US Lawmakers Request Probe of Iraq Uranium Claim
VOA News
11 Jul 2003, 17:18 UTC
Leading U.S. lawmakers are calling for an investigation into President Bush's now-discredited claim about Iraqi attempts to get uranium. Republican Senator John McCain told CNN Friday "a mistake was made" in the President's January State of the Union speech and that an investigation is in order. At the same time, Senator McCain argued the false claim does not undermine the justification for the Iraqi war.
Senator Joe Lieberman, a Democratic presidential candidate, said Friday media reports that the Bush administration ignored CIA warnings about the claim were troubling and that they need full investigation. But President Bush contends Friday U.S. intelligence agencies cleared his State of the Union address, which included the claim that Iraq tried to procure uranium from Africa.
Earlier, U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, traveling with the President in Africa, said that CIA Director George Tenet had cleared the speech in its entirety.
The Washington Post reports in its Friday edition that the CIA had attempted as early as September, four months before the State of the Union Address, to persuade the British government to drop a reference in an intelligence paper to Iraqi attempts to obtain uranium.
Several U.S. news organizations reported Thursday that CIA officials who saw a draft of the President's speech expressed reservations about the reference to the accusation. The White House acknowledged Monday the claims should not have been included in the address.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.
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