Despite the explicit request of former DCI George Tenet, the White House "overruled" the CIA in order to include the now infamous "16 words" in President Bush's 2003 State of the Union address.
As part of Bob Woodard's testimony in the Lewis "Scooter" Libby perjury trial, a taped interview was played in which former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told the journalist that Tenet "personally" had the statement "taken out" just 3 months earlier in a speech in Cincinnati.
When Woodward asked why it re-appeared in the State of the Union, Armitage replied, "it was overruled by...the White House. Condi doesn`t like being in the hot spot."
Armitage's statements to Woodward seem to confirm the version of events reported by ePluribus Media almost a year and a half ago.
In typical fashion, with the exception of Keith Olbermann, the MSM has completely missed the diamond in the dung heap of Woodward's testimony: the White House knew Iraq wasn't seeking yellowcake from Africa, but lied about it to start a war.
Armitage's statements to Woodward, detailed on the ePluribus Media Community site, portray even more darkly the obsessive focus of Vice President Dick Cheney to sell the war in Iraq by claiming Saddam Hussein possessed WMD and their precursors, especially related to nuclear weapons.
Now, as exposed by ePMedia in July of 2005, Armitage confirms that former CIA head George Tenet not only knew the Iraq-Niger link was unsubstantiated, but conveyed this information to the White House three months before the 2003 State of the Union address.
The audio of Woodward's interview with Armitage has been made available to the public.