Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Bush says Zarqawi Killed Berg; Cites Saddam 'Ties'
Reuters ^ | May 15, 2004 | Caren Bohan

Posted on 05/15/2004 4:27:59 AM PDT by Peach

Bush Says Zarqawi Killed Berg, Cites Saddam 'Ties' U.S. Military Bars Some Iraq Interrogation Methods

By Caren Bohan MEQUON, Wis. (Reuters) - President Bush on Friday blamed al Qaeda supporter Abu Musab al-Zarqawi for beheading American Nicholas Berg and cited him as an example of Saddam Hussein's "terrorist ties" before the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

Bush's revival of accusations linking Saddam to terrorism comes as the president faces growing doubts among Americans over his Iraq policy.

At a fund-raising lunch in Bridgeton, Missouri, Bush said Zarqawi was an example of the threat posed by the ousted Iraqi leader. "We knew he (Saddam) had terrorist ties. The person responsible for the Berg death, Zarqawi, was in and out of Baghdad prior to our arrival, for example," Bush said.

A video of Berg's beheading was posted this week to an Islamist Web site. The grisly film included a statement, signed off with Zarqawi's name, that urged Muslims to take revenge for Iraqi prisoners abused by U.S. soldiers at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. The CIA on Thursday said Zarqawi was probably the one who beheaded Berg.

American doubts over Bush's Iraq policy have been fueled by the Abu Ghraib scandal, uncertainties over the planned June 30 transfer of sovereignty to Iraqis and a violent insurgency. Furthermore, the United States has failed to find alleged unconventional weapons in Iraq that were the heart of Bush's case for going to war.

Although Bush administration officials had raised the possibility Saddam helped al Qaeda plan the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, Bush eventually said there was no evidence. Bush has previously cited Zarqawi as a link between Saddam and al Qaeda.

The president, in his stops in two battleground states for this November's presidential election, sought to reassure Americans his Iraq policy was on track.

Bush said in Bridgeton the transfer of sovereignty could provide hope for Iraqis, although his administration has been criticized for lacking a clear plan.

"They're glad to be rid of Saddam," he said. "And they obviously want to run their own country. If I were them I'd want to run my own country too."

Speaking later at commencement ceremonies at Concordia University in Wisconsin, Bush said the Abu Ghraib scandal had consequences that WENT "well beyond the walls of a prison," but he did not elaborate.

He said the scandal "cannot diminish the honor and achievement of more than 200,000 military personnel who have served in Iraq."

Before setting off for the Midwest, Bush met at the White House with foreign ministers from the Group of Seven major industrial nations plus Russia. The seven are the United States, Britain, Italy, Canada, France, Germany and Japan.

The theme was mending fences with countries such as France and Germany, which bitterly opposed the war. Bush hopes to enlist their help with the Iraq sovereignty transfer.

"He (Bush) talked about putting aside past differences and all of us working together to help the Iraqi people realize a brighter future," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. (Additional reporting by David Morgan and Steve Holland)

© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: alqaeda; berg; bush; iraq; nickberg; terrorists; war; zarkawi
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-52 next last
With President Bush's support for the war in Iraq ebbing, he needs to remind Americans that Saddam had close ties to Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda, ties going back over a decade.
1 posted on 05/15/2004 4:27:59 AM PDT by Peach
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Peach

We know Saddam worked with the PLO and other terrorists, he funded them. He at LEAST knew that 9/11 was coming.

Less than two months before 9/11/01, the state-controlled Iraqi newspaper “Al-Nasiriya” carried a column headlined, “American, an Obsession called Osama Bin Ladin.” (July 21, 2001)

In the piece, Baath Party writer Naeem Abd Muhalhal predicted that bin Laden would attack the US “with the seriousness of the Bedouin of the desert about the way he will try to bomb the Pentagon after he destroys the White House.”

The same state-approved column also insisted that bin Laden “will strike America on the arm that is already hurting,” and that the US “will curse the memory of Frank Sinatra every time he hears his songs” – an apparent reference to the Sinatra classic, “New York, New York”.
(Link below)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1106657/posts?page=1

List of newspaper article in the 90's which mention the world's concern regarding the growing relationship between OBL and Saddam: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/946809/posts?page=1

Son of Saddam coordinates OBL activities:http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/951911/posts

The AQ connection (excellent):http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/944617/posts?page=2

Western Nightmare: http://www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/story/0,12469,798270,00.html

Saddam's link to OBL: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/866105/posts

NYT: Iraq and AQ agree to cooperate: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/985906/posts

