Did State Department Recommend Not Sending Forged Documents?
Question Taken at March 14, 3003 Daily Press Briefing
BBSNews - 2003-03-14 -- 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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From the US State Department.
Michael Hess is the Editor of BBSNews in Charlotte, NC. Write to the editor here. Not all submissions are published. Or visit the completely new BBSNews Blog and Forum on our front page - Please Participate in BBSNews!
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