Posted on 01/22/2003 8:59:25 AM PST by RCW2001
| Wednesday, 22-Jan-2003 12:20AM | Story from AFP / Robert Holloway Copyright 2003 by Agence France-Presse (via ClariNet) |
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 21 (AFP) - The United Nations panel monitoring sanctions against Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network has no evidence of links between the terrorist group and Iraq, group chairman Michael Chandler said Tuesday.
"We don't have anything yet, and no-one has been able to produce anything," he told AFP in an interview.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair told a parliamentary hearing in London on Tuesday that "there is some intelligence evidence about linkages between members of al-Qaeda and people in Iraq." He did not identify the individuals.
Speaking a day after seven people were arrested in a dramatic police raid on a mosque in north London, Blair said it was "inevitable" that terrorists would try to target Britain.
But he said he was unaware of any evidence that "directly links" al-Qaeda, Iraq and "terrorist activities" in Britain.
Chandler, who described al-Qaeda in a report to the UN Security Council as "a substantial threat, globally, to peace and security," said it was not obviously "in either side's interests to be linked at this stage."
He noted that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein runs what is "still quite a secular country" distinct from the Islamic regime of bin Laden's ambitions, and added: "Saddam doesn't want a caliphate; he wants to be in charge."
Chandler chaired a panel of five set up in January last year to monitor the enforcement of sanctions originally imposed in 1999 on al-Qaeda and the Taliban regime then in power and harbouring it in Afghanistan.
The Security Council renewed the sanctions -- an arms embargo, a financial assets freeze and travel ban -- in a resolution Friday which asked UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to re-appoint the panel.
It also asked governments to update reports on steps they had taken to enforce sanctions.
Chandler said only 79 of the 191 UN member states had responded to a similar request made a year ago, but added: "I would be reluctant to say any country is reluctant to cooperate; that is not what we are seeing."
Many countries had problems incorporating the necessary measures into their own constitutions and legal frameworks, he said.
He noted that it was difficult to impose a travel ban inside the 15-nation Schengen area, which has effectively abolished border controls throughout the continental states of the European Union, Norway and Iceland.
The restrictions apply, not only to al-Qaeda and the Taliban, but also to 104 people on a list compiled by the Security Council. Suspects are listed at the request of governments if no other government objects.
"Nobody who is on the list has actually been stopped from trying to enter a country," Chandler said. "That shows one of two things: either they are clever enough not to try, or the system isn't working."
He also noted that some suspects appeared on wanted lists around the world, but governments had not had them listed. They included four people sought by the FBI.
"We don't understand why. We have asked the question twice," he said.
Asked to assess al-Qaeda's strength and resources, Chandler replied:
"It's quite difficult to get a handle on a lot of things to do with al-Qaeda because of the way it has been able to disperse and perpetuate itself" since the massive US military assault which toppled the Taliban regime.
Governments were thought to have frozen 130-140 million dollars worth of assets, but few were willing to identify the owners of the bank accounts, he said.
"The amount of money needed for an attack is comparatively small," he said.
"Some people have put a figure of 74,000 dollars" on the twin bombings which killed 190 people in nightclubs on the Indonesian island of Bali on October 12, he said.
But, he went on, "I don't think anybody actually knows" how much money the network had.
Before it was routed in Afghanistan, al-Qaeda "was a kind of Holy War Inc., with managerial departments and people who could provide support, direction and possibly even finance down the chain of command," Chandler said.
The fact that it had managed to diversify showed "the extent to which feeling for this organisation has spread around the world," he said.
Al-Qaeda cells were being broken up in Europe, but there was a danger of new cells being formed to replace them.
"It is clearly much more difficult for them to operate than it was, but that does not mean we should be complacent," he said.
"Nor should we underestimate their ability to do something unpleasant. It has been too quiet for too long."
rh/mk
Iraq-UN-Qaeda
Abu Nidal, the Palestinian terrorist, was murdered on the orders of Saddam Hussein after refusing to train al-Qa'eda fighters based in Iraq, The Telegraph can reveal.
Despite claims by Iraqi officials that Abu Nidal committed suicide after being implicated in a plot to overthrow Saddam, Western diplomats now believe that he was killed for refusing to reactivate his international terrorist network.
The head of Iraqi intelligence holds photographs purporting to prove Abu Nidal's 'suicide' According to reports received from Iraqi opposition groups, Abu Nidal had been in Baghdad for months as Saddam's personal guest, and was being treated for a mild form of skin cancer.
While in Baghdad, Abu Nidal, whose real name was Sabri al-Banna, came under pressure from Saddam to help train groups of al-Qa'eda fighters who moved to northern Iraq after fleeing Afghanistan. Saddam also wanted Abu Nidal to carry out attacks against the US and its allies.
