The trade visit was in 1999. Note that Iraq had purchased uranium from Niger before back in 1980.
These are important questions for at least two reasons. First, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission, Niger exported only $260 million in goods in 2000 and $251 million in 2001. Its only export likely to interest Saddam is uranium (its other top exports, according to the CIA, are livestock, cowpeas and onions). Secondly, as ElBaradei himself pointed out, IAEA interviews with Iraqis were conducted within Iraq, and were often done in the presence of an Iraqi government monitor or were tape-recorded by the subject in lieu of a monitor.
If Iraq's emissary to Niger sought trade, the implication is obvious: Did Saddam want Niger uranium, or did he want Niger cows or cowpeas?
I contacted IAEA Senior Information Officer Melissa Fleming. On July 22, in response to my written questions, she provided written answers that she said were "to the best of my knowledge and to the degree I am authorized to provide internal information." Here they are:
Q: "Who was the Iraqi official who went to Niger in 1999?"
A: "He was Ambassador to Rome, Ambassador Al Zahawie. He retired in August 2000."
Q: "Was he the only Iraqi official who went to Niger in the 1999 to 2001 time frame?"
A: "I don't know. But he was the one named in the forged documents as having visited Niger and carried out the transaction, so he was most interesting to our inspectors."
Q: "Why did the Iraqi government send him to Niger?"
A: "They said his visit was a part of a trade mission and also he was accredited to Niger as Ambassador (some country's (sic) Ambassadors cover a number of countries in a region)."
Q: "Who in the Iraqi government provided the IAEA with the explanation for this Iraqi's trip to Niger?"
A: "IAEA inspectors worked with counterparts at the liaison body in Baghdad, The National Monitoring Directorate."
Q: "Did the Iraqi government back up their explanation with documentation?"
A: "They provided information on its relations with Niger as well as information on a 1980 purchase of uranium (known to the IAEA) from Niger."
Q: "Did the IAEA request an interview with the Iraqi official who went to Niger?"
A: "Yes, he was interviewed in Baghdad by IAEA inspectors."
Q: "Did the IAEA get to interview the Iraqi official who went to Niger?"
A: "See above."
Q: "If so, did they get to do an interview with him in private, without a monitor from the Iraqi government, and without a tape recording being made by the interviewee? Was the interview inside or outside the territory of Iraq?"
A: "The interview was monitored."
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