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This is a scalable context timeline. It contains events related to the event March 9, 2003 and After: White House Begins Campaign to Smear, Discredit Wilson. You can narrow or broaden the context of this timeline by adjusting the zoom level. The lower the scale, the more relevant the items on average will be, while the higher the scale, the less relevant the items, on average, will be.
Joseph Wilson. [Source: public domain]The CIA sends Joseph C. Wilson, a retired US diplomat, to Niger to investigate claims that Iraq had sought to purchase uranium from that country (see February 13, 2002). The CIA pays Wilson's expenses for the trip, but does not pay him in any other respect. The identity of the party who requests the mission is later disputed. While Wilson will claim the trip was requested directly by Dick Cheney's office, other sources will indicate that the CIA had decided (see February 19, 2002) that a delegation to Niger was needed in order to investigate questions raised by one of Dick Cheney's aides (see (February 13, 2002)). [New York Times, 5/6/2003; Washington Post, 6/12/2003 ; Independent, 6/29/2003; New York Times, 7/6/2003; US Congress, 7/7/2004] Reason behind Request - Former CIA analyst Melvin Goodman will later note that "Wilson was asked to go to Niger for one specific purpose. It was the CIA's idea to get Cheney off their backs. Cheney would not get off their backs about the yellowcake documents. They couldn't get Cheney to stop pressing the issue. He insisted that was the proof of reconstitution of [Iraq's nuclear] program." [Dubose and Bernstein, 2006, pp. 214] Normal Skepticism - Wilson goes into the situation with a healthy dose of skepticism. "My skepticism was the same as it would have been with any unverified intelligence report, because there is a lot of stuff that comes over the transom every day," he will recall in 2006. Wilson knows nothing of the influence of the Pentagon neoconservatives (see July 8, 1996, January 26, 1998, July 1998, September 2000, Late December 2000 and Early January 2001, Shortly after January 20, 2001, and Shortly After September 11, 2001) or the growing rift in the intelligence community over the reports: "I was aware that the neocons had a growing role in government and that they were interested in Iraq," he will recall. "But the administration had not articulated a policy at this stage." He is not given a copy of the Niger documents before leaving for Africa, nor is he told of their history. "To the best of my knowledge, the documents were not in the possession of the [CIA] at the time I was briefed," he will recall. "The discussion was whether or not this report could be accurate. During this discussion, everyone who knew something shared stuff about how the uranium business worked, and I laid out what I knew about the government in Niger, what information they could provide." With this rather sketchy preparation, Wilson leaves for Niger. [Unger, 2007, pp. 240; Wilson, 2007, pp. 113] Wilson's wife, senior CIA case officer Valerie Plame Wilson, will later write, "He figured that if the vice president had asked a serious and legitimate question, it deserved a serious answer and he would try to help find it." [Wilson, 2007, pp. 111] No Trouble Finding Information - Wilson, who knows the Nigerien government and many of its officials, has little trouble finding the information he needs in the following week. In 2006, he will recall: "Niger has a simplistic government structure. Both the minister of mines and the prime minister had gone through the mines. The French were managing partners of the international consortium [which handles Niger's uranium]. The French mining company actually had its hands on the project. Nobody else in the consortium had operators on the ground." Wilson also personally knows Wissam al-Zahawie, Iraq's ambassador to the Vatican who supposedly negotiated the uranium deal with Niger (see February 1999). Wilson will later observe: "Wissam al-Zahawie was a world-class opera singer, and he went to the Vatican as his last post so he could be near the great European opera houses in Rome. He was not in the Ba'athist inner circle. He was not in Saddam [Hussein]'s tribe. The idea that he would be entrusted with the super-secret mission to buy 500 tons of uranium from Niger is out of the question." [Unger, 2007, pp. 240-241] Wilson meets with, among other officials, Niger's former minister of mines, Mai Manga. As later reported by the Senate Intelligence Committee (see July 9, 2004), Manga tells Wilson "there were no sales outside of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) channels since the mid-1980s," and he "knew of no contracts signed between Niger and any rogue states for the sale of uranium." Manga says a "French mining consortium controls Nigerien uranium mining and keeps the uranium very tightly controlled from the time it is mined until the time it is loaded onto ships in Benin for transport overseas," and, "it would be difficult, if not impossible, to arrange a special shipment of uranium to a pariah state given these controls." [CounterPunch, 11/9/2005] Meeting with US Ambassador - Wilson arrives in Niger on February 26, two days after Marine General Carlton W. Fulford Jr.'s meeting (see February 24, 2002) with Nigerien officials. Wilson first meets with US Ambassador to Niger Barbro Owens-Kirkpatrick, a veteran Foreign Service official, whom Wilson will later describe as "crisp" and well-informed. Over tea in the US Embassy offices in Niamey, Niger's capital, Owens-Kirkpatrick tells Wilson that she has already concluded that the allegations of uranium sales to Iraq are unfounded. "She had already debunked them in her reports to Washington," Wilson will later recall. "She said, yeah, she knew a lot about this particular report. She thought she had debunked it—and, oh, by the way, a four-star Marine Corps general had been down there as well—Carlton Fulford. And he had left satisfied there was nothing to report." [Wilson, 2004, pp. 20-22] Details of Alleged Uranium Production - Niger extracts uranium from two mines, both located in remote locations in the Sahara Desert. It takes well over a day to drive from the mines to Niamey. The mines are owned by a consortium of foreign companies and the Nigerien government, and managed by a French mining company, COGEMA. Because of a recent upswing in the production of Canadian uranium, Niger's uranium is mined at a net loss, and its only customers are consortium members. Wilson will later write, "[T]he Nigerien government has sold no uranium outside the consortium for two decades." If Iraq had bought 500 tons of uranium, as the story is told, that would have represented a 40 percent production increase. "There is no doubt," Wilson will later write, "that such a significant shift from historic production schedules would have been absolutely impossible to hide from the other partners, and most certainly from the managing partner, COGEMA. Everyone involved would have known about it." Any Nigerien government decision to produce such an amount of uranium would have involved numerous government officials and many well-documented meetings. Because the transaction would have been to a foreign country, Niger's Foreign Ministry would also have been involved in the decision. To sell Iraq uranium during that time would have been a violation of international law and of UN sanctions against Iraq, a weighty decision that would have ultimately been made by the president of Niger in conjuction with the foreign minister and the minister of mines. Such a decision would have been published in the Nigerien equivalent of the Federal Register and would have dramatic tax and revenue implications. The unexpected huge infusion of cash from the sale would have had a strong impact on the Nigerien economy, and would have been much anticipated and talked about throughout the Nigerien business community. [Wilson, 2004, pp. 22-25] Off-the-Books Production Virtually Impossible - It is conceivable that such an enormous operation could have been conducted entirely "off the books," Wilson will write, but virtually impossible to pull off. True, a military junta was in power at the time of the alleged sale, one that felt no responsibility or accountability to the Nigerien people. But even a secret transaction would have been impossible to conceal. Such a transaction would have involved thousands of barrels of clandestinely shipped uranium, extensive and complex adjustments to shipping schedules, and other ramifications. "It simply could not have happened without a great many people knowing about it, and secrets widely known do not remain hidden for long. And again, COGEMA, as the managing partner, would have had to know and be complicit." Add to that Niger's dependence on US foreign economic aid and its unwillingness to threaten the loss of that aid by secretly shipping uranium to a country that the US considers a dangerous rogue nation. All told, Wilson concludes, the possibility of such a clandestine operation is remote in the extreme. [Wilson, 2004; Wilson, 2004] 1999 Meeting with Iraqi Official - While speaking with a US Embassy official, Wilson learns about a 1999 meeting between the embassy official and an Iraqi representative in Algiers, perhaps in concert with a similar meeting between Iraqi officials and Niger's prime minister (see June 1999). [Wilson, 2004, pp. 27-28] Confirmation that Allegations are Unrealistic - After spending several days talking with current government officials, former government officials, and people associated with the country's uranium business, Wilson concludes the rumors are completely false. He will later call the allegations "bogus and unrealistic." [Washington Post, 6/12/2003 ; Knight Ridder, 6/13/2003; Independent, 6/29/2003; New York Times, 7/6/2003; CBS News, 7/11/2003; Vanity Fair, 1/2004; Wilson, 2004, pp. 20-28, 424; Vanity Fair, 5/2004, pp. 282; Wilson, 2007, pp. 113]
Entity Tags: Barbro Owens-Kirkpatrick, Wissam al-Zahawie, Carlton W. Fulford, COGEMA, Mai Manga, Valerie Plame Wilson, Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf, Melvin A. Goodman, Central Intelligence Agency, Richard ("Dick") Cheney, Joseph C. Wilson
Timeline Tags: Events Leading to Iraq Invasion, Niger Uranium and Plame Outing
Iraqi bomb allegedly containing botulism toxin. [Source: CIA]President Bush gives his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress, making several false allegations about Iraq. [US President, 2/3/2003] An empty seat is left open to symbolize the lives lost during the 9/11 attacks. Author Craig Unger will later characterize Bush's delivery as somber and effective. He will be interrupted some 70 times by thunderous applause from the assembled lawmakers in the House chambers. One of his biggest applause lines is his statement about the US's war on "international terrorism:" "The war goes on, and we are winning." [Unger, 2007, pp. 269-270] African Uranium - He says: "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa. Saddam Hussein has not credibly explained these activities.… He clearly has much to hide." [US President, 2/3/2003; White House, 4/18/2003; Independent, 6/5/2003] The British allegation cited by Bush concerns a SISMI (Italy's military intelligence) report (see Mid-October 2001) based on a set of forged documents. Months after the speech, with evidence mounting that the statement was completely false, the administration will retract this claim (see 3:09 p.m. July 11, 2003). Aluminum Tubes - Bush alleges that a shipment of aluminum tubes imported by Iraq was intended to be used in the country's alleged nuclear weapons program. "Our intelligence sources tell us that he has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production. Saddam Hussein has not credibly explained these activities. He clearly has much to hide." [US President, 2/3/2003] Biological Agents - Bush lists a parade of agents: "anthrax, botulinum toxin, Ebola, and plague," many of which Iraq has never been accused of possessing, and warns against "outlaw regimes that seek and possess nuclear, chemical, and builogical weapons… blackmail, terror, and mass murder." He then moves from the general to the specific, accusing Iraq of having enough material "to produce over 25,000 liters of anthrax—enough doses to kill several million people… more than 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin—enough to subject millions of people to death by respiratory failure… as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent." [US President, 2/3/2003; Unger, 2007, pp. 270-271] False Testimony from Iraqi Scientists - Bush alleges: "Iraqi intelligence officers are posing as the scientists inspectors are supposed to interview. Real scientists have been coached by Iraqi officials on what to say." [US President, 2/3/2003] But Hans Blix, the chief UNMOVIC weapons inspector, tells the New York Times in an interview that he knows of no evidence supporting this claim. [New York Times, 1/31/2003] Defector Allegations - Bush, citing intelligence provided by "three Iraqi defectors," says, "We know that Iraq, in the late 1990s, had several mobile weapons labs… designed to produce germ warfare agents and can be moved from place to a place to evade inspectors." One of the defectors referred to by Bush is 'Curveball,' whom the CIA station chief in Germany warned was not reliable the day before (see January 27, 2003). German intelligence officials watching Bush's speech are "shocked." One official later recalls: "Mein Gott! We had always told them it was not proven.