When Abu Nidal refused, Saddam ordered his intelligence chiefs to assassinate him. He was shot dead last weekend when Iraqi security forces burst into his apartment in central Baghdad. The body was taken to the hospital where he had had cancer treatment.
The Iraqi authorities later claimed that Abu Nidal had killed himself when confronted with evidence that he was involved in a plot to overthrow Saddam.
"There is no doubt that Abu Nidal was murdered on Saddam's orders," said a US official who has studied the reports. "He paid the price for not co-operating with Saddam's wishes."
Last week, American intelligence officials revealed that several high-ranking al-Qa'eda members had moved to northern Iraq where they had linked up with Iraqi intelligence officials.
It now transpires that Saddam was hoping to take advantage of Abu Nidal's presence in Baghdad to persuade him to use his considerable expertise in terrorist techniques to train al-Qa'eda fighters.
Abu Nidal worked closely with Saddam during the late 1970s and early 1980s to carry out a number of terrorist outrages in the Middle East and Europe, including the attempted assassination of the Israeli ambassador to London in 1982.
In recent years, Abu Nidal, who has been ill for many years, had scaled down his terror operations.
With the prospect increasing of the US launching a military campaign to overthrow Saddam, however, the Iraqi dictator was keen to combine Abu Nidal's expertise with the enthusiasm of al-Qa'eda's fanatical fighters to launch a fresh wave of terror attacks. In this way, Saddam hoped to disrupt Washington's plans to overthrow him.
The presence of al-Qa'eda fighters in Iraq has become a source of great concern in Washington.
US Defence Department officials said that a number of very senior al-Qa'eda members was now based in northern Iraq close to the Iranian border at Halabja.
Although Iraqi officials have denied any knowledge of the al-Qa'eda fighters' presence, Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary, said last week that it was highly unlikely that they could have entered Iraq without Saddam's knowledge.
"There are al-Qa'eda in a number of locations in Iraq," he said. "In a vicious, repressive dictatorship that exercises near total control over its population, it's very hard to imagine that the government is not aware of what is taking place in the country."
Saddam killed Abu Nidal over al-Qa'eda row
Also:
The British Government's long-awaited dossier on Iraq is to reveal the first definitive evidence that Saddam Hussein trained some of Osama bin Laden's key lieutenants as terrorists.
A draft version contains detailed information about how two leading al Qaeda members, Abu Zubair and Rafid Fatah, underwent training in Iraq and are still linked to the Baghdad regime.
It is also expected to disclose that President Saddam has reconstructed three plants to manufacture biological and chemical weapons.
The correct question is: Have they totally destroyed those weapons? That is why there are inspectors in Iraq.
There were no ties for some time between Germany and Japan either.
Our war is with TERRORISM, not just al-Qaeda. Iraq and al-Qaeda share the fact that they have both publicly stated their hatred of the "Great Satan"
The left seems to dwell too much on the premise that Iraq's missiles can't reach us. Why do we have to apologize for the fact we fear Saddam will do us harm within our own borders, just as al-Qaeda did?
But we have evidence of ties between Libyan terrorists and UN Human Rights council leadership. Bomb the U.N.!
LOL !!
He'd want one if he got to be the Caliph. Remember the Koran written in his blood? He's a cynical old SOB, but is not beyond appealing to the "religious" for support.
I don't know, but here's a pic of their "training device", along with our favorite ex Weapons Inspector and pedophile, Scott Ritter.
The caption says this is the "Anti-Terrorist Training Camp" in Salman Pak, Iraq. The picture is originally from "Time" magazine as the URL of the picture shows.
And according to several statements there is a connection...
"We do have solid evidence of the presence in Iraq of al Qaeda members, including some that have been in Baghdad," the defense secretary said. "We have what we consider to be credible contacts in Iraq who could help them acquire weapons of mass destruction capabilities." Mr. Rumsfeld's presentation at a Pentagon news conference came the day after White House National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice disclosed for the first time an intelligence report that said Iraq helped train al Qaeda members to use chemical weapons. Her words were reiterated yesterday by White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer. "Al Qaeda and Iraq are too close for comfort," he said.Can't get a much higher authority in the US Admin than these three. If they say it is credible...I believe them.
Maybe you have forgotten the old saying...
New evidence links Saddam, bin Laden - Dec 2002
Arafat-Saddam-Bin Laden Links Surface - Sep 2002
Saddam and Osama: A Long History
Rice: Iraq Providing Shelter, Chemical Weapons Help to Al Qaeda - Sep 2002
Super Tuesday!!!
Super Tuesday!!!
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