PLEASE NOTE that this book is mentioned here only to confirm the conclusions from this de-classified State Department memo, from the Iraqi side. The De-Classified Memo is available, free of charge, on the Associated Press' website from the Scooter Libbey trial. See the link below.
In order to prosecute Scooter Libbey, the U.S. government had to declassify many
documents. When they did this, the truth slipped out from the anti-Bush,
anti-Republican U.S. State Department, which has always been populated by
liberals who always oppose the use of force by the USA.
The declassified INTERNAL State Department report (written more candidly than a
public statement) reported on State Department interviews with the Prime
Minister of Niger at the time of the Iraqi request to buy uranium under the
table.
This violated Iraq's cease-fire agreement and surrender treaty after Iraq invaded Muslim Kuwait, as well as UN sanctions. A state of war was automatically re-instituted by this and other violations of Iraq's surrender (e.g., shooting at US airplanes almost every day, attempting to kill the Commander in Chief who defeated Iraq in retaliation for Iraq losing the Kuwait war -- refusing to truly surrender but instead trying to kill the President who defeated Saddam). When the cease-fire agreement with the U.S.A. was violated, a state of war immediately and automatically existed between the U.S.A. and Iraq.
AT the BOTTOM OF PAGE 8, and the TOP OF PAGE
9, THE STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT DECLASSIFIED IN THE SCOOTER LIBBEY TRIAL CANDIDLY
ADMITS:
http://wid.ap.org/documents/libbytrial/jan23/DX71.pdf
If you have any trouble start with the index of all the court exhibits posted by the Associated Press:
http://wid.ap.org/documents/libbytrial/
QUOTING FROM THE DECLASSIFIED STATE
DEPT MEMO....
2. Former Nigerien
Prime Minister Ibrahim ((MAYAKI)), who was Niger's Foreign Minister from
1996-1997 and Niger's Prime Minister from 1997-1999 and who has maintained close
ties to the current Nigerien Government, stated he was unaware of any contracts
being signed between Niger and rogue states for the sale of yellowcake during
his tenure as both Foreign Minister and Prime Minister,
MAYAKI, HOWEVER, DID RELATE THAT IN JUNE 1999 BARKA ((TEFRIDJ)), A
NIGERIEN/ALGERIAN BUSINESSMAN, APPROACHED HIM AND INSISTED THAT MAYAKI MEET WITH
AN IRAQI DELEGATION TO DISCUSS "EXPANDING COMMERCIAL
RELATIONS" BETWEEN NIGER AND IRAQ.
ALTHOUGH
THE MEETING TOOK PLACE,
MAYAKI LET
THE MATTER DROP DUE TO THE UNITED NATIONS (UN) SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAQ AND THE
FACT THAT HE OPPOSED DOING BUSINESS WITH IRAQ.
MAYAKI SAID THAT HE INTERPRETED THE PHRASE "EXPANDING
COMMERCIAL RELATIONS" TO MEAN THAT IRAQ WANTED
TO DISCUSS URANIUM YELLOWCAKE SALES. MAYAKI SAID HE UNDERSTOOD ROGUE
STATES WOULD LIKE TO EXPLOIT NIGER'S RESOURCES, SPECIFICALLY URANIUM,
but he believed that the Nigerien Government's regard for the United States
(U.S.) as a close ally would prevent sales to these states from taking place
despite Niger's economic woes.
....UNQUOTE
NOTE: This is a completely different issue from whether Niger agreed
to sell the uranium.
All evidence shows that Niger REFUSED to
supply the uranium to Iraq.
However, the attempt by Iraq to buy Niger's uranium,
proves that Saddam Hussein was developing nuclear bombs at the time of the U.S.
liberation of Iraq.
Someone in Italy created forged documents slanderously suggesting that Niger agreed
to sell the uranium. That is not true. Iraq asked. Niger said
no. But the truth is.... that IRAQ DID ASK. Someone forged documents trying to show that Niger was already supplying uranium. That is NOT true. Niger did not supply uranium. Niger said "NO!"
But Iraq asked to buy the uranium, proving that they were working on a nuclear bomb.
