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Public Statement of National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice: |
"At the time that the State of the Union address was prepared, there were also other sources that said that they were, the Iraqis were seeking yellow cake, uranium oxide from Africa."
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This Statement is Misleading: |
| This statement was misleading because it suggested that Iraq sought uranium from Africa despite the fact that the CIA expressed doubts about the credibility of this claim in two memos to the White House, including one addressed to National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. CIA Director George Tenet also warned against using the claim in a telephone call to Ms. Rice's deputy. In addition, the statement fails to mention that State Department intelligence officials also concluded that this claim was "highly dubious."
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Public Statement of Secretary of State Colin Powell: |
"[H]e has made repeated covert attempts to aquire high-specification aluminum tubes from 11 different countries, even after inspections resumed. These tubes are controlled by the Nuclear Suppliers Group precisely because they can be used as centrifuges for enriching uranium. By now, just about everyone has heard of these tubes and we all know that there are differences of opinion. There is controversy about what these tubes are for. Most US experts think they are intended to serve as rotors in centrifuges used to enrich uranium."
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This Statement is Misleading: |
| This statement was misleading because it suggested that Iraq sought aluminum tubes for use in its nuclear weapons program, failing to mention that the government’s most experienced technical experts at the U.S. Department of Energy concluded that the tubes were "poorly suited" for this purpose.
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Public Statement of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld: |
"His regime has the design for a nuclear weapon, was working on several different methods of enriching uranium, and recently was discovered seeking significant quantities of uranium from Africa."
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This Statement is Misleading: |
| This statement was misleading because it asserted that Iraq sought uranium from Africa despite the fact that the CIA had expressed doubts about the credibility of this claim in two memos to the White House, including one addressed to National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet also had warned against using the claim in a telephone call to Ms. Rice’s deputy. In addition, the statement failed to mention that State Department intelligence officials had concluded that this claim was "highly dubious."
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Public Statement of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld: |
"His regime has the design for a nuclear weapon, was working on several different methods of enriching uranium . . . ."
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This Statement is Misleading: |
| This statement was misleading because it failed to acknowledge the intelligence community's deep division on the issue of whether Iraq was actively pursuing its nuclear program.
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Public Statement of President George W. Bush: |
"The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."
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This Statement is Misleading: |
| This statement was misleading because it suggested that Iraq sought uranium from Africa despite the fact that the CIA expressed doubts about the credibility of this claim in two memos to the White House, including one addressed to National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. CIA Director George Tenet also warned against using the claim in a telephone call to Ms. Rice's deputy. In addition, the statement fails to mention that State Department intelligence officials also concluded that this claim was "highly dubious."
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