President George W. Bush said US intelligence agencies had approved his State of the Union address, which included a claim, since discredited, that Iraq made efforts to procure uranium from Niger.
"I gave a speech to the nation that was cleared by intelligence services. It was a speech that detailed to the American people the dangers posed by the Saddam Hussein regime," Bush said. "My government took the appropriate response to the dangers, and as a result the world is more secure and more peaceful."
The US leader was speaking in Uganda, after talks with President Yoweri Museveni, on the fourth stop of a five-country tour in Africa.
The US charge on uranium stemmed from forged documents alleging that Saddam's regime had sought uranium "yellowcake" from Niger, and from separate information that Saddam had also sought the radioactive material from other African nations. (Albawaba.com)
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