… It was not hard intelligence." [Los Angeles Times, 11/20/2005] Another source for the claim was Mohammad Harith, whom the Defense Intelligence Agency had labeled a "fabricator" the previous May (see May 2002). Torture, Murder, and 9/11 - Bush accuses Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein of routinely torturing his own people, using such techniques as "electric shock, burning with hot irons, dripping acid on the skin, mutilation with electric drills, cutting out tongues, and rape." He then connects Hussein, the torturer, murderer, and terrorist supporter, to the 9/11 attacks, saying: "[I]magine those 19 hijackers with other weapons and other plans—this time armed by Saddam Hussein. It would take one vial, one canister, one crate slipped into this country to bring a day of horror like none we have ever known." He invites "all free nations" to join him in ensuring no such attack ever happens, but notes that "the course of this nation does not depend on the decisions of others." After another long burst of applause, Bush continues, "Whatever action is required, whatever action is necessary, I will defend the freedom and security of the American people." [Unger, 2007, pp. 270-271] 'Direct Personal Threat' - Bush states what former ambassador Joseph Wilson later writes can only be interpreted by Hussein "as a direct personal threat," saying: "Tonight I have a message for the brave and oppressed people of Iraq: Your enemy is not surrounding your country, your enemy is ruling your country. And the day he and his regime are removed from power will be the day of your liberation." Wilson will later write: "Not simply promising the disarmament of Iraq as he had in his recent speeches, the president now stated outright his intention to rout Saddam from power, and to kill or capture him. It was an unwise thing to say. It made whatever strategy we adopted for Iraq that much more dangerous because it so blatantly telegraphed our next move and our ultimate goal." [US President, 2/3/2003; Wilson, 2004, pp. 315] Defending America - To America's soldiers, he says: "Many of you are assembling in or near the Middle East, and some crucial hours lay ahead. In these hours, the success of our cause will depend on you. Your training has prepared you. Your honor will guide you. You believe in America, and America believes in you." In 2007, Unger will write: "A few years earlier, Bush had confided that he thought to be a great president meant being a great commander in chief. Now George W. Bush was leading his nation into war." [Unger, 2007, pp. 270-271]
Entity Tags: Hans Blix, George W. Bush, Joseph C. Wilson, 'Curveball', Saddam Hussein, Craig Unger, Mohammad Harith
One day after the UN and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issue a report debunking the allegations that Iraq attempted to purchase uranium from Niger (see March 7, 2003), a State Department spokesman says of the forged documents at the heart of the allegation, "We fell for it" (see March 8, 2003). Former ambassador Joseph Wilson is "astounded" at the State Department's reaction, as he will recall a year later. Wilson had himself debunked the allegations more than a year earlier (see February 21, 2002-March 4, 2002). He tells CNN national security reporter David Ensor that the State Department spokesman "had not spoken accurately." Wilson does not tell Ensor about his own trip to Niger, nor of the other reports debunking the uranium claims (see February 24, 2002). He does not tell Ensor that "nobody in the management chain of command" at State's African Bureau "had ever believed there was anything to the story that a spokesman was now claiming they 'fell for.'" Wilson decides to expose the administration's duplicity to the public. Appearing on CNN, Wilson is asked a question provided to the interviewer by Ensor, and replies that the State Department knows far more than it is telling about the Iraq-Niger claim. The government should check its files, Wilson says (see March 8, 2003). "We know a lot about the uranium business in Niger," he says, "and for something like this to go unchallenged by US—the US government is just simply stupid. It would have taken a couple of phone calls. We have had an embassy there since the early '60s. All this stuff is open. It's a restricted market of buyers and sellers. The Nigerians [sic] have always been very open with us. For this to have gotten to the IAEA is on the face of it dumb, but more to the point, it taints the whole rest of the case that the government is trying to build against Iraq." Wilson adds that when one such piece of evidence is found to be false, "it casts doubt on every other bit of evidence." Worse, "I think it's safe to say that the US government should have or did know that this report was a fake before [the IAEA's Mohamed] ElBaradei mentioned it in his report at the UN yesterday." Wilson is openly dismissive of the State Department official who said, "We fell for it" (see March 8, 2003). He says: "That's just not good enough. Either he's being disingenuous, or he shouldn't be drawing a government paycheck." Wilson later learns that it is this CNN appearance that prompts the White House to produce a "workup" on him for the office of the vice president (see March 9, 2003 and After). [CNN, 3/8/2003; Wilson, 2004, pp. 325-326]
Entity Tags: United Nations, Bush administration (43), David Ensor, International Atomic Energy Agency, US Department of State, Mohamed ElBaradei, Joseph C. Wilson
Timeline Tags: Niger Uranium and Plame Outing
A day after former ambassador Joseph Wilson appears on CNN questioning the validity of the administration's claims about the Iraq-Niger uranium purchase (see March 8, 2003), Vice President Dick Cheney and Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley begin a campaign to discredit him. The information comes from senior sources within the State Department, the CIA, and the National Security Council (NSC), all with direct knowledge of the campaign, and from Wilson himself. The sources will say that they and other officials are directed to unearth or "invent" embarrassing information on Wilson that could be used against him in public. Aides in the Office of the Vice President and others, including the sources, prepare a "workup" on Wilson, including memos and classified material on him for Cheney and the NSC. Officials meet regularly in Cheney's office to discuss the progress of the campaign with Cheney, Hadley, and other officials. Visit to CIA Headquarters - According to an official in the CIA's Counterproliferation Division (CPD), Cheney and Hadley visit the CIA the day after Wilson's interview on CNN. Cheney's original target for discrediting was not Wilson, but David Albright, the former UN weapons inspector who has also challenged the credibility of the Iraq-Niger claims and the rationale for invading Iraq (see March 8, 2003). Cheney asked several CIA officials to find "dirt" on Albright for use in discrediting him in the media. At the outset, the CIA official will say: "Vice President Cheney was more concerned with Mr. Albright. The international community had been saying that inspectors should have more time, that the US should not set a deadline. The vice president felt Mr. Albright's remarks would fuel the debate." The CIA will eventually send a "binder" to Cheney's office containing information about Albright; it is not clear to what, if any, use that information is put. Cheney 'Enraged' - But Wilson's appearance on CNN and his public ridicule of the Iraq-Niger uranium claim enraged Cheney, who saw Wilson's comments as a personal attack against him. Hadley also took an interest in Wilson's remarks because he personally allowed the Iraq-Niger claim to remain in Bush's State of the Union address (see 9:01 pm January 28, 2003) even after being informed that the documents the claim was based upon were forgeries. Both Cheney and Hadley view Wilson as a possible impediment to the public's acceptance of the impending Iraq invasion. Cheney chairs a meeting in his office the day after Wilson's appearance on CNN, attended by, among others, Hadley, White House political guru Karl Rove, Cheney's chief of staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Cheney's deputy national security adviser John Hannah, and several officials from the CIA and State Department, including the officials who will later discuss the matter with the press. "The way I remember it," says the CIA official, "is that the vice president was obsessed with Wilson. He called him an '_sshole,' a son-of-a-b_tch. He took his comments very personally. He wanted us to do everything in our power to destroy his reputation and he wanted to be kept up to date about the progress." Hadley says he will write an editorial about the Iraqi threat that should offset Wilson's remarks; the State Department will redistribute a February 16, 2003 editorial by Hadley that appeared in the Chicago Tribune to newspaper editors around the country. Cheney will appear on NBC's Meet the Press to refute the challenges to the Iraq-Niger claims (see March 16, 2003). [Truthout (.org), 2/9/2006] In 2004, Wilson will write: "I learned that a meeting right around the time of this particular CNN appearance (see March 8, 2003) led to the decision to produce a 'workup' on me for the Office of the Vice President. It was not made clear to me whether Dick Cheney himself attended this meeting, although I was told that senior members of his staff and quite possibly other senior Republicans, including former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, were present and that Gingrich actively participated in a strategy session, the objective of which was to figure out how to discredit me." [Wilson, 2004, pp. 326-327] False Allegations of 'Womanizing,' Drug Use - Within days, officials in the CIA, NSC, and State Department pass on information to Cheney and Libby that purportedly shows Wilson is a "womanizer" who had occassionally used drugs in his youth; the sources later say that the allegations are entirely false. The sources will say that they are unsure the material was ever used to discredit Wilson, since after the war began on March 19, the media lost interest in Wilson's warnings. [Truthout (.org), 2/9/2006] Wilson later writes that the meeting about him does "not include discussion of how the president and his senior staff might address the indisputable, if inconvenient, fact that the allegation I had made was true. In other words, from the very beginning, the strategy of the White House was to confront the issue as a 'Wilson' problem rather than as an issue of the lie that was in the State of the Union address.… The immediate effect of the workup, I am told by a member of the press, citing White House sources, was a long harangue against the two of us within the White House walls. Over a period of several months, Libby evidently seized opportunities to rail openly against me as an 'assh_le playboy' who went on a boondoggle 'arranged by his CIA wife'—and was a Democratic Gore supporter to boot." [Wilson, 2004, pp. 441-442] New Interest in Wilson - Cheney's interest in Wilson will be renewed in May 2003 (see May 2003), when Wilson informs New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof that he was the special envoy who had gone to Niger in February 2002 to investigate the uranium claims (see February 21, 2002-March 4, 2002).
