Talk:Joseph C. Wilson IV

When I read about Joseph C. Wilson's accusation that administration officials 'disclosed' his wife's indentity as a CIA agent, I become ill at his pathetic, cry baby tactic. As I understand it, his wife has not been an agent for some 11 years.

It's a political crime against the American taxpayer to ask for this foolish investigation. So what if the whole world knows Valeria WAS an agent -- Joe is a HAS BEEN himself. Please do us all a favor and go back under your rock. Dorothy in Ohio

When, exactly, did the SourceWatch actually become a source of disinformation?

- Relocating addition pending reference--Bob Burton 07:43, 11 Jul 2005 (EDT)

The Senate Intelligence Committee, in a unanimous report, noted that Wilson has publicly misrepresented the contents of his report to the CIA, and also the events surrounding his trip to Niger.


 * Note: Although I've seen references to this info, have not actually seen the data, Bob. Artificial Intelligence 07:51, 11 Jul 2005 (EDT)

Edit note
I reverted the edit of Mulhollanddose -- there are several links worth adding into the links section but the narrative goes beyond what those links actually show. For example:


 * this link doesn't demonstrate Wilson's Niger statements were false;


 * "Ms. Plame was the primary instrument in getting her husband the mission to go to Niger and find out if Saddam Hussein was indeed attempting to acquire more uranium" -- all the cited WP story shows was that Plame provided advice on her husbands contacts etc but it makes clear that the decision to send him was made by one of Plame's superiors. Therefore clearly Plame wasn't the "primary instrument in getting her husband the mission" --Bob Burton 16:47, 15 August 2008 (EDT)

Edit note 2
Simply adding extracts from National Review Online and the Weekly Standard is hardly compelling evidence. And trying to insist that contact by Iraq expressing interest in "expanding commercial relations" with Niger is hardly evidence that it was all about nuclear materials even if Mayaki decided to interpret it that way.--Bob Burton 05:28, 16 August 2008 (EDT)

It demonstrates clearly that what Joe Wilson wrote in his propaganda screed was erroneous and factually inaccurate. Joe Wilson contradicts himself and, thereby, loses all credibility.


 * Susan Schmidt says, "Wilson said that a former prime minister of Niger, Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, was unaware of any sales contract with Iraq, but said that in June 1999 a businessman approached him, insisting that he meet with an Iraqi delegation to discuss "expanding commercial relations" between Niger and Iraq -- which Mayaki interpreted to mean they wanted to discuss yellowcake sales. A report CIA officials drafted after debriefing Wilson said that "although the meeting took place, Mayaki let the matter drop due to UN sanctions on Iraq."


 * Joe Wilson's own words condemn his own lies and demonstrate that he is not to be trusted. Joe Wilson should have been brought up on charges of conspiring to undermine a sitting President. Treason. User:Mulhollanddose

Edit note 3
I reverted the addition of the text below. Aside from a few style problems (such as the inclusion of "unqualified" and "not qualified in the one sentence, it is entirely unreferenced despite making a significant number of assertions in one paragraph. I have added references tags where I think the key points are for the purposes of illustration. See SourceWatch:References for further details.--Bob Burton 16:42, 17 August 2008 (EDT)


 * The Fiztgerald investigation found the Bush Administation innocent. It was widely known that Valerie Plame was a CIA agent by many in the White House press corps and Washington D.C. It was made clear by a Senate investigation that not only did Joe Wilson launch a misleading hatchet job on the Bush Administration, but his wife conspired to deceive the Senate investigation as she claimed she did not recommend her unqualified husband (Joe Wilson) for a job he was not qualified to accomplish.

As for the Schmidt par above, the problem is that -- even taking it at face value -- the material does not demonstrate that Iraq was seeking nuclear material. The approach was for "expanding commercial relations" which Mayaki interpreted as meaning nuclear materials -- but that is hardly compelling evidence that is actually what Iraq meant, let alone strong enough evidence to justify going to war on.--Bob Burton 16:42, 17 August 2008 (EDT)

Page tidy
Relocating the following text from the article page while I rearrange the page and update the referencing style.--Bob Burton 19:14, 18 August 2008 (EDT)

This foundation for the Wilson assertions was contradicted by the Senate Intelligence Committee report (page 17), the Butler Committee report and Joseph Wilson himself. Some Bush critics have alleged that Iraq may not have been looking to acquire uranium from Niger, to which the British Inquiry (according to MSNBC--consistently critical of the Bush Administration) "...said it was generally accepted that Iraqi officials visited Niger in 1999, and there was intelligence from several sources that the visit was to acquire uranium. “Since uranium constitutes almost three-quarters of Niger’s exports, the intelligence was credible...”"

Additionally, Wilson accused the administration of attempting to discredit and intimidate him by deliberately leaking the identity of his wife, Valerie Plame, as a CIA covert operative. This 'scandal' all began when Mr. Wilson lied with the claim in his discredited book that, "Valerie had nothing to do with the matter...She definitely had not proposed that I make the trip." This was later proven a falsehood, casting doubt on all of the Wilson/Plame criticisms of the Bush Administration. According to the Senate Intelligence Committee, Valerie Plame sent a memo to the CIA Directorate of Operations on Feb. 12, 2002, stating her husband, "has good relations with both the PM [prime minister] and the former Minister of Mines (not to mention lots of French contacts), both of whom could possibly shed light on this sort of activity." When Joseph Wilson claimed, "Valerie had nothing to do with the matter," he clearly lied. 
 * Wilson "interpreted the leak of his wife's C.I.A. connection as an act of vengeance from White House officials for his public accusations of deceit in building a case for the Iraq war. Days before the leak, he had gone public in a New York Times Op-Ed article and television appearances to charge that the administration had covered up his own debunking of reports that Iraq had bought uranium in Africa.


 * "What he calls a 'smear campaign' against the couple has catalyzed his transformation from nonpartisan diplomat - he worked closely with the first President Bush and his top aides during the first gulf war - to anti-Bush activist."

Wilson now "consults on business projects in Africa as JC Wilson International Ventures," "a firm specializing in Strategic Management and International Business Development. He is also an adjunct scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington DC."