sdnativeson: Related to the Plame issue is the situation involving her husband and the trip to investigate the Iraqi-Niger connection. Niger has only a few exports worth mentioning: Uranium, livestock and agriculture. Given that Iraq would seem to have no need of the last two, it certainly begs the question of Iraqi interest in Niger and why they (Iraq) went so far as to establish a trade mission with Niger.
Amidst all the talk about whether or not Saddam had WMD (and the Clinton Administration believed he did), one forgets that he (Saddam) was actively upgrading his capabilities in the areas of bioweapons (he was looking to weaponize botulin), as well as chemical weapons (looking to purchase old Soviet stocks of VX and Sarin), and he was acquiring the technology and scientific know-how to build a nuke.
There was a clearly established link between Iraq and Niger, and the Iraqi government’s explanation that Iraq was also developing relationships with other African nations as well as Niger and therefore the Niger trip was of no consequence has the substance of wind.
Plame was not outed by a vindictive administration. Moreover, she was not in a position to be outed, in that she was no longer operating in any sort of clandesting or undercover capacity.
I would hasten to add (for those like justme) that Saddam did have WMD. They were used against the Kurds at Halabja and the Iranians during the Iran-Iraq War. The assertion that the invasion of Iraq was built on a lie would then mean that Clinton and his senior administration officials, including the intelligence community, created and then perpetuated the lie during both terms of his presidency.
