Iraq Intelligence and Nuclear Evidence

Rep. Waxman and other members of Congress have been seeking information on the intelligence used to justify the war in Iraq, including the Administration’s repeated use of fabricated claims regarding Iraq’s attempts to procure uranium from Niger. The President’s proposed commission on Iraq intelligence – one whose members would be appointed by and report to the White House – lacks the independence necessary to restore the trust of the American public and international community in the Administration and our intelligence system.

Senior members of Congress, including House Minority Leader Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Daschle, and Rep. Waxman, have urged the President to support a congressionally appointed commission on Iraq intelligence. Legislation introduced by Rep. Waxman to establish an independent commission -- modeled after the September 11 Commission -- to examine both the Iraq intelligence and the representations made by executive branch officials about this intelligence has been cosponsored by more than 135 members of Congress.

Special Features

Iraq on the Record: The Bush Administration's Public Statements on Iraq

Legislation

Friday, July 25, 2003
Members Call for Independent Commission on Iraq
More than 135 members of Congress have cosponsored legislation introduced by Rep. Waxman to establish an independent commission -- modeled after the September 11 Commission -- to examine the intelligence about Iraq and the representations made by executive branch officials about this intelligence.
- Bill
- Cosponsors
- Press Release
- Statement
- Summary

Fact Sheets

		President’s Commission on U.S. Intelligence Capabilities Regarding WMD
		The Administration’s Use of the Forged Iraq Nuclear Evidence
		What Intelligence Officials Knew about the Forged Iraq Nuclear Evidence

Chronology

Monday, October 04, 2004
Waxman Requests Hearings on Manipulation of Nuclear Intelligence
Rep. Waxman calls for hearings on a New York Times report that the President, the Vice President, and their top advisors exaggerated Iraq’s nuclear threat.
- Letter to Chairman Davis

Monday, February 02, 2004
Proposed Commission Lacks Adequate Independence
Rep. Pelosi, Sen. Daschle, Sen. Rockefeller, Rep. Waxman, and Sen. Lieberman urge the President to support a congressionally appointed commission to examine the intelligence used to justify the war in Iraq.
- Letter to President Bush

Tuesday, July 29, 2003
More Questions for NSA Rice on Iraq Nuclear Claims
Rep. Waxman asks National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice to answer questions about the extent of her knowledge of Iraq nuclear claims, whether there were White House efforts to mislead the public, and how the discredited uranium claim got into the National Intelligence Estimate.
- Letter to NSA Rice

Monday, July 21, 2003
Source of State Department Fact Sheet May Shed Light on Nuclear Evidence Controversy
In a letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell, Rep. Waxman asks who was responsible for adding a fabricated claim about Iraq's attempts to procure uranium from Niger to a 2002 State Department Fact Sheet.
- Letter to Secretary Powell

Tuesday, July 15, 2003
Intelligence Committee Should Hold Immediate Public Hearings on Forged Nuclear Evidence
In a 12-page letter, Rep. Waxman calls on the House Intelligence Committee to hold immediate public hearings on the President's use of bogus nuclear evidence in the State of the Union address. The letter details the many unanswered questions that Congress needs to address.
- Letter to House Intelligence Committee

Tuesday, July 08, 2003
IAEA Letter Raises New Questions about Administration Use of Forged Iraqi Evidence
New information from the International Atomic Energy Agency reveals that for over six crucial weeks in December and January the Administration withheld from the international agency important information about Iraq’s purported attempts to obtain nuclear materials.
- IAEA Letter to Rep. Waxman
- Letter to President Bush
- State Dept. Letter to Rep. Waxman

Thursday, June 12, 2003
New Questions on President's Use of Forged Nuclear Evidence
The Administration's new account of why the President cited forged evidence about Iraq's nuclear capabilities in his State of the Union conflicts with known facts and is clearly incomplete.
- Rep. Waxman's Statement

Monday, June 02, 2003
President Asked to Explain Use of Forged Evidence
Rep. Waxman asks the President to explain why he cited forged evidence about Iraq's efforts to obtain nuclear materials in his 2003 State of the Union address. Rep. Waxman also releases an ambiguous one-page letter from the State Department regarding the use of the forged evidence.
- Letter to the President
- State Department Letter

Saturday, May 10, 2003
Administration Statements on Iraq Nuclear Evidence Contradict Known Facts, Raise New Questions
In a letter to National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Rep. Waxman details contradictions in recent Administration statements about the President's use of forged nuclear evidence in the State of the Union address and urges full disclosure of the relevant facts. * Typographical errors corrected (June 11, 2003).
- Letter to NSA Rice *

Monday, March 17, 2003
Doubts about Administration's Nuclear Evidence on Iraq
In a letter to President Bush, Rep. Waxman writes that a key part of the U.S. case against Iraq – evidence that indicated that Iraq sought to obtain nuclear materials from the African country of Niger – was not regarded as credible by the CIA.
- Letter to the President