Niger hits back over uranium claim

[DoYouEverWonder]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3100089.stm

Sunday, 27 July, 2003

The prime minister of the west African state of Niger has challenged Tony Blair to produce evidence for his controversial claim that Iraq tried to buy uranium there.

"If Britain has evidence to support its claim then it has only to produce it for everybody to see," said Prime Minister Hama Hamadou in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph.

<snip>

"We were the first African country to send soldiers to fight against Saddam after the invasion of Kuwait in 1991," Mr Hamadou said.

"Would we really send material to somebody whom we had fought against and who could destroy half the world with a nuclear bomb? It's unthinkable".

[ewagner]

1. OOOoooooooo.

This could get ugly!

[Eloriel]

2. Go, Hamadou

Goodness. People just falling all over themselves to expose Bush/Blair lies, huh?

Love it!

Eloriel

[realFedUp]

3. hama, hama, hama

I hope Niger has enough wealth so it doesn't have to
take allowances from Britain or the US.

[DoYouEverWonder]

4. They've got uranium

I'm sure that stuff is expensive.

[5thGenDemocrat]

6. Hama Hamadou. Cool name.

It's got a beat you can dance to.
John
Whose last name sounds like a belch.

[Old and In the Way]

5. This should be straight forward for Blair to refute.....

of course, if he can't.....

[psychopomp]

7. That tears it

It was not a stretch to believe in the possibility of Iraqi efforts to purchase uranium from Niger at some point after the first US war on Iraq in 1991.

The obfuscation and finger-pointing that followed the revelation that this claim was falsified was implication enough of UK-US lies. With this new challenge, though, the gloves should be off on questioning the falsification of the alleged evidence of these Iraqi/Niger purchases. Where, in the world, is the outrage?

-snip-
(PM Hamadou) told the newspaper his government had not received any formal accusation of involvement with Saddam, saying that the row had its roots in the battle for public opinion in the UK and the US.

"We cannot get involved in the politics of the world's most powerful nations. We are a poor country. Our uranium is tightly controlled and our priorities are to produce enough food to feed our people and provide education for all of our children," he said.

But he said the row would not affect Niger's reputation.

"Everybody know s that the claims are untrue," he told the paper.

"We have survived famine in Niger. We can survive this".
fin

[Melinda]

8. It's Hama time!!

Sorry, couldn't resis. :evilgrin:

Remember how this madministration promised to produce its evidence once Saddan was defeated and intelligence sources security ensured? Seems Hama does too.