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CIA Report that Niger Information False Not Given to Top Officials

Aired July 10, 2003 - 12:35   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


WOLF BLITZER, ANCHOR: There's more fallout right now from those bogus retracted claims about Saddam Hussein and his effort allegedly to get uranium from Niger.
CNN national security correspondent David Ensor is joining me now.

David, a lot of confusion out there. The fact that the president in his State of the Union address referred to a British intelligence report, suggesting Iraq under Saddam Hussein was attempting to get uranium from Africa. That's -- Everyone admits that was based on a forgery, faulty information.

But you're digging into this. How is it possible that that kind of sentence can make it into a State of the Union address?

DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, perhaps I can provide a little bit of insight, Wolf.

We've learned from sources in the last day or so, that there were earlier drafts of the president's State of the Union message that were circulated, or this part of the draft, in which American intelligence was credited with having information about these attempts to buy uranium in Niger.

I understand from sources that U.S. intelligence officials went back to the administration and said, "No, we don't -- we don't think we can support that information, you probably shouldn't say that." And apparently, a decision was subsequently made to leave the assertion in the speech anyway, but attribute it to the British white paper, which of course had already publicly made the claim.

Now CIA officials are declining all comment on this, but I'm confident that the sources I've spoken to are speaking accurately about that matter.

One other piece of insight. The CIA did send a report widely through the White House, State Department, Pentagon and elsewhere in March of 2002 -- this was ten months before the State of the Union message -- in which it summarized the findings what we now know was former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who the CIA had asked to make a trip to Niger -- he was a former ambassador there -- and look into it.

And he reported back that this was just not credible in his view. It was dubious, that he'd talked to Nigerian officials, they denied it and in any case uranium mines in Niger were basically controlled by a French company and other foreign entities, so that this was probably a bogus story.

Now, the report did not go to high-level people in the White House, it was not flagged to them. It was never in the briefing the president was given. But it was there ten months in the White House 10 months before the speech was given.

It did also include, however, as has been noted by sources, information that there had been an attempt by the Iraqis, at least. That there was a meeting between Iraqi diplomats and officials from Niger at which the Iraqis appeared to be trying to build a better economic relationship, and Niger officials told Ambassador Wilson, according to this report, that they suspected the Iraqis were interested in trying to get some uranium. So there's not nothing behind this report, but more coming out. And more to come, I'm sure.

BLITZER: And I'm sure that this push, at least by many Democrats of Congress, in the House and the Senate, for some sort of formal inquiry into this whole issue is going to -- at least the Democrats will try to get some momentum on this. And a few Republicans are anxious to get to the bottom of this, as well.

On the whole issue of uranium, though, enriched uranium, a key ingredient of course in building a nuclear bomb. Is there history of Iraq under Saddam Hussein trying to get enriched uranium from perhaps other countries in Africa or elsewhere around the world?

ENSOR: I understand from officials that there was some other intelligence suggesting that Iraq might have tried to get uranium somewhere in Africa. There are a couple of other countries on that continent that do have raw uranium mines.

But apparently, the White House decided in the last week or so that whatever that evidence was it wasn't strong enough to stand on any longer, because you'll note that the White House is now saying that the assertion the president made in the speech, they just can't stand behind any longer.

BLITZER: And they said that the specific intelligence was not specific enough on other efforts to get uranium from Africa to justify including that sentence in the president's State of the Union address.

ENSOR: That's right.

BLITZER: Our David Ensor doing good reporting, as he always does. David, thanks very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Officials>


Aired July 10, 2003 - 12:35   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, ANCHOR: There's more fallout right now from those bogus retracted claims about Saddam Hussein and his effort allegedly to get uranium from Niger.
CNN national security correspondent David Ensor is joining me now.

David, a lot of confusion out there. The fact that the president in his State of the Union address referred to a British intelligence report, suggesting Iraq under Saddam Hussein was attempting to get uranium from Africa. That's -- Everyone admits that was based on a forgery, faulty information.

But you're digging into this. How is it possible that that kind of sentence can make it into a State of the Union address?

DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, perhaps I can provide a little bit of insight, Wolf.

We've learned from sources in the last day or so, that there were earlier drafts of the president's State of the Union message that were circulated, or this part of the draft, in which American intelligence was credited with having information about these attempts to buy uranium in Niger.

I understand from sources that U.S. intelligence officials went back to the administration and said, "No, we don't -- we don't think we can support that information, you probably shouldn't say that." And apparently, a decision was subsequently made to leave the assertion in the speech anyway, but attribute it to the British white paper, which of course had already publicly made the claim.

Now CIA officials are declining all comment on this, but I'm confident that the sources I've spoken to are speaking accurately about that matter.

One other piece of insight. The CIA did send a report widely through the White House, State Department, Pentagon and elsewhere in March of 2002 -- this was ten months before the State of the Union message -- in which it summarized the findings what we now know was former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who the CIA had asked to make a trip to Niger -- he was a former ambassador there -- and look into it.

And he reported back that this was just not credible in his view. It was dubious, that he'd talked to Nigerian officials, they denied it and in any case uranium mines in Niger were basically controlled by a French company and other foreign entities, so that this was probably a bogus story.

Now, the report did not go to high-level people in the White House, it was not flagged to them. It was never in the briefing the president was given. But it was there ten months in the White House 10 months before the speech was given.

It did also include, however, as has been noted by sources, information that there had been an attempt by the Iraqis, at least. That there was a meeting between Iraqi diplomats and officials from Niger at which the Iraqis appeared to be trying to build a better economic relationship, and Niger officials told Ambassador Wilson, according to this report, that they suspected the Iraqis were interested in trying to get some uranium. So there's not nothing behind this report, but more coming out. And more to come, I'm sure.

BLITZER: And I'm sure that this push, at least by many Democrats of Congress, in the House and the Senate, for some sort of formal inquiry into this whole issue is going to -- at least the Democrats will try to get some momentum on this. And a few Republicans are anxious to get to the bottom of this, as well.

On the whole issue of uranium, though, enriched uranium, a key ingredient of course in building a nuclear bomb. Is there history of Iraq under Saddam Hussein trying to get enriched uranium from perhaps other countries in Africa or elsewhere around the world?

ENSOR: I understand from officials that there was some other intelligence suggesting that Iraq might have tried to get uranium somewhere in Africa. There are a couple of other countries on that continent that do have raw uranium mines.

But apparently, the White House decided in the last week or so that whatever that evidence was it wasn't strong enough to stand on any longer, because you'll note that the White House is now saying that the assertion the president made in the speech, they just can't stand behind any longer.

BLITZER: And they said that the specific intelligence was not specific enough on other efforts to get uranium from Africa to justify including that sentence in the president's State of the Union address.

ENSOR: That's right.

BLITZER: Our David Ensor doing good reporting, as he always does. David, thanks very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Officials>