Second 9/11 Hijacker Tied to Abu Nidal, Iraq

Newsmax.com ^ | 12/22/03 | Carl Limbacher

[truthandlife]

When the London Telegraph reported last week that newly uncovered documents link 9/11 ringleader Mohamed Atta to Iraq-based Palestinian terrorist Abu Nidal, it wasn't the first time one of the 9/11 hijackers had been reported to have such ties.

In a development that adds evidence to the case that Iraq played a direct role in the worst attack ever on the U.S., reports show that Ziad Jarrah - who piloted the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers had discovered they were on a suicide mission - also had ties to Nidal.

Like Atta, Jarrah traveled to Hamburg, Germany, where three al Qaeda operatives plotted their attack. The other member of the Hamburg cell was Marwan al Shehhi, who drove his plane into the World Trade Center's South Tower. Jarrah's assigned target: The White House.

"A constant figure in Jarrah's life in Germany was his great-uncle, Assem Omar Jarrah," reported the Wall Street Journal in August 2002. "According to the German magazine, Der Spiegel, Assem Jarrah worked for a long time as an informer for the Stasi, the East German secret service, while maintaining connections to [Abu] Nidal's terror group."

The Journal's Asla Aydintasbas - the only U.S.-based reporter to explore the Nidal-9/11 link in any depth - reported that the Palestinian terror kingpin spent much of his terrorism career as a hired hand, often in service to Iraq or Syria.

Just days before Aydintasbas' report, Nidal had been found dead in Baghdad of multiple gunshot wounds; his demise ruled a suicide by Saddam's security forces.

Der Spiegel reporter Gunther Latsch told Aydintasbas that Ziad Jarrah was "very close" to his great Uncle Assem, the Abu Nidal operative: "He was the one who picked him up at the airport when [Ziad] first came to Germany. The uncle paid for his apartment. He really took care of him."

Then, just two weeks before the 9/11 attacks, Uncle Assem disappeared after living in Germany for 18 years. The 9/11 hijacker-relative has not been spotted since.

Even before the 9/11 attacks, U.S. intelligence feared Abu Nidal would play a role in what they warned at the time was a growing terror alliance between Saddam and bin Laden.

In 1999, after Hussein offered bin Laden asylum in Iraq, Vincent Cannistaro - the one-time head of counterterrorism operations at the CIA - told the Knight Ridder news service, "It's clear the Iraqis would like to have bin Laden in Iraq. And the Iraqis have all the technological elements, the tradecraft bin Laden lacks, and they have Abu Nidal."

Just hours before Saddam was captured last week, the London Telegraph reported that a July 2001 memo written by Iraqi intelligence chief Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti showed that Ziad Jarrah's partner, Mohamed Atta, had successfully completed a "work program" at a base in Baghdad run by Abu Nidal.

[null and void]

Nope. No Iraq terrorism connection here.

Move along. Nothing to see here...

[Poohbah]

That elephant's getting a little too big to hide under the carpet...

[Quilla]

Sadly, the mainstream media has a remarkable talent for hiding such elephants.

[diamondjoe]

"Just days before Aydintasbas' report, Nidal had been found dead in Baghdad of multiple gunshot wounds; his demise ruled a suicide by Saddam's security forces."

No wonder the left loves Saddam--he reminds them of Clinton.

[OXENinFLA]

This is going to come out and the dems will deny deny deny.

[Coroner]

bump

[MEG33]

There must be a recording and video showing Bin Ladin and Saddam plotting together plus money transfers,and a truck load of documents for a link to be believed or even considered by the nay sayers.

[SandRat]

"Just days before Aydintasbas' report, Nidal had been found dead in Baghdad of multiple gunshot wounds; his demise ruled a suicide by Saddam's security forces." Another case of "Arkancide," definately.

[1Old Pro]

But the Anti-Americans are saying there is absolutely, positively no connection whatsoever between 911 and Iraq.

[null and void]

Not even then. The sky could open, a DEEP voice could shake the very rocks, and announce the connection, and the nay sayers would denounce the abuse of special effects...

[MEG33]

Sounds reasonable.

[angkor]

Just a point of reference: I believe several in the administration, including GWB himself, have said there's "no evidence" of a Saddam/911/OBL connection.

I don't believe that, but I wonder why they say it.

[Gritty]

I haven't seen this second potential headline-busting revelation in the mainstream media yet.

But then, I haven't seen the first one, either!

[Bobby777]

Abu Nidal is one of Yasser Arafat's old operatives, if memory serves ...

[MEG33]

He did say 911 connection.He didn't say no OBL/Saddam connection....The evidence that could be used to convict or indict for 911 isn't there.

[TheDon]

Just days before Aydintasbas' report, Nidal had been found dead in Baghdad of multiple gunshot wounds; his demise ruled a suicide by Saddam's security forces.

As Saddam kept detailed records of his deeds, it will be interesting to find information in his files that tells the real story about Nidal's execution, and the reason for it.

[truthandlife]

Just a point of reference: I believe several in the administration, including GWB himself, have said there's "no evidence" of a Saddam/911/OBL connection. I don't believe that, but I wonder why they say it.

Because I believe they are lining up all the evidence so that there will be no doubt that there is a connection. Cheney blew the horn for the administration prematurely for them to get all of their evidence together.

I do believe this will also be timed before the '04 election. Remember, nothing would change if the administration offered this information now. We still got Saddam, we are still going after terrorists and OBL is a distant memory.

I do believe OBL's fate (dead fate) will be revealed in '04 before the elections.

[VOA]

: I believe several in the administration, including GWB himself, have said there's
"no evidence" of a Saddam/911/OBL connection.
I don't believe that, but I wonder why they say it.

Just speculation...Dubya and Co. are probably building the case, maybe even have it
in their file cabinet.
And are just waiting for more "NO LINK -- DUBYA LIED!" stories to reach a peak...
then the mis-underestimated Dubya will release the smoking gun.

May just be a dream, but wouldn't suprise me.

[Ann Archy]

....but....but...what about HALLIBURTON?? Halliburton is way more EVIL than Abu Nidal, Atta, OBL, or Saddam rolled into one!!! /sarcasm