Patrick Fitzgerald’s Look Into Forged Niger Documents
United Press International reported on October 23rd, “Fitzgerald's team has been given the full, and as yet unpublished report of the Italian parliamentary inquiry into the affair, which started when an Italian journalist obtained documents that appeared to show officials of the government of Niger helping to supply the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein with Yellowcake uranium.”
Justin Raimondo reported on October 19th:
According to a source in the Italian embassy, Patrick J. "Bulldog" Fitzgerald asked for and "has finally been given a full copy of the Italian parliamentary oversight report on the forged Niger uranium document," the former CIA officer tells me:
"Previous versions of the report were redacted and had all the names removed, though it was possible to guess who was involved. This version names Michael Ledeen as the conduit for the report and indicates that former CIA officers Duane Clarridge and Alan Wolf were the principal forgers. All three had business interests with Chalabi."
The week before Scooter Libby was indicted, David Shuster reported on MSNBC’s Hardball, “Some sources confirm that Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald requested and received an Italian Government report on forged documents, the Bush administration relied on to help make the case for war with Iraq. The telexes, letters, and contracts reported to show Iraq sought uranium from Niger. They surfaced in October 2002, seven months after the CIA, as a result of Joe Wilson’s trip to Niger, had dismissed the claims, but just as the administration was ratcheting up fears Iraq was a nuclear threat and was seeking uranium.”
However, most interesting is Fitzgerald’s own words in his court filing (page 10). Fitzgerald writes, “On August 12th and August 20th 2004, grand jury subpoenas were issued to reporter Judith Miller and her employer, The New York Times, seeking documents and testimony related to “conversations between Miller and a specified government official occurring between on or about July 26th, 2003 and on or about July 13th, 2003, concerning Valerie Plame Wilson (whether referred to by name or by description) or concerning Iraqi efforts to obtain uranium.”
Whether Fitzgerald received testimony and documents from Miller regarding her knowledge of Iraqi efforts to obtain uranium, we simply do not know, but he clearly sees the connection between these false claims, the forged documents and the outing of Valerie Plame. Only time will tell how much Fitzgerald has been able to ferret out about the Bush administration's carefully constructed lies that led us to war in Iraq. Let’s hope he takes his time and nails them all to the wall.
posted by The (liberal)Girl Next Door @ 11:14 AM
2 Comments:
Even if the conventional explanation about the whole Nigergate/Plamegate affair is true (Wilson was smeared for going public and his wife and the department she worked for suffered accidental collateral damage) this could turn out very bad for the Busheviks.
But what if the conventional explanation is wrong and the genesis of this whole affair were far more deeply sinister and evil? I happen to think that could well be the case.
There are four big anomalies (and one apparent anomaly) with the conventional explanation. Bizarre and odd behavious which simply cannot be explained away.
1) The Busheviks didn't need the Niger documents. Saddam had barrels of yellowcake with UN inspection seals on them but no UN inspectors in the country to tell if he'd opened them. There was no need to bring Niger into it.
2) The forgeries had errors but showed signs of trying to get the details reasonably correct. If they were created by an opportunistic forger who was selling them to a reporter not allowed to inspect them closely before handing over the money then any old garbage would have done (like "High Poo-Bah Michael N'Mouse"). If they were created at the behest of the Bushies who knew they'd be inspected by the CIA and State, they'd have got the details perfect.
3) Cheney never questioned any intelligence that supported going to war. If it had numerous annotations from the CIA about it being highly suspect he'd ignore those annotations. Yet this one time he asked for an investigation.
4) Wilson used his contacts with the administration several times to get them to drop the Niger claims. Finally he talked with Condi, who told him that if he felt that strongly about it he should go public. If they were relying upon these documents she would have tried to persuade him to stay quiet. If she could not persuade him to stay quiet the administration should have gone public with "New intelligence..." and hinted not very subtly that because they admitted it that time they got it wrong then you can trust all their other claims.
It doesn't add up. Unless you assume there was another motive behind it all. In which case the above anomalies cease to be anomalies and become essential parts of the plan. Full details here (it's a long read).
My favorite joy with all this, in our country and indeed, covering the entirety of the planet, is the incredible genius of so many people.
Yes, there are the folks who are walking on the 'dark side' but there are more who are marching into the bright light of conscious awareness.
This is our hope and it is an investment in the curious, just like Einstein said.
Another thing he said that I feel is totally appropriate and I may have already posted this quote here but it warrants repeating, again and again:
"He who joyfully marches to music rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so base an action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder." Albert Einstein
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