Joseph C. Wilson

Joseph Charles Wilson IV (November 6, 1949 – September 27, 2019) was an American diplomat who was best known for his 2002 trip to Niger to investigate allegations that Saddam Hussein was attempting to purchase yellowcake uranium; his New York Times op-ed piece, "What I Didn't Find in Africa"; and the subsequent leaking by the Bush/Cheney administration of information pertaining to the identity of his wife Valerie Plame as a CIA officer.

He also served as the CEO of a consulting firm he founded, JC Wilson International Ventures, and as the vice chairman of Jarch Capital, LLC.

Joseph C. Wilson IV, was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on November 6, 1949, to Joseph Charles Wilson III, and Phyllis (Finnell) Wilson; he grew up in California and Europe.

He was raised in a "proud Republican family" in which "there [was] a long tradition of politics and service to the farm" and for which "[p]olitics was a staple around the table".

Wilson's father Joe was a Marine pilot in World War II and narrowly escaped death by taking off immediately before the bombing of the aircraft carrier USS Franklin, in which 700 other American servicemen died.

Wilson was influenced by the Vietnam War protests of the late 1960s.

Diplomatic postings and government positions:

In 1968, Wilson entered the University of California, Santa Barbara, majoring, he said, in "history, volleyball, and surfing" and maintaining a "C" average.

He worked as a carpenter for five years after his 1972 graduation.

Later, he received a graduate fellowship, studying public administration.

Having become fluent in French as a teenager, Wilson entered the US Foreign Service in 1976, where he would be employed until 1998.

From January 1976 through 1998, he was posted in five African nations; as a general services officer in Niamey, Niger, (his first assignment) he was "responsible for keeping the power on and the cars running, among other duties".

At the midpoint of his career as a diplomat, Wilson served for a year (1985–1986) as a Congressional Fellow in the offices of Senator Al Gore and Representative Tom Foley; he would later attribute his working for the Democratic Party to "happenstance."

From 1988 to 1991, he was the Deputy Chief of Mission (to US Ambassador to Iraq April Glaspie) at the US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.

In the wake of Saddam's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, he became the last American diplomat to meet with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, sternly telling him in very clear terms to leave Kuwait.

When Hussein sent a note to Wilson (along with other embassy heads in Baghdad) threatening to execute anyone sheltering foreigners in Iraq as a deterrent, Wilson publicly repudiated the President by appearing at a press conference wearing a homemade noose around his neck and declaring, "If the choice is to allow American citizens to be taken hostage or to be executed, I will bring my own fucking rope."

Despite Hussein's warnings, Wilson sheltered more than 100 Americans at the embassy and successfully evacuated several thousand people (Americans and other nationals) from Iraq.

For his actions, he was called "a true American hero" by President George H. W. Bush.

"I was convinced before the war that the threat of weapons of mass destruction in the hands of Saddam Hussein required a vigorous and sustained international response to disarm him. Iraq possessed and had used chemical weapons; it had an active biological weapons program and quite possibly a nuclear research program—all of which were in violation of United Nations resolutions. Having encountered Mr. Hussein and his thugs in the run-up to the Persian Gulf war of 1991, I was only too aware of the dangers he posed.

From 1992 to 1995, he served as US ambassador to Gabon and São Tomé and Príncipe.

From 1995 to 1997, Wilson served as Political Advisor (POLAD) to the Commander in Chief of US Armed Forces, Europe (EUCOM), in Stuttgart, Germany.

From 1997 until 1998, when he retired, he helped direct Africa policy as Special Assistant to President Bill Clinton and as National Security Council Senior Director for African Affairs.

That experience helped him gain his position as Special Assistant to President Bill Clinton and Senior Director for African Affairs, National Security Council, in 1997–1998.

Over the years, Wilson made contributions to the campaigns of Democratic candidates, such as Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts and Congressman Charles B. Rangel of New York, and to Republican Congressman Ed Royce of California.

After retiring from government service in 1998, Wilson managed JC Wilson International Ventures Corp., an international business development and management company.

Wilson met with the current US Ambassador to Niger, Barbro Owens-Kirkpatrick (1999–2002) at the embassy and then interviewed dozens of officials who had been in the Niger government at the time of the supposed deal.

He ultimately concluded: "it was highly doubtful that any such transaction had ever taken place."

Wilson learned that the Iraqis had in fact requested a meeting to discuss "expanding commercial relations" but that Niger's Prime Minister Mayaki had declined, due to concern about U.N. sanctions against Iraq.

In 2000, he donated funds both to Gore's and Bush's presidential campaigns.

In late February 2002, Wilson traveled to Niger at the CIA's request to investigate the possibility that Saddam Hussein had purchased enriched yellowcake uranium.

In 2003, Wilson endorsed John Kerry for president and donated to his campaign; in 2003 and 2004, he served as an advisor to and speechwriter for the campaign (410–12).

After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Wilson supported activist groups like Win Without War, a nonpartisan coalition of groups united in opposition to the Iraq War After the invasion and the publication of his memoir, The Politics of Truth, he spoke frequently in the public media and at colleges and universities.

President Bush's 2003 State of the Union Address included these 16 words: "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."

In response, in the July 6, 2003, issue of The New York Times, Wilson contributed an op-ed entitled "What I Didn't Find in Africa," in which he states that on the basis of his "experience with the administration in the months leading up to the war" he has "little choice but to conclude that some of the intelligence related to Iraq's nuclear weapons program was twisted to exaggerate the Iraqi threat."

Wilson described the basis for his mission to Niger as follows: "The vice president's office asked a serious question [about the truth of allegations that Iraq was seeking to purchase uranium yellowcake from Niger]. I was asked to help formulate the answer".

In the last two paragraphs of his op-ed, Wilson related his perspective to the Bush administration's rationale for the Iraq War:

Early in 2007, Wilson became vice chairman of Jarch Capital, LLC., to advise the firm on expansion in areas of Africa considered "politically sensitive."

Wilson also served as a guest speaker and panelist in conferences and other programs devoted to African business policies and political affairs, as well as on the matters pertaining to the CIA leak scandal.

Wilson endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2008 US presidential election.

He made speeches on her behalf and attended fundraisers for the campaign.