Document linking them: http://tennessean.com/nation-world/archives/03/06/34908297.shtml?Element_ID=34908297

Iraq and terrorism - no doubt about it: http://www.nationalreview.com/robbins/robbins091903.asp

A federal judge rules there are links:http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/986293/posts

Wall Street Journal on Iraq and AQ:http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/987129/posts

Iraq and Iran contact OBL: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/981055/posts

More evidence: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2003%2F04%2F27%2Fwalq27.xml

Saddam's AQ connection: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/969032/posts

Further connections: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1007969/posts

What a court of law said about the connections:
http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/pol/terror/98110402.htm

Some miscellaneous stuff on connections:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/989201/posts

Saddam's Ambassador to Al Qaeda: (February 2004, Weekly Standard)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1083778/posts

Yes - it's NewsMax but loaded with interesting bullet points.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1097521/posts?page=1

Saddam's Fingerprints on NY Bombing (Wall Street Journal, June 1993)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1115387/posts

Colin Powell: Iraq and AQ Partners for Years (CNN, February 2003)
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/05/sprj.irq.alqaeda.links/

The Iraq-Al Qaeda Connections (September 2003, Richard Miniter)
http://www.techcentralstation.com/092503F.html

Oil for Food Scandal Ties Iraq and Al Qaeda (June 2003)
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1125899/posts

Saddam and OBL Make a Pact (The New Yorker, February 2003):
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?030210fa_fact

Al Qaeda's Poison Gas (Wall Street Journal, April 2004):
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110005016

Wolfowitz Says Saddam behind 9/11 Attacks:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/921398/posts

Saddam behind first WTC attack - PBS, Laurie Mylroie:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/gunning/interviews/mylroie.html

Growing Evidence of Saddam and Al Qaeda Link, The Weekly Standard, July 2003:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/946997/posts

Qusay Hussein Coordinated Iraq special operations with Bin Laden Terrorist Activities, Yossef Bodansky, National Press Club
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/951911/posts

The Western Nightmare: Saddam and Bin Laden vs. the Rest of the World, The Guardian Unlimited:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/story/0,12469,798270,00.html

Saddam Link to Bin Laden, Julian Borger, The Guardian, February 1999
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/866105/posts

The Al Qaeda Connection, The Weekly Standard, July 2003
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/944617/posts?page=2
Cheney lectures Russert on Iraq/911 Link, September 2003:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/982713/posts

No Question About It, National Review, September 2003
http://www.nationalreview.com/robbins/robbins091903.asp

Iraq: A Federal Judges Point of View
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/986293/posts

Mohammed's Account links Iraq to 9/11 and OKC:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/987075/posts

Free Republic Thread that mentions so me books Freepers might be interested in on this topic:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/977221/posts?page=8

The Proof that Saddam Worked with AQ, The Telegraph, April 2003:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2003%2F04%2F27%2Fwalq27.xml

Saddam's AQ Connection, The Weekly Standard, September 2003
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/969032/posts

September 11 Victims Sue Iraq:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2237332.stm

Osama's Best Friend: The Further Connections Between Al Qaeda and Saddam, The Weekly Standard, November 2003

Terrorist Behind 9/11 Attacks Trained by Saddam, The Telegraph, December 2003
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1007969/posts

James Woolsey Links Iraq and AQ, CNN Interview, March 2004, Also see Posts #34 and #35
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1104121/posts

A Geocities Interesting Web Site with maps and connections:
http://www.geocities.com/republican_strategist/Iraq-Bin-Laden.html

Bin Laden indicted in federal court, read down to find information that Bin Laden agreed to not attack Iraq and to work cooperatively with Iraq:
http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/pol/terror/98110402.htm

Case Closed, The Weekly Standard, November 03
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/378fmxyz.asp

CBS - Lawsuit: Iraq involved in 9/11:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/09/05/september11/main520874.shtml

Exploring Iraq's Involvement in pre-9/11 Acts, The Indianapolis Star:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/746225/posts

The Iraq/AQ Connection: Richard Minister again
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/989201/posts

Militia Defector says Baghdad trained Al Qaeda fighters in chemical weapons, July 2002
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/743892/posts

The Clinton View of Iraq/AQ Ties, The Weekly Standard, December 2003
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/527uwabl.asp

Saddam Controlled the Camps (Iraq/AQ Ties): The London Observer, November 01
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/741676/posts

Saddam's Terror Ties that Critics Ignore, National Review, October 2003:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1005579/posts

Tape Shows General Wesley Clark linking Iraq and AQ:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1056113/posts
Freeper list of links between AQ and Iraq:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/850346/posts

Salman Pak (Aviation Weekly)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/865435/posts


2 posted on 05/15/2004 4:29:20 AM PDT by Peach
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Peach
Mornin' Peach!

