Larry K said

Now the committee has filed an interim report with unanamous consent.   The report states ABSOLUTELY CLEARLY that Bush didn't lie, that Richard Clark was in error, that Thomas Wilson was self serving and also in error.

Actually, I've just read the conclusions of the report. They do not state, ABSOLUTELY CLEARLY or otherwise, that Bush did not lie. They do not conclude that "Thomas Wilson" (whose name is in fact Joseph) was self-serving OR in error. I didn't look through it for mention of Clarke.

What they said about Joseph Wilson in the conclusions was that his report did not change any analyst's assessment. Those who had been wrong, and believed that Hussein and Niger had some kind of deal going, took Wilson's report to support their position, while those who had been right, believing that there was no such deal, took Wilson's report to support THEIR position. This says more about the analysts than about Wilson's report.

What was confusing was that, on the one occasion that an Iraqi delegation visited Niger, the Iraqis suggested in vague terms some possible trade. The Niger minister was worried that the Iraq delegation might have been talking about Uranium, so he quickly changed the subject (as Iraq was under sanctions and it would be illegal to sell them Uranium). The Niger minister admits that the Iraqis never actually mentioned Uranium. While Wilson took this to mean that Iraq did NOT openly attempt to buy Uranium, some at the CIA thought it could be construed to show that they DID attempt to buy Uranium.

Well, sure...if you REALLY wanted to believe that for some reason. And make no mistake, the conclusions DO say that the claim for an Iraqi attempt to buy Uranium WAS overstated, just as Wilson said it was. On the other hand, they do not rule out the possibility.

In any case, of course, Iraq never got any Uranium.

One thing that should be pointed out. The Washington Post made a big error in its reporting about Wilson and the Senate Intelligence report: they wrote that Wilson had told the CIA that Iraq had tried to buy 400 tons of uranium from Niger in 1998. In fact, it was Iran that Wilson said had tried to make the purchase, as the Senate report states. The Post ran a correction.

Most of the right wing websites out there running "Wilson is a liar" stories are using this WP mistake as a major piece of evidence: "Even Wilson said Iraq tried to buy Uranium, and now he says they didn't!"

Once again, this is just false.

There is no mention anywhere in the conclusions of whether the committee believes that George Bush ever lied. I will confess that I read quickly, however.   

Tomorrow, when I have a faster internet connection to work with, I'll see if I can find out what they say about Clarke.