July 28, 2003
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One of Bush's Scapegoats, Stephen Hadley, Has His Own Credibility Problems
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
Stephen Hadley, Bush's Deputy National Security Adviser, became the second major scapegoat to fall on his sword for his boss. (Although no one ever gets fired for failing or lying in the Bush administration. They only get fired for telling the truth.) But Hadley's apparent excuse for forgetting to take the infamous "16 word" Niger uranium claim out of the State of the Union -- that he was extremely busy -- is a bit dubious, based on some research done by a BuzzFlash reader.
You see, in a February 16, 2003, Chicago Tribune commentary by Hadley, he asserts the discredited Niger Uranium claim, yet again. Not only that, the op-ed is featured on a U.S. State Department consulate website . [LINK]
In the February 16 commentary, Hadley rounds up the "usual suspects" of Bush half-truths, deceptions, and lies in order to make his case about the need to immediately go to war with Iraq.
Most noteworthy, Hadley wrote:
"With its trained nuclear scientists and a weapons design, all Saddam Hussein lacks is the necessary plutonium or enriched uranium. Iraq has an active procurement program. According to British intelligence, the regime has tried to acquire natural uranium from abroad." (BuzzFlash bolded the relevant words.)
But the Bush "Denial and Deception" State of the Union address was in January.
So here's the quick recap: Last week, Hadley was trotted out to loyally take the blame for a phrase included in the State of the Union that he admits he knew was lacking in credibility as early as October of 2002. According to a July 22, Associated Press Article:
As a result, Hadley said the offending passage was excised from a speech on Iraq the president gave in Cincinnati last Oct. 7. But Hadley suggested that details from the memos and phone call had slipped from his attention as the State of the Union was being put together. [LINK]
Hadley had received not just one, but two CIA warnings about the Niger uranium claims:
According to Hadley's account, an unsigned CIA memo was sent to him and to presidential speechwriter Michael Gerson in an Oct. 5 memorandum advising that "the CIA had reservations about the British reporting" on Iraq's alleged attempts to buy uranium from the west African country of Niger.
"These reservations were confirmed by the CIA" in a second memo on Oct. 6, a day before Bush's Cincinnati speech, Hadley said.
Well, we guess Hadley just kept having the two CIA warnings to him in October about the claim continue to "slip from his attention," because he repeats the claim in February of 2003, more than two weeks after the State of the Union address.
As we noted in a recent BuzzFlash editorial, the White House fires people who tell the truth and rewards those who lie for Bush.
Bush has brought dishonor upon our nation's first home, the White House. And he has a staff that fits right in.
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
