The yellowcake that won't die

Posted By Carolyn O'Hara Monday, April 10, 2006 - 7:58 PM Share

So Iraq did try to purchase yellowcake in Niger? Christopher Hitchens, writing today in Slate, elaborates that the forged document that led to those infamous 16 words in the 2003 State of the Union distracted from the fact Iraqi envoys did visit Niger in early 1999 - a country, according to Hitchens, "known for absolutely nothing except its vast deposits of uranium ore."

Hitchens writes convincingly that one Iraqi official in particular - who had been a diplomatic envoy to the IAEA - would only be sent to Niger for one reason, and that reason is to purchase uranium ore. He makes the point to absolve those 16 words - Bush only ever said Iraq was seeking to purchase yellowcake, and the circumstantial evidence, Hitchens suggests, proves him right. But let's be honest: Would Hitchens really advocate reinserting those words in the State of the Union on the basis of such speculation?

Perhaps we'll be hearing soon about Iran trying to purchase yellowcake from Niger. Oh wait, according to Hitchens, that country is one of several who went uraniam shopping in Niger during the same period, along with China, North Korea, and Libya.

EXPLORE:BUSH ADMINISTRATION, IRAN, IRAQ

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