American doubts over Bush's Iraq policy have been fueled by the Abu Ghraib scandal, uncertainties over the planned June 30 transfer of sovereignty to Iraqis and a violent insurgency.

I feel the anti-American, anti-military, anti-conservative media fuels American's doubts far more than the above-mentioned laundry list.

3 posted on 05/15/2004 4:39:38 AM PDT by Quilla (God bless America, President George W. Bush, our brave troops, and Freepers everywhere.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Quilla

Good morning, Quilla.

You're right about that. Old Media has done everything it can to see that President Bush is not re-elected.

Back in a few minutes...tea time to wake up.


4 posted on 05/15/2004 4:41:24 AM PDT by Peach
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Peach
Before this is all over, I believe we will know for a fact that Saddam and bin Laden were in it together.


5 posted on 05/15/2004 4:47:59 AM PDT by Quilla (God bless America, President George W. Bush, our brave troops, and Freepers everywhere.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Quilla
American doubts over Bush's Iraq policy have been fueled by...

His apology for the Abu Ghraib debacle. He should have never let the media manipulate him into that mistake. Bad move.

6 posted on 05/15/2004 4:51:49 AM PDT by IoCaster ("That to live by one man's will became the cause of all men's misery." - Richard Hooker)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Quilla

I agree. Why else would Saddam's state run newspaper have known 9/11 was coming? It's not likely OBL decided to let Saddam know just for the gossip factor.

As well, the book The Two Jackals mentions something I'd forgotten.

In August 2001, Saddam put his military on their highest level of alert since the Gulf War. Saddam himself and his wives went into a bunker and didn't emerge until October.


7 posted on 05/15/2004 4:57:40 AM PDT by Peach
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Quilla
Handwritten letter dated Feb. 19, 1998 linking bin Laden and Saddam Hussein
discussing arrival of a secret envoy sent by bin Laden to Iraq.
The signature beneath the letter is a codename, "MDA" - the Mukhabarat.


8 posted on 05/15/2004 5:04:13 AM PDT by Diogenesis (We do what we are meant to do)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Peach
And where did these helpful Islamic calendars come from
which predicted the month, year, location, and type of attack IN ADVANCE.
September 2001 shown:


9 posted on 05/15/2004 5:05:52 AM PDT by Diogenesis (We do what we are meant to do)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Diogenesis

Good morning, Diogenesis.

I've seen that calendar but have a question. How do we know it was printed in advance of 9/11?


10 posted on 05/15/2004 5:06:59 AM PDT by Peach
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Diogenesis

To think, we have millions of pages confiscated from offices all over Iraq we haven't translated yet. There's no telling what we will discover similar to or worse than the Oil for Food scandal. I'm still waiting for the release of names of those who received actual cash rather than oil vouchers. That should be enlightening.


11 posted on 05/15/2004 5:10:07 AM PDT by Quilla (God bless America, President George W. Bush, our brave troops, and Freepers everywhere.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Quilla

Quilla -

Why do you think the administration had backed away from talking about Saddam and AQ? Even if they didn't or couldn't tie Saddam directly to 9/11, it seems a bad move politically at least to stop talking (until yesterday and this article) about Saddam's links to AQ.

Support for the war is so seriously low and if people only knew what we know (LOL), I think support would increase.


12 posted on 05/15/2004 5:12:31 AM PDT by Peach
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Peach

Just speculating, as I'm not near as versed in stratergy as our President, but here goes: Every prominent democrat, up until the start of the war in Iraq, can be quoted condemning Saddam's use and possession of weapons of mass destruction. No one in the mainstream would dare mention these quotes today as they pound the no WMD's line at every possible opportunity. Without concrete, irrefutable evidence of Saddam's involvement in September 11, the media would crucify (i.e. yellowcake/Niger) any claims made by the Bush Administration. I believe they are attempting to put together an unimpeachable dossier implicating Saddam before releasing it to the enemy, er I mean, the press.


13 posted on 05/15/2004 5:28:39 AM PDT by Quilla (God bless America, President George W. Bush, our brave troops, and Freepers everywhere.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Peach

Wow...great stuff....is there someway for me to bookmark it all in one place?


14 posted on 05/15/2004 5:31:05 AM PDT by Huck (In the Soviet Union, the Admin Moderators ruled.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Quilla

Women hold the key to the election of Conservative politicians.

EVERY GOP presidential candidate since WWII would have won had only MEN voted. Yes, including Bush I (2nd) and Dole.

