U.S. and British intelligence agencies concealed information from each other and reached contradictory conclusions about disputed claims that Iraq attempted to buy nuclear materials, British officials said today.
BRITISH OFFICIALS have confirmed that the CIA sought last September to persuade them to drop from a public dossier a reference to Iraqi attempts to buy uranium in Africa. In a letter to a parliamentary committee investigating British participation in the war against Iraq, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Britain rejected the CIA request because it had “reliable intelligence which we had not shared with the U.S.” for the allegation and because the agency had made the request “unsupported by explanation.”
The British government, which faces its own political backlash over the intelligence claim, continues to affirm its validity. “I stand by entirely the claim that was made last September” in the British dossier, which focused on weapons of mass destruction, Prime Minister Tony Blair told the House of Commons today. He said Britain had relied on “independent intelligence” to make its assessment.
http://msnbc.com/news/940092.asp?0cl=c3Save us the bullshit Glenn! Start doing your job before it's too late to clear your soul for heaven! The road you're on leads to hell! We know this could never happen without the permission of Blair and Bush. 'What if you knew them and found them dead on the ground how could you run when you know? 40,000 dead in Iraq'
Glenn Frankel: foreign@washpost.com
Foreign correspondent/London
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