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SNIPPET: "Curious, The Mouth asked Multi-National Forces-Iraq in Baghdad a series of questions last November about Iranian subversive activity. Read the questions and answers after the jump. - James Gordon Meek Q: Are Iranian-made Explosively-Formed Penetrator bombs still coming into the country? A: We continue to find caches that include Iranian weapons - many in their original packaging - including Explosively-Formed Penetrators and 107mm, 122mm, and 240mm rockets. Q: How many EFP incidents occur on average per month now? A: Approximately 3-7 per month. Q: Have the EFP attacks decreased at all? A: Yes, we are seeing a reduction in...

I would like to devote my time to research and post such research that would put to rest any doubts or misinformation about the validity of a link between Iraq's leadership under Saddam Hussein and the Al Qaeda terrorist network. What I need most is links or references to official documents, relevant source non-biased source materials, and or confirmed quotable information. What isn't needed are posts from other conservative bloggers or "news" sites that are inherently biased towards defending their view. Any help would be appreciated.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The U.S. Army is investigating allegations that Special Forces troops killed an al Qaeda suspect in cold blood and cut off his finger during an overnight operation near Baghdad earlier this month. The U.S. Army is investigating the killing of Iraqi bomb-making suspect, Hardan al-Jaburi. The December 10 raid, on a house in the Salman Pak district, 15 miles south of Baghdad, targeted suspected bomb-maker Hardan al-Jaburi. In a statement, the U.S. military said al-Jaburi, armed with an AK-47, confronted troops conducting the raid. "Perceiving hostile intent, the forces engaged the armed man, killing him," the...

RAMADI, Iraq (AFP) — Six Iraqi policemen and seven Al-Qaeda militants were killed when the militants attempted a pre-dawn breakout from a police station in the western city of Ramadi, police said."During an exchange of fire between prisoners trying to escape and police officers in the station, six policemen and seven prisoners were killed," provincial police chief Tareq al-Dulaimi said.Three prisoners managed to escape and one was re-arrested, Dulaimi said, adding that another four policemen were wounded in the shootout that occurred at 2 am (2300 GMT Thursday) at Forsan police station in the centre of Ramadi.Ramadi police have imposed...

I spent the last two weeks of last month as an embedded reporter with the United States Army in Baghdad and was disappointed to see that, despite the overwhelming success of the surge, Iraq is as rundown and dysfunctional as ever. Yes, the country is less violent now than at any time since the U.S. invaded in 2003, but Iraq is still Iraq. Many Americans and Iraqis I spoke to feel a sense of dread and foreboding about what will happen when American forces soon begin to withdraw. Without the presence of American soldiers as peacekeepers, Gen. David Petraeus' brilliant...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7, 2008 – Coalition forces in Iraq apprehended an alleged key member of the Kataib Hezbollah network and two other suspects during an operation early today in Baghdad's Adhamiyah district. Officials believe Kataib Hezbollah is a surrogate group for the Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. Acting on intelligence information, coalition forces targeted an alleged Kataib Hezbollah bombing cell leader believed to be responsible for recent attacks against Iraqi and coalition forces and Iraqi citizens. Coalition forces approached a residence in search of the suspected terrorist. The wanted man identified himself to forces, and was apprehended without incident,...

BALAD, Iraq – Iraqi Security Forces, with Coalition force advisors, captured two suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq cell members and a Jaysh al-Mahdi Special Groups cell leader during separate operations in Iraq Nov. 29. Hillah Special Weapons and Tactics conducted an operation capturing a JAM-SG cell leader. The individual is believed to be the leader of the A- Imam JAM-SG cell operating throughout the Babil province. The cell is allegedly responsible for conducting numerous attacks against Coalition force bases as well as improvised explosive device attacks on CF convoys. In Balad, elements from the 4th Iraqi Army captured two Ansar al-Sunna...

BAGHDAD – 12 Iraqi policemen were killed and 35 IPs and civilians were wounded when two improvised explosive device detonated at approximately 1 p.m. Dec. 1 in eastern Baghdad. The first IED blast occurred outside the Baghdad IP Academy in Rusafa and the second blast, a car bomb, exploded 150 meters north of the entrance and was specifically targeting first responders. The attacks occurred within a minute of each other. Iraqi Security Forces and Soldiers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, responded to the attack to help secure the site. The injured were...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) -- Blasts at Baghdad's police academy and in the northern city of Mosul have killed 30 people and wounded dozens more, hours after a roadside bomb wounded a senior Iraqi official, police said. Violence has fallen sharply over the last year as successive security crackdowns dealt insurgent groups a heavy blow, but officials say militants are now concentrating their efforts on attention-grabbing attacks ahead of elections next year. People were queuing at the back entrance of the police academy in east Baghdad to enroll when a car bomb exploded, followed minutes later by a suicide bomb attack, police...

