A Conversation with Ambassador Joseph Wilson, IV

Abstract: Called by President George H. W. Bush - a true American hero, Ambassador Joe Wilson has been involved in international politics for more than twenty years. As the acting U.S. ambassador in Iraq during Operation Desert Shield, the massive U.S. buildup in Saudi Arabia after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, Wilson was responsible for freeing 150 American hostages seized by Iraq. He was the last American official to meet with Hussein before the first Gulf War. During his highly-decorated career, Wilson held many senior government posts, including Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council in the Clinton administration, responsible for the coordination of U.S. policy to the 48 countries of sub-Saharan Africa. He was a principal architect of President Clinton's historic trip to Africa in March 1998 and a leading proponent of the Africa Trade Bill. Wilson is now at the center of a major political maelstrom involving the White House, the C.I.A. and the second gulf war in Iraq. In 2002, at the request of Vice President Dick Cheney, Wilson was assigned by the C.I.A. to investigate claims that Saddam Hussein was seeking to acquire uranium from Niger for the purpose of advancing his nuclear program. When his investigation turned up nothing, Wilson reported back to officials in Washington that there was no basis for the claims. At the podium, Wilson lays out his side of the controversy in an enlightening, incisive presentation. Drawing from his new memoir, The Politics of Truth, he takes audiences inside two decades of world politics - from facing down Saddam Hussein to battling uranium lies and White House leaks. A frequent foreign policy commentator on national and international television and radio programs, Wilson also speaks about foreign affairs and international relations since 9/11.

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