In 1999, the French were investigating possible clandestine uranium shipments from abandoned mines in Niger. They had previously received shipments from Niger for their nuclear program. The investigation has nothing to do with Iraq, except for the fact that Rocco Martino was working as a contact for both French and Italian (SISMI)intelligence. In December 2000, the Neocon elite were already planning an invasion of Iraq. Bookmark this.

On New Years day, it was reported that the Niger Embassy in Rome was burlarized: the only items missing were a letterhead and stamps of the official seal. Some claim the "burglary" was staged.
I don't think that matters.

It is possible that the documents were prepared for sale to the French, if so, the French didn't buy the fakes because of obvious errors they would have known on sight - because of their own extensive dealing with Niger.

Given the known facts, it is plausible that Martino still thought the documents were a possible meal ticket.

According to numerous reports, mostly from the Italian press, Martino offered them to the "CIA chief of station at the US embassy in Rome" and was thrown out of the embassy. The document had obvious errors that could have been checked in the publicly available CIA world Fact Book. It made reference to a 1965 version of the Niger constitution, instead of the current 1999 version. He may have known about the previous offers of uranium from the mid 90s that were used to create the body of the document. There were enough obvious errors in the document that he had Rocco thrown out of the embassy for his lame attempt at fraud.

But Rocco didn't give up, and continued to search for opportunities to sell the documents - then, after 911, the neocons put the word out in ernest "to get something on Saddam". Everyone from Woodward to La Republica has said something about this part.

We know that the Jeffrey Castelli, who allegedly threw Rocco out of the US embassy in Rome isn't around any more.

There are several senior CIA agents who no longer work at the ill-fated station in rome. It has a sordid history of second rate clandestine operations. Castelli's immediate predecessor. Alan Wolf died in 2003. Alan Wolf is alleged by CIA sources to have been part of the conspiracy to accept the documents as genuine.

He has no more to say on the subject, may he rest in peace.

Did Castelli change his mind about the documents or was this dirty job for someone else?

The endpoint is this: word of the documents, not the physical documents themselves convinced the state department analysts of their reality, adequately for their report. Once the documents were brought forward - well, let's just say the whole Wilson/Plame affair never had to happen because Wilson would not have asked to go to Niger.

So Woodward, famed for his daring Watergate scoop, knew what he was doing when he kept his knowledge of the Plame affair under his hat - for 2 years. Why? Because it is a side issue, a diversion: and everyone who has played a role in it, willingly or not, has drawn public attention away from the obvious fraud that is our war in Iraq.

David Roknich

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