Reuters: Italy defends spy chief over Iraq controversy

[oioioi]

...The Italian government's backing for Pollari was called into question earlier on Sunday by ex-President Francesco Cossiga, who said Pollari lacked support and should resign "in the interest of the country, the (Sismi) service and your own".

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The Niger uranium allegations partly extend to Berlusconi, whom La Repubblica accused of siding with U.S. hawks before the war and possibly pressuring Sismi for evidence against Iraq.

The newspaper has focused much of its attention on a meeting on September 9, 2002, between Pollari and Stephen Hadley, who was at the time deputy White House national security adviser.

Hadley later took the blame for a reference to Iraq seeking uranium in Africa made in Bush's State of the Union address before the invasion of Iraq.


http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-10-30T220151Z_01_KRA079198_RTRUKOC_0_US-ITALY-POLLARI.xml&archived=False

This gets better every day...