Remember President Bush’s State of the Union Address in 2003? During his speech, Bush spoke of Iraqi attempts to buy uranium oxide -- now infamously known as “yellowcake” -- from Niger. The President’s assertion about a Nigerian uranium connection was attributed to British, not American, intelligence.

Now, do you remember Joseph C. Wilson IV, the one-time CIA operative in Niger? He told the Washington Post that President Bush ignored his warning that it was “highly unlikely” that Iraq tried to buy yellowcake from Niger. Even though Wilson claims to be a “political centrist,” after the President’s speech he accused the White House of “misrepresenting the facts” while asking, “What else are they [the Bush team] lying about.” Official American, British, and French reports now seem to show that Wilson was the one lying.

The Senate intelligence committee report on pre-war Iraq intelligence concluded last week that “Wilson provided misleading information to the Washington Post last June.”

An independent committee of the British parliament found in September 2003 that the Iraqi/Nigerian yellowcake connection was “reasonable.”

Lord Butler’s report, delivered today to the UK’s House of Commons, found that evidence uncovered by British Intelligence of Iraqi attempts to procure uranium from Niger was credible and based on “several different sources.”

French intelligence has also given account of Iraqi attempts to buy Nigerian yellowcake. But that’s not all the evidence now piled up against Wilson.

In the last week, both the Financial Times and Washington Post have published information that contradicts Wilson. He himself admits to spending a mere 8 days in Niger during his “investigation.” Wilson only provided a verbal report to the CIA; he never wrote down any of his findings for formal presentation. According to townhall.com,

CIA officials did not regard Wilson's intelligence as definitive, being based primarily on what the Niger officials told him and probably would have claimed under any circumstances.

Sounds to me like the President’s infamous “16 words” about yellowcake are credible and that poor ol’ Joe Wilson was trying to pump up the sales of his book. The left-wing has embraced Wilson -- he says what they want to hear. But he’s been lying all along.