November 20, 2008 HP-1284 Treasury Designates al-Qaida in Iraq Facilitator Washington, DC--The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated Redouane El Habhab, a Germany-based terrorist financier and facilitator who has provided financial support and other services to al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI). "We must remain vigilant in our efforts to shut every funding stream terrorists and their supporters exploit to carry out attacks in Iraq and around the world," said Adam Szubin, director of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. "The power and reach of the UN's counterterrorism authorities continue to be critically important tools to shut down financing conduits wherever...

We won. The Iraq War is over. I declare November 22, 2008 to be "Victory in Iraq Day." (Hereafter known as "VI Day.") By every measure, The United States and coalition forces have conclusively defeated all enemies in Iraq, pacified the country, deposed the previous regime, successfully helped to establish a new functioning democratic government, and suppressed any lingering insurgencies. The war has come to an end. And we won. What more indication do you need? An announcement from the outgoing Bush administration? It's not gonna happen. An announcement from the incoming Obama administration? That's really not gonna happen. A...

BAGHDAD — Coalition forces killed two terrorists, captured five wanted men and detained five additional suspects Saturday and Sunday as they continued striking al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) around the country. Coalition forces targeted a senior leader of a terrorist organization during an operation in Baghdad on Sunday. When forces arrived at the residence believed to house the terrorist, they called for its occupants to surrender. Two individuals in the building repeatedly refused to comply with instructions and then began acting in a threatening manner. Perceiving hostile intent, Coalition forces engaged the men, killing them both. None of the building's other...

Eclipsed by the election campaignining, this story slipped under the radar. Much has been said about the invasion of Iraq. Often there are claims that there were no weapons of mass destruction and no ties to Al Queda. In fact, most of the WMD claims that were made before the invasion turned out to be true. Iraq was not clean and innocent in regards to WMD, and the ties to Al Queda were wrongly dismissed. One of those ties regard Saddam’s involvement with Al Queda groups like Ansar al Islam which no one disputes was present and active in the...

BAGHDAD — During another round of devastating blows to al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) networks, Coalition forces captured 22 suspects Friday and Saturday throughout Iraq. Coalition forces operating in the vicinity of Tikrit, about 160 km north of Baghdad, targeted terrorist networks in the TigrisRiver Valley Friday. One man believed to be associated with a local terrorist leader was detained for additional questioning. Friday in Kirkuk, Coalition forces captured one wanted man believed to have ties with AQI leaders in the region. Four additional suspects were detained during the operation. About 160 km south of Mosul in the village of Bayji,...

BAGHDAD — The U.S. military says U.S. and Iraqi forces have killed a senior Al Qaeda in Iraq leader in the Tarmiyah area north of Baghdad. A U.S. statement says the Al Qaeda leader, known as Abu Ghazwan, was killed Thursday during a raid on a weapons cache.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi security forces supported by U.S. firepower killed a senior al Qaeda leader who made car bombs and ran Islamist militant cells throughout northern Iraq, the U.S. military said on Friday. A statement said the Iraqi army and members of a U.S.- backed Sunni Arab neighborhood patrol shot Abu Ghazwan as he hid in the grass near a house they were searching on Thursday in Tarmiya, north of Baghdad. The patrol had been attacked with guns and a bomb in the house. "While further searching the area, a (neighborhood patrol) member discovered a trail booby-trapped with grenades...

BAGHDAD (AP) — Two Iraqi insurgent groups called on President-elect Barack Obama to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq and abandon the war on terror, an Internet monitoring service reported Friday. Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, self-styled head of the al-Qaida front group the Islamic State of Iraq, said in a speech posted on an extremist Web site that it would be better "for you and us" to "withdraw your forces," according to the SITE Intelligence Group that monitors militant Web sites. Al-Baghdadi blamed the global financial crisis on the wars "launched in Muslim countries" and said he was issuing the call on...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6, 2008 – Coalition forces killed one enemy fighter and detained 17 terrorism suspects in operations throughout Iraq yesterday and today, military officials reported. Coalition forces in Mosul conducted multiple operations in the city today, capturing nine individuals with alleged ties to al-Qaida’s senior leader, weapons and communications networks. Two suspects were detained during three coordinated operations targeting the city's terrorist networks. Mosul al-Qaida leadership networks were dealt another blow when four men were detained during an operation targeting an al-Qaida operative with links to the city's terrorist leaders. Coalition forces also targeted an alleged weapons smuggler for...

In my new book titled The Link: The Secret Relationship between Saddam and al Qaida, I have done an exhaustive review of these Iraqi documents and have found new evidence regarding Saddam Hussein’s regime and his relationship with al Qaida. