US Accused of Intimidation in Iraq Uranium Flap (Joe Wilson)

[kainah]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson, a key figure in the Iraq (news - web sites)-Niger uranium controversy, accused the Bush administration on Monday of using intimidation tactics to stifle criticism about its handling of prewar intelligence on Iraq.

Wilson was sent by the CIA (news - web sites) to Niger in 2002 to investigate a report that Iraq was trying to obtain uranium from the African country, but returned to say it was highly doubtful such a transaction had occurred.


President Bush (news - web sites) made the Iraq-uranium claim in his January State of the Union speech. Critics have said the Iraq-Niger assertion, which later was found to be based partly on forged documents, showed the administration had tried to hype intelligence to make a case for going to war.


Wilson, on a panel of speakers at the National Press Club, said there had been several attempts to discredit him, but mainly through an article by Chicago columnist Robert Novak that said two senior administration officials said Wilson's wife suggested sending him to Niger to investigate the uranium report. Novak's column named Wilson's wife and said she was a CIA operative on weapons of mass destruction.

more....

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=584&ncid=584&e=5&u=/nm/20030805/pl_nm/iraq_usa_intelligence_dc

This is the panel discussion that was broadcast live earlier on C-SPAN, so you can probably watch it there. It was very good.

And, yet again, confirmation that "flap" is the word they use for the * scandals. :eyes:

[Papillon]

1. I saw Ambassador Wilson on this panel on CSPAN today

and he was great. It will probably be replayed, don't miss it.

[SayitAintSo]

2. This story seems to be losing traction

I've been following it and Wilson is staying out there keeping it alive, but it seems that with the Hussein brothers demise... so went the press focus on this and related stories. The outing of Wilsons' wife needs to be thoroughly investigated. What was done to him and his family is unspeakable. Hope he keeps fanning the flames.

[Kolesar]

5. We should call/email our Senators and Congressional reps about this

This story is so convoluted that I need to develop it before I call or email them. Has anybody done the work yet to develop the "talking points". (I am so tired of that phrase, "talking points", but I guess that that is the world we live in.)

[proud patriot]

3. Be sure to rate the article on yahoo

it got a 5 rating right now

[TacticalPeek]

4. Rerun coming up at 1:49 am on c-span...

caught the end earlier, was good, but wondered a little at the applause, and Rumdum's nose stretching across the Potomac ref?. Nervous, breath-of-air reaction? Poor widdle pwess has been so cooped and cwamped?

[samsingh]

6. history will show

that the shrub regime was trying to set up a dictatorship. wait until the truth comes out. eventually some president must release the private documentation.

What started out as a theft of an election has escalated into all out corruption at all levels - including the media.

[umcwb]

7. Locking - Dupe

Please continue here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=18072&mesg_id=18072



Thanks,
UMCWB
DU LBN Moderator