Note that this reality is confirmed by the review of British Intelligence after the liberation of Iraq. A Committee of the British Parliament studying the quality of pre-war intelligence noted on page 58:
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Politics/documents/2004/07/14/butler.pdf
167. The second discovery was that made by an IAEA inspection team in September 1991 of
significant volumes of documents about Iraq’s nuclear weapons programme. The JIC noted that the inspection had confirmed the existence of a comprehensive Iraqi nuclear weapons programme. It concluded that:
On the basis of the evidence so far of the programme’s progress before Desert Storm, Iraq could have made its first nuclear weapon by 1993, had its work not been interrupted by the war.
that is, at least two years earlier than its pre-war assessment.
169. A JIC assessment of August 1995 included an assessment of evidence provided by
Saddam Hussein’s son-in-law, Hussein Kamil, after his defection, and of new information
which was drawn out from the Iraqi regime as a result of that defection. The JIC noted that:
Iraq also admits it previously concealed the full extent of its nuclear programme. It
has revealed that in August 1990 it began a crash programme,later abandoned,to
build a nuclear weapon within a year.
REMEMBER: NIGER
HAS NOTHING TO SELL IRAQ OTHER THAN URANIUM. Whatever else Niger could
sell, Iraq already had. Iraq did not need to buy sand from Niger.
The (then) Prime Minister of Niger -- who was in the meeting, watching body language, tone of voice, heard everything -- told the U.S. State Department that HE understood that the topic of the meeting was uranium yellow cake.
He was there, in the meeting with the Iraqis.
REMEMBER:
The U.S. State Department, at the diplomatic level, WAS FIGHTING
TOOTH AND NAIL AGAINST the US doing anything
more assertive than pouting and stamping our feet and saying "Shame, you
naughty, Saddam!"
FOR THE US
STATE DEPARTMENT TO RELAY THIS INTERVIEW, indicates that -- event though the
STATE Department did not want to find any justification for war -- THEY HAD TO
REPORT IT AS THE TRUTH, because it was the truth.
AS A RESULT...
THE US
GOVERNMENT HAD LEGITIMATE REASON TO BELIEVE THAT IRAQ WAS ATTEMPTING TO ACQUIRE
URANIUM TO MAKE A NUCLEAR BOMB.
Even if this information
were wrong (IT IS NOT -- Read the book by "Saddam's Bomb-Maker") THE
USA LEGITIMATELY BELIEVED
THAT IT WAS TRUE.
When the then-Prime Minister of Niger TELLS YOU that Iraq asked them about
buying uranium yellowcake, ARE YOU ENTITLED TO BELIEVE the then-Prime Minister
of Niger ABOUT
EVENTS IN HIS OWN COUNTRY?
NOTE: Do not be confused by the fact that Niger now has a different
Prime Minister. The new Prime Minister has tried to attack and criticize
the United States. But he was not there at the time. The Prime
Minister who was actually there back then confirmed this.
Also Remember that this was a confidential report to the anti-War U.S. State
Department. Niger's Prime Minister could be much more honest and candid in
private. But in public, he would feel pressure to join the anti-american
chorus.
And do not be fooled by Clinton-era liberals in the Bush State Department trying
to bash the United States, as always. The document speaks for itself.
The U.S. Government had every reason to believe that saddam hussein was working
on a nuclear bomb. (And we have no reason to think he wasn't.)
The White House was 100%
justified in BELIEVING the then-Prime Minister of Niger.
The then-Prime Minister was THERE
in the meeting with the Iraqi delegation. He heard them, live. Niger's Prime Minister watched their
gestures, behavior, tone of voice, etc. If anyone could judge the Iraqi
intention, it would be the then-Prime Minister of Niger, who was in the meeting...
REMEMBER: Iraq already had
stockpiles of uranium yellowcake inside Iraq. But those stockpiles were being
watched by UN inspectors...
Inspector Clouseau Himself, Hans Blix!
WHY
would Iraq want to spend its limited cash buying MORE
Uranium yellowcake, when they already had plenty sitting in Iraq -- being
watched by the UN's
Inspector Clouseau?
THERE IS ONLY ONE POSSIBLE REASON: Saddam Hussein wanted to continue working on
a nuclear bomb without the UN knowing about it (as if that would be hard)!
For
any legitimate purpose, Saddam could have used the uranium yellowcake Iraq
already possessed.
The
only reason to seek more uranium yellowcake, under the table, would be to
develop a nuclear bomb. (Note that this could include funding terrorists
outside of Iraq, including Syria or Iran, to build the bombs with which to hit
Iraq's enemy, the United States. The bomb laboratory did not have to be on
Iraqi territory. It could still be going on now in a remote terrorist
camp.)
