence community. But intelligence officials say the director of the CIA never saw the final draft.

 

[Corn]

But the bottom line is the White House knowingly included in a presidential address information its own CIA had explicitly warned might not be true.

Misleading thread title, most likely a more accurate representation of what constitutes a lie than what the article implies.

 

[Bowfinger]

Originally posted by: MonstaThrilla
[ ... ] The statement was technically correct, since it accurately reflected the British paper. But the bottom line is the White House knowingly included in a presidential address information its own CIA had explicitly warned might not be true.

Today at a press conference during the President?s trip to Africa, Secretary of State Colin Powell portrayed it as an honest mistake.

?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,? said Powell.

Sounds like someone must be a secret Clinton admirer. What is "is"?

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Just to add since it's is not in the article, when this was reported tonight on the nightly news, the reporter added that a 'senior White House official' said the call was made to include it in the manner it was not only because it was technically correct, but they could blame the British when the issue was exposed. They also said that the CIA was never given a chance a sign off on the final draft of the speach, they were only notified of some content over the phone the day before.

 

[MonstaThrilla]

Originally posted by: Corn

But the bottom line is the White House knowingly included in a presidential address information its own CIA had explicitly warned might not be true.

Misleading thread title, most likely a more accurate representation of what constitutes a lie than what the article implies.

I was just using the headline CBS News used.

 

[Moonbeam]

My fellow Americans, I did not have sex with that dictator.

 

[LunarRay]

I find it rather hard to believe that Bush would flat lie... on a material fact (perhaps arguably a material fact) when it seems to me he could have not mentioned the Uranium at all and it would not have detracted significantly from the message... (again arguably). But, if he felt he needed to include it in his speech... it must have been because he felt the speech, on balance, was weak... or the material portions of it were not supported by irrefutable evidence.. hmmm... what may this mean... I wonder..

 

[charrison]

Linkage

The named source that broke this article does not exist.

 

[tnitsuj]

I don't think this article has anything to do with Wilkinson.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Originally posted by: charrison
Linkage

The named source that broke this article does not exist.

I'm not sure that has anything to do with this article. CBS would have to be crazy to run it if it did.