Entity Tags: Office of the Vice President, National Security Council, David Albright, Lewis ("Scooter") Libby, Joseph C. Wilson, John Hannah, Karl C. Rove, Richard ("Dick") Cheney, CNN, Central Intelligence Agency, US Department of State, Newt Gingrich, Stephen J. Hadley, Valerie Plame Wilson
During an appearance on NBC's Meet The Press, Vice President Dick Cheney says: "[Saddam Hussein has] had years to get good at [deceiving weapons inspectors] and we know he has been absolutely devoted to trying to acquire nuclear weapons. And we believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons. I think Mr. ElBaradei frankly is wrong [about rejecting US claims concerning Iraq's nuclear weapons program—see March 7, 2003] ]. And I think if you look at the track record of the International Atomic Energy Agency and this kind of issue, especially where Iraq's concerned, they have consistently underestimated or missed what it was Saddam Hussein was doing. I don't have any reason to believe they're any more valid this time than they've been in the past." Cheney also insists that the US invasion force will be welcomed by the Iraqis. "I really do believe that we will be greeted as liberators," he says. "The read we get on the people of Iraq is there is no question but what they want to the get rid of Saddam Hussein and they will welcome as liberators the United States when we come to do that." [Meet the Press, 3/16/2002; Sunday Herald (Glasgow), 7/13/2003]
Entity Tags: Richard ("Dick") Cheney, Saddam Hussein, International Atomic Energy Agency
Timeline Tags: Events Leading to Iraq Invasion
Vice President Dick Cheney's interest in former ambassador and current Iraq whistleblower Joseph Wilson is renewed when Wilson informs New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof that he was the special envoy who went to Niger in February 2002 to investigate the uranium claims (see February 21, 2002-March 4, 2002). When Kristof publishes the information (see May 6, 2003), according to a CIA official, "a request came in from Cheney that was passed to me that said 'the vice president wants to know whether Joe Wilson went to Niger.' I'm paraphrasing. But that's more or less what I was asked to find out." Cheney, of course, knew Wilson had gone to Niger (see (February 13, 2002)). The campaign to discredit and besmirch Wilson begins again (see March 9, 2003 and After), this time in a much more intensified manner. "Cheney and Libby made it clear that Wilson had to be shut down," the CIA official will later say. "This wasn't just about protecting the credibility of the White House. For the vice president, going after Wilson was purely personal, in my opinion." Cheney is heavily involved in this second phase of the anti-Wilson campaign as well, pushing CIA officials to find out everything they can about Wilson. Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley also pressures State Department officials to send information they have on Wilson to his attention at the NSC. It is also at this time that Cheney and at least some members of his staff learn that Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame Wilson, is a covert CIA officer. At least one meeting is held in the Office of the Vice President to discuss possible strategies to use against Wilson. According to a State Department official, Cheney is not at this particular meeting: "Libby [Cheney's chief of staff Lewis Libby] led the meeting. But he was just as upset about Wilson as Cheney was." [USA Today, 4/29/2004; Truthout (.org), 2/9/2006] In a 2005 interview, Wilson will tell a reporter that he believes others in the White House's communications and public relation staffs, including Karl Rove, Karen Hughes, Mary Matalin, and James Wilkinson, all become aware of Plame Wilson's secret CIA status, as does Hadley, his boss, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, and White House chief of staff Andrew Card. "That would be the natural group because they were constituted to spin the war, so they would be naturally the ones to try to deflect criticism," Wilson will say. [Raw Story, 7/13/2005] In 2008, current White House deputy press secretary Scott McClellan will acknowledge that "Cheney and his staff were leading a White House effort to discredit Joe Wilson himself." [McClellan, 2008, pp. 171]
Entity Tags: Office of the Vice President, Karen Hughes, Joseph C. Wilson, James R. Wilkinson, Condoleezza Rice, Central Intelligence Agency, Andrew Card, Lewis ("Scooter") Libby, Nicholas Kristof, US Department of State, Valerie Plame Wilson, Scott McClellan, Mary Matalin, Richard ("Dick") Cheney, Stephen J. Hadley
Washington Post reporter Walter Pincus publishes an article noting that President Bush's claim of an active Iraqi nuclear weapons program, and his allegation that Iraq tried to buy enriched uranium (see Mid-January 2003 and 9:01 pm January 28, 2003), was called into question by what Pincus calls "a CIA-directed mission to the central African nation in early 2002." The story has caused some consternation in the Office of the Vice President, which became suspicious of Pincus's questioning of White House officials about the matter (see Early June 2003 and June 3, 2003). The "senior administration officials" Pincus quotes, likely either Vice President Cheney's communications director Cathie Martin or Cheney's chief of staff Lewis Libby (see March 5, 2004), told Pincus that the CIA never told the White House the details of its investigation, and Pincus uses that in his story. Pincus quotes a "senior intelligence official" as saying that the CIA's failure to inform the White House of its doubts regarding the Iraq-Niger claim was "extremely sloppy" handling of a key piece of evidence against Iraq. The official continued: "It is only one fact and not the reason we went to war. There was a lot more." The failure, said a CIA analyst, "is indicative of larger problems" involving the handling of intelligence about Iraq's alleged chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons programs and its links to al-Qaeda, which the administration cited as justification for war. "Information not consistent with the administration agenda was discarded and information that was [consistent] was not seriously scrutinized," the analyst said. Pincus notes that a "retired US ambassador" went to Niger in February 2002 to investigate the uranium claims; Pincus is referring to the trip by former ambassador Joseph Wilson (see February 21, 2002-March 4, 2002), though he writes that his sources—current and former government officials—"spoke on condition of anonymity and on condition that the name of the former ambassador not be disclosed." Pincus's sources told him that the CIA did not inform the White House of the details of Wilson's trip (see March 5, 2002 and March 8, 2002). One of Pincus's sources, a "senior intelligence official," said of Wilson's trip: "This gent made a visit to the region and chatted up his friends. He relayed back to us that they said it was not true and that he believed them." Pincus does note that the International Atomic Energy Agency reached the same conclusion as Wilson—that the Iraq-Niger uranium claims were false (see March 7, 2003). Pincus also reports that Cheney's staff did not know about the mission until well after its conclusion, when a New York Times article alluded to it (see May 6, 2003). [Washington Post, 6/12/2003 ] This claim is false (see March 5, 2002 and March 9, 2003 and After), though Pincus does not know it. Pincus's article will later be used as a basis for questioning Libby in the Plame Wilson leak investigation. Libby will claim not to remember if he was one of Pincus's sources, though he will testify that he did not divulge Plame Wilson's CIA status to the reporter (see March 5, 2004).
