Big Deal! We already KNEW the CIA hadn't determined them to be forgeries!

Today's slant by the administration is that they did not look at the Niger papers closely enough before the SOTU and had not yet determined that they were forgeries. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-07-18-iraq-uranium_x.htm

But we already KNEW that! The relevant point is that, by several accounts, the administration WAS informed through several sources months prior to the SOTU that the alleged Iraq/uranium/Africa deal was likely bogus. Even though they now hang for dear life onto the idea that there was "other evidence" (which we have never seen and likely never will), our own intelligence community has said that the other evidence for the claim was sketchy and unreliable, going so far as to have it removed from previous speeches by the President and trying to dissuade British Intelligence from perpetuating the claim. Presumably, the British had this evidence; and everyone in the White House is still claiming this evidence they have (which no one can cite) is accurate. I guess we trust their intelligence over ours now? Or is it that making a baseless claim with zero evidence is all they have to hang their hat on now?

This takes the administration M.O. to new levels. You know: presenting facts that do nothing to address the question at hand, but only divert (this was usually limited to Ari's press briefings, and the typical non-answers provided by Bush, Condi et al when questioned).

As usual, they are a day late and dollar short in trying to cover their butts. It's not working.