A Leak, Then a Cascade

[IndianaGreen]

A Leak, Then a Cascade
Did a Bush loyalist overstep the bounds in protecting the administration's case for war in Iraq and obstruct an investigation?

By Barton Gellman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, October 30, 2005; Page A01

The chain of events that led to Friday's indictment can be traced as far back as 1991, when an unremarkable burglary took place at the embassy of Niger in Rome. All that turned up missing was a quantity of official letterhead with "Republique du Niger" at its top.

More than 10 years later, according to a retired high-ranking U.S. intelligence official, a businessman named Rocco Martino approached the CIA station chief in Rome. An occasional informant for U.S., British, French and Italian intelligence services, Martino brought documents on Niger government letterhead describing secret plans for the sale of uranium to Iraq.

The station chief "saw they were fakes and threw out," the former CIA official said. But Italy shared a similar report with the Americans in October 2001, he said, and the CIA gave it circulation because it did not know the Italians had relied on the same source.

On Feb. 12, 2002, Cheney received an expanded version of the unconfirmed Italian report. It said Iraq's then-ambassador to the Vatican had led a mission to Niger in 1999 and sealed a deal for the purchase of 500 tons of uranium in July 2000. Cheney asked for more information.

The same day, Plame wrote to her superior in the CIA's Counterproliferation Division that "my husband has good relations with both the PM and the former Minister of Mines (not to mention lots of French contacts), both of whom could possibly shed light on this sort of activity." Wilson -- who had undertaken a similar mission three years before -- departed soon after for Niamey, the Niger capital. He said he found no support for the uranium report and said so when he returned.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/29/AR2005102901478.html

[shraby]

1. They are a day late and a dollar short.

This should have made it to print a long time ago.

[lyonn]

2. Pretty good article I must say

One wonders how Libby can say he doesn't remember who told him what about Plame when the questions were out there as soon as the problem was discovered about a month after Novak's article. Our Pres. was saying that he asked those close to him if they were involved and pres. said they denied any knowledge. Libby and Rove truly have poor memories in that case, maybe insanity is closer.