Henry Waxman strikes again

The little pit bull continues to nip at administration heels, lately those of Condi Rice in regards to the 16 words in Bush's 2003 State of the Union message regards uranium and Niger. He wants her front and center of his committee.

His March letter demanding testimony was recently delegated to a lower level State Department staffer, who slyly reminded the Chairman of his colorful history of barraging the White House with letters and a kind suggestion of where he might find some answers from readily available sources.

Contentment might not be the best choice of words to describe his reaction if this new letter is any indication. In short, "Condoleezza Rice, c'mon down"!

But within the letter you'll see a paragraph--one paragraph--that exemplifies the confusion around this issue and which should be grounds for completely nullifying Waxman's inquest:

One of the issues the Committee is examining why the President asserted in his State of the Union address in 2003 that Iraq sought uranium from Niger

Huh? Let's go back and look at what the President actually said:

The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.

It's not difficult to view Africa as a continent and Niger as a country if one tries.

Perhaps Dr. Rice should attend the hearings after all, if nothing else but to set the record straight and show the Grand Inquisitor some of the other evidence linking Hussein with Africa. Yes, it's possible her appearance would likely be a trap with questions designed to evoke answers that would fit nicely on the evening news, YouTube and some of the high-minded blogs. That's really what this is all about.

But, if Waxman is going to persist with efforts to twist history someone should make it known that Britain has never backed off their intelligence claims regards Africa:

British intelligence on the claim that Iraq had sought uranium from Niger was "credible". There was not conclusive evidence Iraq actually purchased the material, nor did the government make that claim.

That either means their intelligence came from sources other than the forged documents or the Butler Commission was lying through its teeth but ONLY about uranium, since most of the rest of the report was harsh on MI6's assessments and human intelligence-gathering methods.

By the way, wonder what happened to Congressman Westmoreland's letter to the Liberalist Avenger's committee asking further questions about Valerie Plame's inconsistent answers?

MORE 4/11/07

Speaking of Africa, isn't this special

In this liberal-leaning tourist town known for its handmade turquoise- and-silver jewelry, Joseph Wilson has just bought his wife something special in a downtown shop: a red-and-blue pin that reads, "I'm not anti-Bush. I'm pro-intelligence."

In reading the story it's hard to imagine the AP writer could have been friendlier. One thing that intrigues me is the suggestion that Valerie has now "retired" at age 43. I may be ignorant to the types of retirement plans available to former spies, but in the regular government the only way a person can retire at that age is via a disability. The story didn't explore that area as Ms. Plame declined to be interviewed.