Entity Tags: International Atomic Energy Agency, Catherine ("Cathie") Martin, Central Intelligence Agency, George W. Bush, Lewis ("Scooter") Libby, Walter Pincus, Office of the Vice President, Joseph C. Wilson
Timeline Tags: Domestic Propaganda, Niger Uranium and Plame Outing
White House political adviser Karl Rove, leading the White House's damage control operation to recoup the losses from Joseph Wilson's recent op-ed about the fraudulent Iraq-Niger documents (see July 6, 2003), speaks to Time reporter Matthew Cooper. Rove has already discussed Wilson with columnist Robert Novak (see July 8, 2003). Cooper Digging for White House Smear Details - According to Cooper's notes, an e-mail from Cooper to his bureau chief, Michael Duffy, and Cooper's later testimony (see July 13, 2005), Cooper is interested in the White House's apparent smear attempts against Wilson (see March 9, 2003 and After and May 2003). "I'm writing about Wilson," Cooper says, and Rove interjects, "Don't get too far out on Wilson." Rove insists that their conversation be on "deep background," wherein Cooper cannot quote him directly, nor can he disclose his identity. Rove tells Cooper that neither CIA Director George Tenet nor Vice President Dick Cheney sent Wilson to Niger, and that, Cooper will later write, "material was going to be declassified in the coming days that would cast doubt on Wilson's mission and his findings." Outing Plame Wilson - Rove says that it is Wilson's wife Valerie Plame Wilson "who apparently works at the agency [CIA] on wmd issues who authorized the trip… not only [sic] the genesis of the trip is flawed an[d] suspect but so is the report. [Rove] implied strongly there's still plenty to implicate iraqi interest in acquiring uranium fro[m] Niger." Rove does not identify Plame Wilson, only calling her "Wilson's wife," but Cooper has no trouble learning her name. Rove ends the call with a cryptic teaser, saying, "I've already said too much." Cooper will recall these words two years later when he testifies to the grand jury investigating the Plame Wilson identity leak (see January 2004). [Cooper, 7/11/2003 ; New York Times, 7/16/2005; Time, 7/17/2005; Unger, 2007, pp. 311-312] Later, Cooper will write: "I have a distinct memory of Rove ending the call by saying, 'I've already said too much.' This could have meant he was worried about being indiscreet, or it could have meant he was late for a meeting or something else. I don't know, but that sign-off has been in my memory for two years." [Time, 7/17/2005] Cooper will later testify that Rove never told him about Plame Wilson's covert status. [National Journal, 10/7/2005] Call Not Logged - Rove asks his personal assistant, Susan Cooper, to ensure that Cooper's call does not appear on the White House telephone logs. [CounterPunch, 12/9/2005] Cooper E-mails Editor - After hanging up, Cooper sends an e-mail to his editors at Time about the conversation (see 11:07 a.m. July 11, 2003). Conversation with Deputy National Security Adviser - After the conversation with Cooper, Rove sends an e-mail to Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, saying he "didn't take the bait" when Cooper suggested that Wilson's criticisms had been damaging to the administration (see After 11:07 a.m. July 11, 2003). White House Getting Message Across - Author Craig Unger later notes that while the conversation is on background, the White House is getting across its message that something about Wilson's trip is questionable, and it has something to do with his wife. Unger writes, "And a White House press corps that relied heavily on access to high level administration officials was listening intently and was holding its fire." [Cooper, 7/11/2003 ; New York Times, 7/16/2005; Time, 7/17/2005; National Journal, 10/7/2005; Unger, 2007, pp. 311-312] Rove later testifies that his references to "Niger," "damaging," and Bush being "hurt" all referred to the potential political fallout from Wilson's allegations. As for the statement that "If I were him I wouldn't get that far out in front of this," Rove will say he merely wanted to urge Cooper to use caution in relying on Wilson as a potential source. [National Journal, 10/7/2005]
Entity Tags: Valerie Plame Wilson, Stephen J. Hadley, Joseph C. Wilson, Matthew Cooper, Bush administration (43), Michael Duffy, Central Intelligence Agency, George J. Tenet, Craig Unger, Richard ("Dick") Cheney, Karl C. Rove
Vice President Dick Cheney is interviewed in his office by federal prosecutors as part of the Valerie Plame Wilson identity leak investigation (see December 30, 2003). Cheney is asked if he knows who, if anyone, in the White House might have leaked Plame Wilson's identity to the press. He is asked about conversations with his senior aides, including his chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby. He is also asked whether he knows of any concerted effort by White House officials to leak Plame Wilson's identity. Cheney is not questioned under oath, and has not been asked to testify before the grand jury. He is represented by two lawyers, Terrence O'Donnell and Emmet Flood. [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 5/8/2004 ; New York Times, 6/5/2004] Cheney Evades, Refuses to Answer Questions - In October 2009, an FBI interview summary regarding Cheney's testimony will be released (see October 1, 2009). According to the document, Cheney equivocates or refuses to answer 72 times during his interview, either saying he cannot be certain about the information requested, or that he does not know. Denies Informing Libby about Plame Wilson's CIA Status - One of the most fundamental questions Cheney is asked is about how Libby learned about Plame Wilson's identity. Libby's own notes indicate that he learned it from Cheney, and that he had shared his notes with Cheney in late 2003 (see Late September or Early October, 2003), in defiance of instructions from the FBI and the White House counsel's office not to share information with colleagues (see September 29-30, 2003). But in his testimony, Cheney "cannot recall Scooter Libby telling him how he first heard of Valerie Wilson. It is possible Libby may have learned about Valerie Wilson's employment from the vice president… but the vice president has no specific recollection of such a conversation." [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 5/8/2004 ; Associated Press, 11/2/2009] Cheney testifies that contrary to the evidence, he learned of Plame Wilson's CIA status from Libby, who informed him that a number of reporters had contacted Libby in July 2003 to say that Plame Wilson had been responsible for arranging her husband's trip to Niger to investigate the Niger uranium claims. Cheney says that the next time he heard about Plame Wilson and her connection to her husband was when he read Robert Novak's article outing her as a CIA officer (see July 14, 2003). Cheney is lying; he informed Libby of Plame Wilson's identity (see (June 12, 2003)). Denies Knowledge of Wilson Trip to Niger - He also denies knowing that Plame Wilson's husband, war critic and former ambassador Joseph Wilson, was sent to Niger to investigate claims that Iraq was attempting to buy uranium from that country (see (February 13, 2002) and February 21, 2002-March 4, 2002), and says the CIA never briefed him about Wilson's trip (see March 5, 2002). Future testimony will challenge Cheney's claims, as witnesses will testify that Cheney, Libby, Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, the Defense Department, the State Department, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the National Security Council, and President Bush were all given copies of a CIA cable sent to Cheney's office that debunked the Niger claims (see December 2001, Shortly after February 12, 2002, March 5, 2002, February 12, 2002, March 8, 2002, October 15, 2002, Mid-October 2002, October 18, 2002, January 2003, and March 8, 2003). [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 5/8/2004 ; Truthout (.org), 2/15/2006] Refuses to Answer about WMD NIE - Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, leading the interview, presses Cheney to discuss evidence that shows he pressured Bush to quickly declassify portions of the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate on Iraqi WMD (see October 1, 2002) for the purpose of making the case for invading Iraq. Libby provided selected NIE information to New York Times reporter Judith Miller while simultaneously leaking Plame Wilson's identity to her (see June 23, 2003, 8:30 a.m. July 8, 2003, and Late Afternoon, July 12, 2003) and other reporters. Cheney refuses to confirm that he discussed anything regarding the NIE with Bush, saying that he could not comment on any private or privileged conversations he may have had with the president. Libby has already testified to the declassification of the NIE, telling prosecutors that he talked to Miller following the "president's approval relayed to me through the vice president." Insists Plame Wilson's Identity Never Used to Discredit Husband - Cheney insists that no one in the White House ever talked about leaking Plame Wilson's CIA status to the press in an attempt to discredit her husband. There was never any discussion, Cheney says, of "pushing back" on Wilson's credibility by raising the issue of nepotism, the fact that his wife worked for the CIA, the same agency that dispatched him to Niger to run down the report of an agreement to supply uranium to Iraq. In his own testimony, Libby was far less emphatic, saying "[i]t's possible" he may have discussed the idea with Cheney. Both men lie in their testimony (see March 9, 2003 and After, May 2003, June 3, 2003, June 9, 2003, June 11 or 12, 2003, (June 11, 2003), 12:00 p.m. June 11, 2003, 2:00 p.m. June 11, 2003, 5:27 p.m. June 11, 2003, (June 12, 2003), June 19 or 20, 2003, July 7, 2003 or Shortly After, July 7-8, 2003, 12:00 p.m. July 7, 2003, July 8, 2003, and 7:35 a.m. July 8, 2003). [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 5/8/2004 ; Associated Press, 11/2/2009] Cheney tells prosecutors that he and his office were merely interested in rebutting Wilson's criticisms of the war effort, and wanted to dispel the notion among some reporters that he had selected Wilson for the Niger trip. In 2006, an attorney close to the case will say: "In his testimony the vice president said that his staff referred media calls about Wilson to the White House press office. He said that was the appropriate venue for responding to statements by Mr. Wilson that he believed were wrong." [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 5/8/2004 ; Truthout (.org), 2/15/2006] In June 2009, the Department of Justice will reveal that Cheney and Bush had discussed the leak in a "confidential conversation" and "an apparent communication between the vice president and the president." [Truthout (.org), 7/7/2009]
Entity Tags: Terrence O'Donnell, US Department of State, Valerie Plame Wilson, Stephen J. Hadley, US Department of Defense, Robert Novak, Lewis ("Scooter") Libby, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, Emmet Flood, Defense Intelligence Agency, Bush administration (43), Federal Bureau of Investigation, George W. Bush, Joint Chiefs of Staff, National Security Council, Judith Miller, Joseph C. Wilson, Richard ("Dick") Cheney, US Department of Justice
