EXCLUSIVA: DOS LIBROS EXPLOSIVOS SOBRE EL PRETEXTO PARA INVADIR IRAK

EXCLUSIVA: Dos explosivos libros relatan la historia secreta de los documentos falsificados sobre Irak y Nigeria que sirvieron como pretexto para la guerra

En su discurso sobre el estado de la Unión de Enero de 2003, el presidente Bush pronunció las famosas palabras: “El gobierno británico ha sabido que Saddam Hussein consiguió recientemente cantidades significativas de uranio en África”. El argumento resultaba primordial para los planteamientos del gobierno de que Saddam Hussein estaba intentando desarrollar armas de destrucción masiva, y sirvió como base para comenzar la invasión de Irak menos de dos meses después. La declaración de Bush se basó en un documento de inteligencia que proporcionaba evidencias de la compra de uranio por parte de Irak al país africano de Nigeria. Pero había un problema: el documento era falso. En una entrevista exclusiva de Democracy Now!, hablamos con los respectivos autores de dos explosivos libros sobre el tema. Carlo Bonini es el periodista italiano que reveló la historia de los documentos nigerianos. Su nuevo libro se titula “Conspiración: el espionaje internacional y la guerra contra el terrorismo” (“Collusion: International Espionaje and the War on Terror”). Peter Eisner es un veterano corresponsal internacional y actualmente editor del Washington Post. Su nuevo libro se llama “La carta italiana: cómo fue que la administración Bus usó una carta falsa para dar argumentos a la guerra contra Irak” (“The Italian Letter: How the Bush Administration Used a Fake Letter to Build the Case for War in Iraq”).
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Tuesday, April 10th, 2007EXCLUSIVE…Two Explosive Books Tell the Inside Story of the Forged Iraq-Niger Docs That Helped Build the Case for WarListen to Segment Download Show mp3 Watch 128k stream Watch 256k stream Read Transcript Help Printer-friendly version Email to a friend Purchase Video/CD
In his January 2003 State of the Union address, President Bush declared the infamous sixteen words: “The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.” The claim was central to the administration’s claims that Saddam Hussein was seeking weapons of mass destruction and served as a basis for launching the Iraq invasion less than two months later. Bush’s declaration was based on an intelligence document that provided evidence about Iraq’s purchase of uranium from the African country of Niger. But there was one problem: the document was a fake. In a Democracy Now! broadcast exclusive, we speak with the authors of two explosive new books. Carlo Bonini is the Italian reporter who broke the Niger story. His new book is called “Collusion: International Espionage and the War on Terror.” Peter Eisner is a veteran foreign correspondent and is currently an editor at the Washington Post. His new book is “The Italian Letter: How the Bush Administration Used a Fake Letter to Build the Case for War in Iraq.” [includes rush transcript]
It was one of the key justifications for the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
President Bush: “The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.”President Bush made the statement in his January 2003 State of the Union. Those sixteen words were central to the administration’s claims that Saddam Hussein was seeking weapons of mass destruction and served as a basis for launching the Iraq invasion less than two months later. Bush’s declaration was based on an intelligence document that provided evidence about Iraq’s purchase of uranium from the African country of Niger. But there was one problem: the document was a fake.
Bush’s smoking gun evidence would quickly unravel and ignite a political firestorm that reached the highest levels of the US government. The story behind the forged document stretches from Italy to Niger to Iraq and deep into the corridors of the US intelligence community and the White House itself. The document played a key role in the chain of events that led to the conviction of Vice President Dick Cheney’s former Chief of Staff, Lewis “Scooter” Libby, in the CIA leak case.
And its effect continues to reverberate today. Congressmember Henry Waxman, the chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, recently formally requested Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to testify before a committee hearing next week regarding the false Iraq-Niger claims.
Today, a Democracy Now! broadcast exclusive: two explosive new books. Carlo Bonini is the Italian reporter who broke the story. His new book is called “Collusion: International Espionage and the War on Terror.” He is an investigative journalist with La Repubblica newspaper of Rome, and he joins us in our firehouse studio. Peter Eisner is a veteran foreign correspondent and is currently an editor at the Washington Post. His new book is “The Italian Letter: How the Bush Administration Used a Fake Letter to Build the Case for War in Iraq.” He joins us from Washington, D.C.
Peter Eisner. Veteran foreign correspondent. He is currently an editor at the Washington Post. He is co-author of “The Italian Letter: How the Bush Administration Used a Fake Letter to Build the Case for War in Iraq.”
Carlo Bonini. Investigative journalist with La Repubblica newspaper of Rome. He is co-author of “Collusion: International Espionage and the War on Terror.”
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