I see in the WaPO that the White House has released some CIA documents:
An intelligence assessment by the CIA last October cites “compelling evidence” that Saddam Hussein was attempting to reconstitute a nuclear-weapons program, according to documents released Friday by the White House.
Mounting a campaign to counter criticism that it used flawed intelligence to justify war with Iraq, the White House made public excerpts of the intelligence community’s October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate. That report helped shape now-challenged comments by President Bush in his State of the Union address that Iraq was attempting to buy uranium in Africa.
The report asserts that Baghdad “if left unchecked…probably will have a nuclear weapon during this decade.”
It also cites unsubstantiated reports that Iraq was trying to buy uranium from three African countries: Niger, Somalia and “possibly” Congo.
Just a question- why are the governments of Niger, Congo, and Somalia trusted with this material, or is it just naturally occuring in these nations.
Jonas
Why the hell do we trust the Saudis with our oil?
Dean
On a serious note:
Uranium is a naturally occurring mineral. The largest suppliers of it are Australia and Canada, plus Niger, Namibia, and South Africa. Uranium veins also occur in Congo (and have a higher proportion, iirc, of U-235).
http://www.eng.uwaterloo.ca/~pcboutro/uranium/market.html
Much as a huge percentage of the world’s titanium ore is in China and Russia, key minerals often are in the most awkward of places.
Kalroy
Isn’t there a large titanium deposit in South Africa?