[okie01]

I suspect it was that he had to wait to make sure Bush made the reference to Africa in his SOTU. If Bush had omitted the Africa reference, Wilson's handlers would've had to come up with another angle of attack instead.

A distinct possibility. A reference that they would believe was founded on the forged documents -- then in U.S. hands, but not yet proven fake -- right?

A baited trap...

I'm beginning to agree with you and Wolfstar. This thing is not only bigger than Joe & Val Play Politics, it may be even bigger than Democrats vs George W. Bush. Chuckie and the boys might be mere tools, themselves...

Going to bed. Then a long day on the road tomorrow. I'll check back in tomorrow night.

[Wolfstar]

The earliest allegations of false documents were about ones traced to Italy. I no longer remember the details. But the earliest accusation was that Blair and Bush had based some of their Iraq WMD claims on those false documents. This was in 2002, as I recall.

And, okie, it is indeed much larger than just the Wilson angle. We must not lose sight of the dust up in Britain that led to an investigation about forged docs and the guy who allegedly committed suicide. The forged docs story touched three key allies in the coalition that supported toppling Hussein: Italy, the UK and the U.S. The Wilson saga is but a domestic thread in a tangled international web.