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| Home Front: Politix |
| Pillar jumps into Niger uranium saga |
| 2006-02-19 |
| In the spring of 2001, long before Sept. 11 and the American focus on Iraq, the CIA asked its Paris station about rumors that 200 tons of nuclear material had vanished from two French-owned mines in the West African nation of Niger. "We heard stories this stuff had gone to Iraq, or to Syria, or Libya, or China or North Korea. We heard all kinds of stories," said a now-retired CIA officer. But the CIA soon concluded that a French-run consortium maintained strict control over stockpiles of uranium ore in Niger, a former French colony, and that none had been illegally diverted. "Everything was accounted for," the former spy said. "Case closed." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #3 Valerie's doing doubles? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-02-19 18:30 |
| #2 Pillar's enjoying his 15 minutes. He should talk to Joe Wilson about life after the party's over. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-02-19 17:19 |
| #1 This really boils down to whether we want to believe the French and the CIA over what the administration says. The press is, of course, in love with the French. Strangely enough, the same press that used to distrust the CIA is now inclined to believe its claims, now that it aggressively opposes American national interests. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2006-02-19 16:50 |