President Bush is interviewed for over an hour as part of the ongoing investigation into the Valerie Plame Wilson identity leak (see December 30, 2003). Bush, who is not sworn in, is interviewed by a team of federal prosecutors led by special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald. His lawyer, James Sharp (whom Bush has nicknamed "Shooter"), is also present during questioning (see June 5, 2004). White House press secretary Scott McClellan refuses to divulge any details of what Bush says to his interviewers, only telling reporters: "The leaking of classified information is a very serious matter. The president directed the White House to cooperate fully with those in charge of the investigation. He was pleased to do his part to help the investigation move forward." Fitzgerald has already interviewed Vice President Dick Cheney (see May 8, 2004), and has called several current and former White House officials to testify before a grand jury. He has also subpoenaed a number of records, including White House phone logs. McClellan confirms that the interview with Bush and Sharp lasted about 70 minutes; asked if the White House had set a time limit on the interview, he says it would be "wrong to characterize it that way." Even though Bush does not testify under oath, federal law requires him to be truthful in his statements, and he could be charged with making false statements if prosecutors found he lied or was evasive. [New York Times, 6/25/2004; McClellan, 2008, pp. 228] Directly Contradicting Cheney - The media will later learn that Bush says he personally directed Cheney to lead a White House effort to counter allegations made by Plame Wilson's husband, Joseph Wilson, that the White House had manipulated intelligence to make the case for war with Iraq (see March 9, 2003 and After). Bush also admits that he directed Cheney to disclose classified information that would both defend his administration and discredit Wilson. His testimony directly contradicts Cheney's. Bush says he did not know that Cheney had told his then-chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, to covertly leak the classified information to the media instead of releasing it to the public in the usual, overt fashion. Denies Instructing Subordinates to Leak Plame Wilson Info - He also denies telling anyone to reveal Plame Wilson's CIA status, and says he does not know who in his administration made her CIA status public knowledge. Libby has testified that neither Bush nor Cheney directed him or any other White House official to leak Plame Wilson's identity. According to one senior government official, Bush told Cheney to "Get it out," or "Let's get this out," regarding information that administration officials believed would rebut Wilson's allegations and would discredit him. Another source with direct knowledge of the interview will later say that characterization is consistent with what Bush tells Fitzgerald. Libby told the grand jury that Cheney had told him to "get all the facts out" to defend the administration and besmirch Wilson. [National Journal, 7/3/2006]
Entity Tags: Richard ("Dick") Cheney, James Sharp, George W. Bush, Joseph C. Wilson, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, Scott McClellan, Lewis ("Scooter") Libby, Valerie Plame Wilson
New York Post editorial writer Deborah Orin echoes charges made by previous columnists in the Wall Street Journal that special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald is conducting a partisan political prosecution of former White House official Lewis Libby (see October 29, 2005 and October 31, 2005), and repeats charges by former Reagan Justice Department official Victoria Toensing that the CIA is behind the exposure of Valerie Plame Wilson's covert identity (see November 3, 2005). Orin repeats previously made assertions that the CIA allowed Plame Wilson's exposure by allowing her to send her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, to Niger (see February 13, 2002, February 19, 2002, July 22, 2003, October 17, 2003, and July 20, 2005), failed to have Wilson sign "the usual confidentiality agreement," and failed to require him to write a written report (see March 4-5, 2002, (March 6, 2002), and March 8, 2002). Orin accuses Wilson of only voicing his public criticism of the Bush administration's Iraq invasion after he "joined" the presidential campaign of John Kerry (D-MA) in May 2003, even though he began publicly criticizing the administration a year earlier (see May 2002, October 13, 2002, November 2002, December 9, 2002, January 28-29, 2003, February 13, 2003, February 28, 2003, March 3, 2003, March 5, 2003, and March 8, 2003), and the White House began its retaliatory attack against his criticisms in March 2003 (see March 9, 2003 and After). Orin also repeats Toensing's sourceless assertion that Wilson's New York Times op-ed about his findings in Niger (see July 6, 2003) "sharply conflicted with what he'd told the CIA." It was the CIA's actions, not the White House's, that led to Plame Wilson's exposure, Orin avers (see June 13, 2003, June 23, 2003, July 7, 2003, 8:30 a.m. July 8, 2003, July 8, 2003, 11:00 a.m. July 11, 2003, 8:00 a.m. July 11, 2003, Late Afternoon, July 12, 2003, 1:26 p.m. July 12, 2003, and July 12, 2003). Orin quotes Toensing, who said: "It [the Plame Wilson exposure] was a planned CIA covert action against the White House. It was too clever by half." The reason, Orin says, was to divert attention from its intelligence failures surrounding the US failure to find WMD in Iraq: "Having Wilson go public was very useful to the CIA, especially the division where his wife worked—because it served to shift blame for failed 'slam dunk' intelligence claims away from the agency. To say that Bush 'twisted' intelligence was to presume—falsely—that the CIA had gotten it right." The White House was merely defending itself from the CIA's propaganda onslaught, Orin writes, adding that since Plame Wilson was not a covert agent (see Fall 1992 - 1996), the agency was "dishonest" in claiming that its intelligence operations had been damaged by her exposure (see Before September 16, 2003, October 3, 2003, October 11, 2003, October 22-24, 2003, October 23-24, 2003, October 29, 2005, and February 13, 2006). [New York Post, 11/7/2005]
Entity Tags: Lewis ("Scooter") Libby, Central Intelligence Agency, Bush administration (43), Deborah Orin, John Kerry, Joseph C. Wilson, Victoria Toensing, Valerie Plame Wilson, New York Post, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, Wall Street Journal
Shortly after the press learns that White House counsel Alberto Gonzales has withheld White House e-mails from the Fitzgerald investigation (see February 15, 2006), the White House turns over some 250 pages of e-mails from Vice President Dick Cheney's office. The e-mails were sent during the spring of 2003 by senior Cheney aides, and pertain to the leak of CIA official Valerie Plame Wilson's covert identity to the press. Special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald reveals the "discovery" of the missing e-mails in court. According to reporter Jason Leopold, the contents of the e-mails are "explosive, and may prove that Cheney played an active role in the effort to discredit Plame Wilson's husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, a vocal critic of the Bush administration's pre-war Iraq intelligence." According to Leopold's sources, the e-mails could also prove that Cheney lied to FBI investigators when he was interviewed about the leak in early 2004 (see May 8, 2004). Cheney told investigators that he knew nothing of any effort to discredit Wilson or to expose his wife's undercover status to reporters. However, the e-mails indicate that Cheney led an effort to discredit Wilson that began in March 2003, and used the CIA to dig up information on Wilson that could be used to dirty his reputation in the press (see March 9, 2003 and After). Some of the e-mails refer to Plame Wilson's identity and CIA status, and reference the US military's inability to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The e-mails also contain suggestions from Cheney's senior aides, and from staffers of the National Security Council, as to how the White House should respond to Wilson's criticisms of the administration's pre-war Iraq intelligence. Fitzgerald has been attempting to secure the "missing" e-mails since late January (see January 23, 2006). Gonzales is still refusing to turn over some of the e-mails, citing "executive privilege" and "national security" concerns. [Truthout (.org), 2/24/2006; Associated Press, 2/27/2006] On February 28, the Wall Street Journal will write that the e-mails have been in the Libby team's possession since February 6, and that they contain nothing pertinent to the trial (see February 6, 2006).
Entity Tags: Joseph C. Wilson, Bush administration (43), Alberto R. Gonzales, Jason Leopold, Office of the Vice President, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, Valerie Plame Wilson, Richard ("Dick") Cheney
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text:
Damn, he was late. Well, only by a few minutes. Nobody would be missing him anyway. Besides, watching the new first years to be sorted wasn't such a big event anyway.
So, Severus Snape slowed his ascent of the stairs to accommodate his still aching and tired body. He had been summoned by the Dark Lord almost daily, and then sent on missions to recruit new followers or to one or the other opponent disappear.
These errands were merely time-consuming and led to sleep deprivation – but that he could deal with. No, it was the new advanced training methods, the Dark Lord had so cunningly introduced that had done him in, he thought sarcastically.
Gruelling duels between the Death Eaters under the Dark Lord's supervision that went on for hours.
Snape had tried not to appear too powerful, less his Master felt threatened by him. So he was the unfortunate receiver of numerous painful, humiliating and disfiguring curses. Not only was hit attacked by his many opponents, of which there were up to five at the same time, but also by the Dark Lord himself when he saw the need to show his displeasure with his once most formidable duellist.
Snape was still one of the best among the Dark Lord's ranks but in a more conspicuous way.
Well, now that the school year had started, he was hoping for a little reprieve from the summons; he really needed some time to recover. Even Poppy could hardly keep up with his many appearances in the hospital wing. She was probably sick of seeing his battered body on an almost daily basis.
Even if the summons lessened, he still had his many school duties to attend to. No – recovering time will be hard to come by. He was probably looking forward to the weekends as much as the students, he thought with a wry smirk.
He put a more neutral expression as he reached the Great Hall and noticed that he was only ten minute late. It seemed to be rather quiet behind the closed doors, which probably meant that the sorting was in full swing.
