Taken Questions
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
March 14, 2003
Question Taken at March 14, 3003 Daily Press Briefing
Iraq - Uranium Procurement Attempts from Niger (Taken Question)
Question: Did the State Department recommend not sending the forged documents related to Iraqi attempts to procure uranium from Niger to the IAEA? Did we send anyone to Niger to explore this issue?
Answer: -- We recommended sending the documents in question to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for their own analysis and interpretation.
-- We have communicated closely with the government in Niger on this issue and appreciate its efforts in providing information that sheds more light on Iraq's continued efforts to acquire illicit items from abroad.
-- We did not send State Department personnel to Niger for the specific purpose of discussing this matter. However, our Embassy in Niamey raised the issue with Nigerien officials on several occasions and we were satisfactorily assured that they did not sell uranium to Iraq. We continue to consult on a wide range of nonproliferation issues with a variety of African countries, including Niger.
-- We stress that the focus remains on Iraq's pursuit of illegal materials from abroad for its weapons of mass destruction programs.
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