Bush Knew Iraq Info Was False
WASHINGTON, July 10, 2003

Senior administration officials tell CBS News the President's mistaken
claim that Iraq tried to buy uranium from Africa was included in his State
of the Union address -- despite objections from the CIA.

Before the speech was delivered, the portions dealing with Iraq's weapons
of mass destruction were checked with the CIA for accuracy, reports CBS
News National Security Correspondent David Martin.

CIA officials warned members of the President's National Security Council
staff the intelligence was not good enough to make the flat statement Iraq
tried to buy uranium from Africa.

The White House officials responded that a paper issued by the British
government contained the unequivocal assertion: "Iraq has ... sought
significant quantities of uranium from Africa." As long as the statement
was attributed to British Intelligence, the White House officials argued,
it would be factually accurate. The CIA officials dropped their objections
and that's how it was delivered.

"The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought
significant quantities of uranium from Africa," Mr. Bush said.

The statement was technically correct, since it accurately reflected the
British paper. But the bottom line is the White House knowingly included
in a presidential address information its own CIA had explicitly warned
might not be true.

More of this breaking story at:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/06/25/iraq/main560449.shtml