He breathed deeply before opening the small teacher's door right behind the head table, and slipped quietly into the room. He tried to hide his slight limp, but needn't have bothered, as no teacher or student even so much as glanced in his direction as he made his way to his seat.
Only his iron self-control allowed him to swallow a relieved moan of pleasure as he sat down, allowing his aching limbs to recover.
The sorting was almost finished, he noticed, but concentrated nonetheless on the remaining new students. Only one boy among the handful was sorted into his own house, but it didn't matter that he had missed the others as he would see them all later in the common room.
Fixing his eyes on a far point on the far side of the Great Hall, he let Dumbledore's usual speech wash over him, not even noticing when food appeared in front of him. Not even the appreciative hum of hundreds of students brought him out of his near trance.
He stared doggedly at the wall, his vision swimming before his eyes, not disturbed by the sudden silence his found himself in. Only the sounds of eating and the occasional chatter and laughter flitted through the air, yet the only things Severus concentrated on was to breath through his lingering pain and trying not to fall asleep.
A gentle nudge from Minerva brought him back to his senses. "Severus, you should eat something, you're only skin and bones," she said. Her concern was evident in her face and voice.
Half-heatedly he put some mashed potatoes and a few vegetables on his plate and stuffed the first tiny bite into his mouth. He couldn't deny that his body hungered for sustenance, but his aching jaw and wrists, which were still recovering from having been broken, made eating a rather unpleasant task.
He managed to shovel a few spoonfuls into his mouth, seemingly satisfying Minerva. As soon as she looked away, he gave up eating and let his eyes roam over the room. Seeing the Golden Trio did nothing for his mood, but at least the irritation he felt kept him from nodding off.
There was Potter, bane of his existence, and his idiotic sidekick Weasley. And of course the bushy-haired beaver that… that wasn't even there, he finally noticed. Severus scanned the entire Gryffindor table, but Granger was nowhere to be seen. He felt some mild concern, no, curiosity, he amended mentally.
That rule-breaking little chit was probably too good to come to the Sorting. She might have hauled herself up in the library already. He grimaced as he had to admit that she would behave like that. At least, he thought she wasn't like that. Well, in truth, he had no idea what she was like…
What he knew, though, was that the library was still locked, and she had no chance of getting into it even if she tried. Then again, the trio was known to beark rules if they saw the need for it, perhaps she had found a way into it anyway…
Snape faintly shook his head, trying to end these thoughts that only sent him deeper into a labyrinth of presumptions and unanswered questions.
As he looked closer, Potter and Weasley seemed to be looking up at Dumbledore occasionally, looking rather worried. Something was going on; but before he could think about more likely scenarios, a cramping pain shot up his left arm and leg, leaving his head devoid of any thoughts.
He gasped audibly and felt the eyes of his colleagues on him. Cradling his arm, he limped out of the Great Hall as fast as his screaming muscles allowed him to. He dimly heard the students whisper his name, realising that he must have gasped louder than he thought.
As soon as he was outside, he closed the door with his back and slid down the wall right beside it. He hissed at the pain that still lace through him and bared his teeth unconsciously.
Only moment later, Poppy and Minerva emerged through the same door.
"I'm fine," he said automatically to keep them away from him, before they even had a chance to enquire about him.
"Yes, crouching on the floor is normal for you," Minerva said wryly and knelt down next to him. Poppy did the same on his other side.
"Let us help…"
"No," he hissed and groaned quietly as his leg jerked involuntarily due to the Cruciatus-induced cramps.
"Grow up, and learn to accept help, Severus. Now give me your arm."
He had nothing to put against Minerva's insistence, and he was loathing every second of sitting on the floor helplessly. He unfurled from his rolled up position, letting the women take an arm and a leg respectively.
Expertly, they stretched his limbs, making his bang his head against the wall as even more pain made it difficult to keep from whimpering. He opened his eyes when he felt a vial against his tightly shut lips and he swallowed the given potion without caring what it was.
Judging by the softening of his muscles it must have been a muscle relaxant.
"I wish we could give you a pain reliever," Poppy lamented and stroked his leg one more time.
"Hmm," was all he said. The worst of the cramps were gone but his muscles felt raw and ached.
"I still believe that the resistance you've developed must be temporary; no wonder when you've been relying on it for several months and on an almost daily basis," she continued.
Severus had nothing to say and still sat quietly with a mild frown on his features. It wasn't the first time they had discussed the almost non-existent effect the pain-relieving potion had on him. He could still use salves and ointments – everything that only required external application.
He breathed a sigh of relief when the worst was over.
"Better?" Poppy asked, quite used to his reactions.
He nodded and made to get up but was startled by a kiss to his forehead. He blinked into Minerva's face, but before he could say anything, the two women helped him to his feet.
"Can you make it to your rooms?" she asked and wasn't angered when she was shrugged off a little impatiently.
"No need, I'll head straight to the common room to welcome the newest batch of unruly cretins," he told them and grinned a little sat the women's eye rolls.
"I thought your Slytherins can do no wrong," Minerva harrumphed.
"I never said so, but at least my students show up for the sorting. You, on the other hand, seem to have lost one of your rule-breaking cubs already," he drawled, referring to the missing Granger girl.
Minerva's wry smile vanished, obviously not finding nay humour in his remark. "Nobody knows where she is; she wasn't even on the train. That's not like her. Even if she had missed the train, we would have received a message from her by now. I'm afraid something might have happened." She looked anxiously at Snape, but if she thought he would give her any emotional support she was wrong.
"She probably got held up by some last minute book shopping, I presume," he said unconcernedly.
"Miss Granger is nothing like that," Minerva said hotly, taking his accusation as a personal affront. "She is highly responsible and she would never…"
"Oh, spare me your motherly defence of the girl," he snapped.
Minerva turned on her heels and went back into the Great Hall.
He didn't call her back. He felt some remorse for his needling; he had only done it to mask his rising concern for the missing girl.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Poppy was still by his side, her eyebrows raised and her mouth set in an odd thoughtful grimace. She said nothing but looked at him expectantly.
"Let me know if you need any competent help," he said with a sneer and quickly walked away, before his rising worry could make him appear even weaker.
He didn't see Poppy smiling at his retreating back.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Visit 45 varied and strikingly beautiful gardens designed by architects to complement architectural design and function. Gardens surrounding homes are as varied and unexpected as architecture itself and can be designed in ways that are practical, environmentally sound, and strikingly beautiful. Original gardens add living space and drama to a home and settings for art, and havens for entertaining or contemplation.The designer of each landscape has created an original solution that stretches the boundaries of what we think of as our "backyard garden." Ranging from traditional (Asian, Southwestern or formal French) to contemporary (art made from nature or giant steps of running water) and ecologically sophisticated (roof planting and container gardening) to intimate garden "rooms" that expand the living space, these are wonderful, innovative designs.This pictorial tour through the United States and several foreign countries will inspire garden lovers, armchair gardeners, architects, and designers to rethink the possibilities of outdoor spatial design.
Size: 8 1/2″ x 11″ | 211 color photos | 160 pp
ISBN13: 9780764331305 | Binding: hard cover
Lucy D. Rosenfeld is the author of more than twenty-five books exploring art, architecture, cultural history, and gardens. In this book she combines her interest in architecture and garden design. Recent books include guides to public gardens, and "Inside Art Deco," "Yesterday's Structures, Today's Homes," and "Amazing Space" for Schiffer Publishing Ltd.


text:
Two young Auckland men say pest traps they've pioneered to protect native birds will connect people with conservation like never before.
Engineering school friends Fraser McConnell and Alex Hannan have developed "Squawk Squad", a scheme in which people donate towards a trap which sends notifications to the donor's phone when a pest is killed.
Twenty-four-year-old Mr McConnell explained to Seven Sharp how the system works in a sanctuary Squawk Squad is creating.
He said when a rat gets caught in the trap, a sensor relays that information to a base station which sends information to the user's app "notifying them in real time, you've killed a rat."
The bait inside the trap is tailored to each predator, so when a kill is made donors know what as well as when, and where.
"You'll get metrics back, such as bird noise levels, rat index levels, exactly how the sanctuary is performing as a whole," Mr McConnell said.
More than 25-million native birds are killed by predators every year, that's 68,000 a day Seven Sharp reported.
Mr McConnell believes engaging donors in real time is the key to turning that around.
"If you wanted to donate a full trap towards a sanctuary project we've set up, it'd cost you $350 at the moment," he said.
But people can join a Squawk Squad of up to 20 people for $17.50 each.
A kickstarter campaign is underway so the two developers can gamify the app, and purchasing traps in real life will buy you some in the game version too.


text:
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The multidisciplinarity of TNO is one of our key added values in helping to solve societal challenges. In 2021 TNO wants to be the flywheel of innovation in the Netherlands. By using the knowledge TNO has developed through collaboration and thereby helping to create a stronger sustainable society.
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text:
I struggled to get both of my twins to sleep for the first couple of months. I remember having many sleepless nights as one twin woke up, needing to be fed, and then the other twin woke up an hour later, crying for his milk too. I was like a walking zombie. It was getting to the point that I couldn't concentrate on anything; my twins were controlling the sleeping pattern of everyone in my house.
