of the results of a trip the CIA initiated at the suggestion of his office. I find that extremely odd.
JanMichael points this out in an earlier thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=8130&mesg_id=8130&page=Although denying Cheney pressured the CIA to cook the books, the WH does not deny that he made repeated visits to the CIA "to question analysts studying Iraq's weapons programs" (according to the Washington Post :
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A15019-2003Jun4). This stands as unchallenged fact.
So let's get this straight: Dick Cheney repeatedly visited the CIA
specifically because he was so interested in intelligence regarding Iraq's WMDs, yet
we are to believe that he never asked about the results of Ambassador Wilson's visit to Niger? We are to believe that he never asked about a visit the CIA initiated
at the suggestion of the HIS office to assess the validity of the Niger/Iraq uranium deal?
We are to believe that he never asked (or was told by the CIA) at the very least general questions about the evidence regarding the alleged nuclear threat from Iraq?! It is simply incomprehensible to ask us to believe this. We know that he took an unusually hands-on approach with "multiple" visits to the CIA specifically for this purpose! Even if he did not ask specifically about the Niger deal, it is simply not believable that it would not have come up at some point during these visits.
Even if he did not know about the trip, the CIA did, and they knew that they initiated it in response to questions by Cheney's office.
The earlier Washington Post report (whether or not there was pressure; in fact, especially if there was NOT) does not jibe with the current denials. It is not plausible that he did not know about the Niger trip and its conclusion. How long before even the somnambulist mainstream media pick up on this?
A question for the White House: "If there was NOT pressure by Cheney on the CIA to present evidence backing up the case for war, then why did the CIA NOT tell Cheney about the Niger deal being false, especially when his multiple visits to the CIA were made to "question analysts studying Iraq's weapons programs"? For that matter, if he was there to get information about Iraq's WMD programs, why did he NOT ask specifically about the Niger uranium deal?" (I personally would add "Is he incompetent or is he lying?")