Bush aide admits meeting Italian secret service chief in 2002

[tocqueville]

Thu Nov 3, 3:03 AM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President George W. Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, admitted meeting Italy's top spy in 2002 but said they did not discuss uranium, as speculation mounted on the source of fake documents that supported the US decision to go to war with Iraq.

Hadley told a press briefing that he had briefly met the head of Italy's SISMI secret intelligence service, Nicolo Pollari, on September 9, 2002 in a "courtesy call" aimed at getting to know his new colleague.

"There was a meeting in Washington on that date. I did attend a meeting with him," Hadley said in response to a question about a report published last week in the Italian center-left newspaper La Repubblica, which disclosed the meeting.

"It was, so far as we can tell from our records, about less than 15 minutes. It was a courtesy call. Nobody participating in that meeting or asked about that meeting has any recollection of a discussion of natural uranium, or any recollection of any documents being passed. And that's also my recollection," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051103/pl_afp/usitalyintelligenceciairaqniger

[rodeodance]

1. the stench is getting pretty bad.

[Tesla]

2. They better check for Radon in the WH.....

It seems like everyone is having memory lapses that work there!!!

[sinkingfeeling]

3. "No recollection". Isn't that Raygun's line?

[truebrit71]

4. Curioser and curioser....

Hmmm...things are starting to get interesting..

[yellowcanine]

5. Ruh Roh. Drip. Drip. Drip. This ain't over by a long shot.

[Supersedeas]

6. Condi knows someone knows something in the bowels of the NSA

[realFedUp]

7. Thanks to Josh M M for keeping track of this angle

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com

[Norquist Nemesis]

8. Nah, why discuss uranium when the topic is forging documents

and getting them into the WH? :shrug:

[Oilwellian]

9. It's interesting the press question didn't specify documents

Why would Hadley mention documents being passed when the press didn't even mention it?