Until one fine day, my neighbour came along and shared with me about the beauty of sleep training. Yes it's a thing! It turned out we were accustomed that sleeping is something that our children could learn on their own but hey we are on 21st century now and sleep system, advice and information is now easily accessible.
So, I started pouring myself into countless sleep training books, to try and figure out how to get my twins to fall asleep on their own, stay asleep and sleep through the night. And, here are the 5 things I wished I knew about baby's sleep before my twins were born.
Babies are only capable of learning what we teach them
I believe the kindest thing you can do for your baby is to teach her to self-settle from day one. If you never let go of the bike, your child will never learn to ride the bike. The same goes for sleep, if you never let go of helping your child to fall asleep, either by rocking or nursing your baby to sleep, your child will never be able to fall asleep on her own without your help.
Sleeping is like any other science, we can understand and study
Two key hormones, melatonin and cortisol, control our capability to sleep properly; an imbalance in either will unfortunately result in irregular sleeping patterns. Melatonin, which is produced in darkness, regulates sleep by telling the body it's nighttime. Cortisol is a hormone that our body has to allow us to stay awake during the day.
Unfortunately, this hormone is created in higher amounts when the body is overtired and sleep deprived. So when your child is not getting enough naps and having a broken sleep at night, their body will produce a lot more cortisol, making it harder for them to fall asleep easily or stay asleep. You can try to keep your baby's cortisol levels low by giving them ample amount of daytime naps, which will assist in reducing regular night waking and early rising.
It's not our job to make baby sleep
Do not rely on any form of sleep props to help your child fall asleep. It's not our job to help them fall asleep. Our job is to put them down in bed before they are overtired. If you have been letting your child fall asleep consistently without rocking, feeding, bouncing or patting, then I am quite certain you will not have any issues getting your baby to sleep well.
Babies love routine!
The best advice I was given is to establish a routine for my twins. Without routine, life would be a chaotic mess without any sense of direction. Babies thrive on structure and routine and they like know what to expect.
It's easy to establish a routine. Just follow the EASY cycle during the day: Eat, Activity, Sleep, Your time. Make sure you don't feed your baby to sleep; instead you should encourage full feeding once your baby is awake. Watch the clock as babies of different ages can only be awake for a certain time before they start getting overtired. If you are able to maintain a sleep and feed log, it will assist you in sustaining an effective routine. Routine helps bring order to your baby's day.
A sleep plan will make all the difference.
Want to make baby sleep? Then you need a sleep plan. The first component of a sleep plan is getting your child to go to bed early. This ensures that your child is able to go to bed before becoming overtired and miserable, or too hyperactive. You can start by trying an earlier bedtime between 6.30-8.00pm or find a bedtime that works best for your child.
The second component is creating a fun and relaxing bedtime routine, helping your child naturally transition from day to night. As babies thrive on predictability, having a nightly consistent bedtime routine 20-30 minutes long that is soothing and pleasant will increase melatonin production, easily sending your baby off into slumber land.
I must admit, it was rough for the first few months with my twins being a clueless first time mum so I wished someone had told me the above. Once I figured out the perfect system for my twins, everything was smooth sailing from then on. A few years later, along came my third and fourth babies and by this time I had developed a sixth sense for what babies need to learn to sleep successfully.
Being consistent is key in contributing to fostering healthy sleep habits for my babies. Learning to sleep well is a wonderful skill and it is the best lifelong gift that you can give to your child, along with creating a loving home with a well-rested child, and well-rested parents.
Author bio
"Sleep Supernanny" Zoe Chu is a renowned baby and child sleep expert, an author and a parenting speaker. She founded SG Supernanny to help transformed the lives of many tired and sleep deprived families around the world through her 5 steps baby sleep system. For more great sleep and parenting tips, follow Zoe in Instagram or Facebook and visit her blog https://sgsupernanny.com
Cover picture credit: Designed by Freepic.diller


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When Barbra Streisand learned that heart disease takes the lives of more women than all cancers combined, the 70-year-old entertainment legend sprang into action.
Leveraging her personal fortune and network of deep-pocketed friends, Streisand partnered with the Women's Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to set a fundraising goal of $20 million.
"Through gender-specific heart research, the development of new diagnostic tools, breakthrough clinical trials using stem cells to enable the heart to heal itself, and specialized care for women, the Women's Heart Center is improving the detection and treatment of women's heart disease," she writes on her site. "When you consider that 40 percent of women don't survive their first heart attack, you can see why I'm excited about this work!"
Back in June, Streisand threw a major fundraising event at her Malibu home featuring guests like former President Bill Clinton and performances by Josh Groban, David Foster and more. Thanks to that event, and her own personal donations exceeding $10 million in matching funds, The Hollywood Reporter said Friday that Streisand had exceeded her goal with a total donation of $22 million.
"Streisand played an active role in helping secure significant donations through her personal contacts with stars including Ralph Lauren, Ronald Perelman, Sumner Redstone, Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg, Irwin Jacobs and Haim Saban, among others," the site reported. "She also helped convince New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to make a $1 million gift."
Through Crowdrise, the social networking site for good started by Edward Norton, Streisand also raised over $148,000.


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Glow Energy has recently awarded a LTSA to Ansaldo Energia for their Glow Energy Phase 5 power plant, located in Map Ta Phut Industrial Park, 200km southeast of Bangkok.
Glow Energy Public Company Ltd, a publicly-traded company on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (BKK: GLOW), has recently awarded a long term service agreement (LTSA) to Ansaldo Energia for their Glow Energy Phase 5 power plant, located in Map Ta Phut Industrial Park, 200km southeast of Bangkok, designed to generate 328MW of electricity plus upwards of 160 tons/hour of steam to support local industrial purposes. Glow Energy, one of the major private electricity generators in Thailand and majority owned by Engie , operate Independent Power Producer (IPP) and cogeneration facilities, most of which also operate as Small Power Producers (SPP).
The power plant, commissioned in 2011, consists of one Siemens SGT5-4000F gas turbine coupled to an electrical generator, heat recovery steam generator and steam turbine/generator set. The 15-year LTSA covers planned and unplanned maintenance, replacement capital parts and remote monitoring and diagnostics (RM&D) for the Siemens gas turbine with inspection-only required services on the generator.
Ansaldo Energia's recognized OEM-knowledge of this machine and its established ability to service all 4000F power generation equipment with its own technologies were keys for the award selection by Glow. Another was Ansaldo Energia's flexible service approach to meet the required operational reliability of the plant. Known as Ansaldo Energia's OSP™ Solutions, this capability offers the delivery of unique and multi-platform service options, allowing the customer to optimize the maintenance life cycle costs of their power generation assets. The award by Glow also recognizes Ansaldo Energia's growing local presence & capabilities in Southeast Asia, which includes supporting an established full-scope LTSA in Thailand on a 2x1 combined cycle power plant with Ansaldo Energia's own GT26 gas turbines.


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Happiness is Mardi Gras: New Orleans
Happiness is Mardi Gras: New Orleans I was a weird kid, which probably goes a long way to explaining why I'm a weird adult. I was the only kid I knew who didn't like parades. I mean really, go sit … Continue reading
Posted in Happiness is Adventure Tagged beignets, cafe du monde, fat tuesday, happiness, Mardi Gras, new orleans, parades 8 Comments


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Best Workout Motivation Tips
If you struggle staying motivated, let's break down some motivation tips to help you get dialed back in.
"How can I stay motivated to commit to my fitness journey?" is a type of question I get all the time. Hell, even I have days where I am just not motivated at all. It happens. Things come up, schedules get busy, we get tired, we get lazy… it happens. With that said, I wanted to share some tips that have helped me through my Body Beast mass-gaining journey and kept my mind focused and motivation high. Hopefully these will help boost your flame, as well.
Here are 8 workout tips to keep you motivated:
Take it one step at a time – Set small goals. Every huge goal out there is nothing more than the effect of consistently achieving smaller goals. If you have set the bar too high by setting goals that are too tough to reach, you're setting yourself up to be disappointed. If you don't achieve the goals you have set, you will become discouraged. When it comes to mass gaining and muscle building, set small goals each week to increase your reps by 2 or 3, or increase the weight by 5 or 10lbs on your last set. Small goals like this are achievable and noticeable, which will show your progress and help you stay motivated.
Don't do this alone – This can be very tough, but if you are able to find a workout buddy, then you are in luck. You want to find someone who wants to achieve their mass-gaining goal just as much as you do. In order to become better, you must work with better people. Having a buddy makes it much harder for you to skip your workout because they will be there to hold you accountable. Let's face it, there will be days where motivation will be low, so allow them to encourage and push you through those gloomy days. If you can't find a workout buddy, contact me and let's get you into one of our online support groups – message me on Facebook or email me at email@example.com so we can get you into our FREE motivational group!
Get in the zone – Charge up that iPod or iPhone and have your music ready. Invest into some nice headphones. Personally, I have BEATS by DRE and I absolutely love them. Download some great motivation workout music, music that gets you pumped up and excited. Then, slap on those headphones, blast the volume, push play and get in the zone. Some of my favorite workout music is rock/hip-hop. Some of my playlists are available on Spotify.
