Remember the British Intelligence/Yellow Cake controversy? [View all]

[Junkdrawer]

"Sixteen Words" controversy in 2003 State of the Union

In his January 2003 State of the Union speech, U.S. President George W. Bush said, "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."[2] This single sentence is now known as "the Sixteen Words."[3] The administration later conceded that evidence in support of the claim was inconclusive and stated, "These sixteen words should never have been included." The administration attributed the error to the CIA.[4] In mid-2003, the U.S. government declassified the 2002 National Intelligence Estimate, which contained a dissenting opinion published by the U.S. Department of State stating that the intelligence connecting Niger to Saddam Hussein was "highly suspect," primarily because State Department's intelligence agency analysts did not believe that Niger would be likely to engage in such a transaction due to a French consortium which maintained close control over the Nigerien uranium industry.[5]

According to The Washington Post, when occupying troops found no evidence of a current nuclear program, the statement and how it came to be in the speech became a focus for critics in Washington and foreign capitals to press the case that the White House manipulated facts to take the United States to war. The Post reported, "Dozens of interviews with current and former intelligence officials and policymakers in the United States, Britain, France and Italy show that the Bush administration disregarded key information available at the time showing that the Iraq-Niger claim was highly questionable." [6] With the release of the 2002 NIE report, the Bush administration was criticized for including the statement in the State of the Union despite CIA and State Department reports questioning its veracity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niger_uranium_forgeries

Well....

....

President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron are “both gravely concerned by the attack that took place in Damascus on Wednesday and the increasing signs that this was a significant chemical weapons attack carried out by the Syrian regime against its own people," spokesperson for Cameron said Saturday.

"They reiterated that significant use of chemical weapons would merit a serious response from the international community and both have tasked officials to examine all the options," the spokesperson said.

A senior Obama administration official told The Associated Press Sunday there is "very little doubt" that a chemical weapon was involved.

British newspaper, the Sunday Telegraph, said Cameron plans to put forward a “game-changing” resolution to the United National Security Council that would give the Syrian government an ultimatum to disarm.

....

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/08/25/20179917-us-action-would-inflame-the-middle-east-syria-warns-as-white-house-weighs-options?lite

When in doubt, quote the Brits...