Documented Point by point rebuke of RNC talking points #2

[Cogito ergo doleo]

RNC Talking Point:Wilson Falsely Claimed That It Was Vice President Cheney Who Sent Him To Niger, But The Vice President Has Said He Never Met Him And Didn’t Know Who Sent Him:


Fact

>>New York Times article: What I didn’t find in Africa” by Joe 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.
http://216.109.117.135/search/cache?p=joe+wilson+new+york+times+&prssweb=Search&ei=UTF-8&fl=0&u=www.commondreams.org/views03/0706-02.htm&w=joe+wilson+new+york+times&d=7183C1F79E&icp=1&.intl=us

Transcript of Cheney interview on “NBC NEWS’ Meet the Press

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3080244

MR. RUSSERT: Now, Ambassador Joe Wilson, a year before that, was sent over by the CIA because you raised the question about uranium from Africa. He says he came back from Niger and said that, in fact, he could not find any documentation that, in fact, Niger had sent uranium to Iraq or engaged in that activity and reported it back to the proper channels. Were you briefed on his findings in February, March of 2002?

VICE PRES. CHENEY: No. I don’t know Joe Wilson. I’ve never met Joe Wilson. A question had arisen. I’d heard a report that the Iraqis had been trying to acquire uranium in Africa, Niger in particular. I get a daily brief on my own each day before I meet with the president to go through the intel. And I ask lots of question. One of the questions I asked at that particular time about this, I said, “What do we know about this?” They take the question. He came back within a day or two and said, “This is all we know. There’s a lot we don’t know,” end of statement. And Joe Wilson—I don’t who sent Joe Wilson. He never submitted a report that I ever saw when he came back.

I guess the intriguing thing, Tim, on the whole thing, this question of whether or not the Iraqis were trying to acquire uranium in Africa. In the British report, this week, the Committee of the British Parliament, which just spent 90 days investigating all of this, revalidated their British claim that Saddam was, in fact, trying to acquire uranium in Africa. What was in the State of the Union speech and what was in the original British White papers. So there may be difference of opinion there. I don’t know what the truth is on the ground with respect to that, but I guess—like I say, I don’t know Mr. Wilson. I probably shouldn’t judge him. I have no idea who hired him and it never came...

MR. RUSSERT: The CIA did.

VICE PRES. CHENEY: Who in the CIA, I don’t know.

[Son of California]

1. In all fairness

though I applaud the hard work that is going into these thorough rebukes, I believe that even to engage in the argument over these points may lead down the wrong road and only obscure the issue.

The Repub talking points are weak and lame and diversionary. Perhaps the best mode of attack would be to laugh at them and ignore them and continue pounding on Rove.

[zoeb]

2. Limpballs called Wilson a liar in his book for saying the

CIA/Cheney sent him to Niger. Hophead said it was his wife that sent him. But Plame is not in a position to authorize those trips. My guess is Cheney wanted someone to investigate and assumed it would have been someone Bushco friendly. When it turned out it was Wilson, Kerry supporter, they began a campaign to discredit him and his report. It's the SOP of "fixing the facts", you didn't agree with them they trashed you like Richard Clarke. Or they had Captain Bangeroo trying to fire intel analysts that didn't agree with the policy.