Find a role model – Who has the "perfect body" with the results you are striving to achieve? This is a great way to keep your goals fresh in your mind, and to remind you what you're striving toward. Make sure that you choose someone deserving of your admiration, not someone who has unhealthy eating or exercise habits, or who has an impossible to achieve image. Some of my biggest role models are Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Ben Pakulski, Sagi Kalev, and of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Say cheese and snap photos – A great way to stay motivated is to visually see your progress. You can do this by taking "before" photos, and updating your portfolio every week with new pictures. This will allow you to see your progression week after week. Also, this can be a great tool for you to see what areas of your body are reacting well to your workouts and which areas are weaker and might need a little more focus.
Write everything down – How do you know if your progressing if you aren't recording your day to day progress? Invest in a notepad or use your phone to record notes of your progress. During each workout, take note of how many reps you did, what weight you used, what you felt was getting stronger, what you felt might have been weaker, and other reminders you can review after. This will help you dial into where you might need to make adjustments moving forward.
Surround yourself with positivity – First off, if you have negativity in your life, do your best to cut it loose. You want to surround yourself with people who share your same value and beliefs, and not those who are consistently trying to drag you down. Cut out all your toxins. When you need additional motivation or positivity, look to reading or watching some videos. Doing some research and reading some of the best bodybuilding books by Arnold Schwarzenegger (for example), is a great way to fill your mind with the inspiration you need during this journey.
Find a workout you enjoy – Most importantly, do a workout program you look forward to doing everyday. There is no faster way to lose all motivation by doing something you hate. Find a workout you can have fun with and that will take you closer to your goals as quickly as possible. Seeing progress and results is so important to keeping your driven and motivated to keep it going day after day. For some of the best workouts packages that will hook you up with literally EVERYTHING you need, click here.
Want more free online fitness tips and workouts?
I have a few bonus workout tips in my mass-gaining eBook you can check out. And if you are looking for day to day fitness support, workout tips, nutritional advice and motivation, we can connect and I will be more than happy to help.
If you would like, you can make me your free online fitness coach and reach out to me so we can chat more and we can add you into one of our current or upcoming "Mass-Gaining Facebook Groups", which is a great tool for support and tips to help you gain mass. Use the link below, which will only take a second to do so. Once you do, please shoot me an email (email@example.com) or message on Facebook!


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Tirana International School
June 14, 2017
June 16 - Deadline to Request School Records
June 20 – Last Day Quintile V.
June 20 – School Records Available in Office
June 20 – Last Day of School_11:30 AM Dismissal
June 22 – Status Reports will be sent home via email
June 26 - First day of Summer Camp
Who could believe that we have nearly completed the 2016-2017 academic year? It is easy to look back on the year and remember the big events that shaped the school: Fall Festival, the food drive, Fall into reading, winter concert, reading buddy cafe, Arsenic and Old Lace, math month, the student garden, TIS 25th Gala, international night, and Seussical! However for the teachers and administrators, we will always remember this year as a time when students put forth incredible effort, took on new challenges, and learned concepts that at one time seemed too difficult. We will never forget the daily successes that come from dedication.
As we close out the year next week, we want to remind you all of the incredible learning opportunities that your children will have in 2017-2018. From the very first day of school, August 24, we will be actively engaging with new concepts and learning how to work together in the classroom. Plan to be there!
Just as a reminder, those families that will be leaving the school at the end of the year are requested to let the front office know what documents your new schools might require. Please make sure that requests are sent in no later than June 16 so that we might put all of your needed paperwork together in preparation for the last day of school.
Looking Forward,
Robert S. Jackson
This week, government students had the opportunity to visit the House of Leaves museum. The house, near the center of Tirana, was used as the headquarters of Albania's secret police during the communist period. Having just opened to the public a few weeks ago, this was a great opportunity for students to learn about the surveillance and intimidation tactics used by the repressive regime.
Graduating Secondary IV student Peter displayed his art at the graduation ceremony, turning the studio by the sports field into an art gallery. His imaginative pieces intrigued and involved the audience. God job, Peter!


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text: 1 | I am addicted to buying cards. So much so that I have a stack in my drawer just waiting for an occasion to roll around. I was in all sorts of fits of ecstasy this week when I got my hands on these mind-blowing cards from TJ Stationery. They're letterpress ones – printed on 100% cotton paper stock – and I just love how simplistic, playful and charming they are. The Kite and Swing ones are my fave, but there are many more, all with the same sense of love. Too good.


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For John, BLUF: The writer poses a very important question. How much risk should you accept, for you and yours, in the name of doing good? Nothing to see here; just move along.
Tikkun Olam "repair of the world".
From PJ Media, by Canadian David Solway, 13 JULY 2018.
Here is the lede plus three:
Recently, my wife and I received an invitation from a respected friend to attend an event in support of the beleaguered Yazidi community of northern Iraq, now suffering under the predatory onslaught of ISIL and other Islamic groups. Soliciting a contribution of several thousand dollars on the part of fifty donors to subsidize a documentary on these hapless victims, and no doubt to pressure our government to bring in more than the approximately 800-1000 Yazidi currently in Canada, the organizer is clearly dedicated to a worthy cause.Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
National Post columnist Barbara Kay, who was present at the event, wrote: "It is baffling to me that the gravity of the situation for this tiny people -- perhaps a million in all -- has failed to arouse the critical mass of support it deserves in its darkest hour … If choices must be made, our government should prioritize victims of genocide over refugees."
I confess to deep-seated skepticism. A Kurdish religious sect practicing a syncretic faith blending elements of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the Yazidi are strictly endogamous, observe a rigorous caste system and maintain an equally rigorous honor code. Yazidi honor killings are not uncommon in Germany, which boasts a large number of Yazidi immigrants. Errant daughters are at considerable risk for their lives. If choices must be made, I am not sure the country needs another contingent of problematic immigrants or of refugees, despite the pitiful situation in which they find themselves.
Not all worthy causes are of equal merit. I do not understand why my friend and those associated with him are not, for example, appealing for contributions in aid of Israel whose people have been subject since 1948 and even before to Palestinian terror attacks, and are now suffering renewed rocket barrages as well as fire kites launched from Gaza, as a result of which 2,500 acres of farmland and forest have been burned. I cannot understand why he has not prioritized the hundreds of thousands of Christians being slaughtered in Iraq and other Muslim countries, whose ordeal seems to me no less extreme than that of the Yazidi and who are, after all, part of the Judeo-Christian heritage. As my wife responded to the request for funds, "this is not to say that the Yazidi as a whole deserve the terrible things that have been done to them [but] we already have lots of problems in Canada with newcomers who hold passionately to beliefs that are inimical to Canadian values." She could have said, with justification, Western values.
Regards — Cliff


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With great sadness, the family of Betty Roth Torres share that she went to be with the Lord on September 15, 2018 at the age of 99 ½. She died peacefully with members of her loving family at her side.
Betty was born on April 20th, 1919 in Belleville, Illinois and the daughter of Anthony and Emily Kovar.
At the age of 12, she met her future husband William Roth and were married 9 years later on October 5 1940.
They raised four children: June (Paul) Trammell, Donna (Steve) Bias, William (Christine) Roth and Nancy (Tully) Lale.
Her siblings who preceded her in death are: Rudy (Katherine) Kovar, Fred Kovar, Helen (Ervine) McCoy and Amelia Kilzner.
William passed away in 1984 and Betty married George Torres in 1997.
Betty is survived by her husband, George; her children and her grandchildren; Gina Clark, Paul Trammell, Jr., Deanna Chafe, Angela Bates, Brian Trammell, David Trammell, Christine Monnet, Tracy Richards, Jennifer Eubanks, Natalie Haskell and Kimberly Hobbs.
Her great grandchildren are Travis, Katrina, Jessica, Tyler, Jeremy, Jamie, Sydney, Sarah, Jacob, Joseph, Bethany, Emily, Nicholas, Brenden, Jacob, Kyle, Madison, Erin, Arlo, Ethan, Hank and Kimber.
Betty touched so many lives and we will always have her close to our hearts.
Betty made friends easily and her legacy will live on in our hearts and minds of everyone she interacted with.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Betty Roth Torres, please visit our floral store.


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- Robyn Turk |
Skechers has been recognized as the "Children's Brand of the Year" at the 2019 Footwear Industry Awards. The awards ceremony, held by Footwear Today Magazine's publisher Datateam Business Media, celebrates brands, retailers and professionals influencing the footwear market.
The median-priced footwear brand based in California has been recognized several times by the Footwear Industry Awards. Skechers was honored as the Brand of the Year for three consecutive years from 2015 through 2017, Ladies brand of the year in both 2016 and 2018 and Leader in Customer Service in 2018, amongst others.
"To receive this acknowledgment amongst such notable brands that were shortlisted in this category highlights the growing need for comfort-first footwear for children," said Peter Youell, Managing Director of Skechers U.K. and Ireland, in a statement. "Skechers leads the footwear industry in cutting-edge styles and the brand continues to experience growth after more than 25 years."
The 27-year-old brand remains a top brand in the United States for its offerings in the footwear categories of lifestyle casual, dress casual, walking and work. Skechers experienced overall growth of 11.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018, which it credited to the growth of its e-commerce business and international retail.
During the same quarter, Skechers' international wholesale business increased by 18.4 percent and its global retail grew by 7.5 percent. Similarly, the brand's domestic wholesale business increased by 4.8 percent.