EVERY RAT presidential candidate since WWII would have won had only WOMEN voted. Yes, including Carter (2nd), Dukakis and Gore.

The candidacy of Schwarzenegger in rat-infested California was brilliant because it ensured the female vote.

Conservative/Libertarian purists have absolutely no political sense when it comes to winning and keeping elected office.

The most conservative candidate combined with the charisma to win the female vote is the ONLY option for the GOP.

It comes down to this:

The GOP candidate must be more attractive to men yet less offensive to women. In the current instance, Bush is a man's man with enough compassion to win some soccer moms.

The RAT candidate must be more attractive to women yet less offensive to men. In the current instance, Kerry is an effete pompous wimp who men do not like. Women do not find Kerry charismatic.

I think the female vote hinges on two factors:

1. Soccer moms have been displaced by security moms. Bush needs to make females understand their babies will be murdered by terrorists under a Kerry regime.

2. Iraq should ALWAYS have been pursued as a humanitarian issue to keep women voters on side. We ALL would have understood that Iraq was a continuation of the war on terror without saying it. Humanitarian cover would have pre-empted the bleeding heart females' criticism of the war effort no matter how it ended. Stupid move on the part of the political strategists, but certainly not fatal. NOW is the time to pick up this theme constantly and endlessly.

Men will not abandon Bush if we keep sending missiles into terrorist nests, while handing chocolates and flowers to women and children to assuage female guilt.

Bottom line:

With a warning for Bush to keep pounding on the female vulnerability of safety and security, and on our humanitarian successes in Iraq, Bush earns FOUR MORE YEARS!

Please help ensure the Bush team gets the message.


15 posted on 05/15/2004 5:31:35 AM PDT by Enduring Freedom (Do not turn cheek to the Islamonazis - you have only one head to be severed. Confront them head on!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Peach
Recently, Kennedy called Iraq Bush's VietNam. That was parrotted by al-Sadr from Iraq.

Yesterday, the Pentagon issued a new directive that 7 forms of 'torture' are not longer allowed.

Food type
Sleep deprivation
Solitaire for more than 30 days
Excessive physical stress for more than 45 minutes

etc.

The Lib/Dems, with the 9-11 Commission attacks, followed by the Iraqi Prison photos, and now changes in interrogation policies, all have the Administration cowering. With each internal attack by the Libs/Dems, the Iraqi War turns more PC; and that feeds the Libs/Dems.

It was reported last week that guards at the prisons have to use rubber bullets. [Note that they guard the worst of the worst--those very much like the butchers of Nick Berg. But our guards have to use rubber bullets while guarding these thugs.]

On a radio talk show recently, a military/political author said that prisoners now can no longer be 'hooded.'

Every day the WoT turns more PC. Every day, Kennedy is more and more right--because his team is aiding and abetting in ensuring that his prophetic statement comes true.

It is difficult to determine whether we are fighting two different enemies or one enemy in two environments. Some of the elected officials seem more bent on our losing the WoT than in our winning it. It makes one wonder why?

We questioned why the UN, France, Russia, and Germany so vehemently opposed our going into Iraq last year. Now, we know why--they were basically 'on the payroll' with their perks from the Oil for Food program.

Dare we investigate those elected officials who seem so bent on derailing our WoT efforts?
16 posted on 05/15/2004 5:41:13 AM PDT by TomGuy (Clintonites have such good hind-sight because they had their heads up their hind-ends 8 years.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Peach

Here's how you can tell its a biased article coming. Notice how Ties is in quotes "Ties". Why? Is there some doubt about the "Ties"? Of course not but by doing so the media can continue to undercut the administration's (and in the process the country's) credibility. Notice there are no such quotes by scandal. But at least the media is "unbiased"


17 posted on 05/15/2004 5:45:05 AM PDT by Dr Snide (vis pacem, para bellum - Prepare for war if you want peace)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Peach
Morning, Peach,
Because it was, and there was a series of them.
Now why is there more interest in prison hazing then THEM?
18 posted on 05/15/2004 5:49:21 AM PDT by Diogenesis (We do what we are meant to do)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Diogenesis

Because the leftists don't talk about ANYTHING that could support President Bush's re-election.


19 posted on 05/15/2004 5:58:01 AM PDT by Peach
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: Dr Snide

Definitely. I loathe the media. They think they can get their guy elected by shaping public opinion. And, unfortunately, they may be right. I had thought by this time FR and other "new media" sites would be more powerful.


20 posted on 05/15/2004 5:58:59 AM PDT by Peach
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-52 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson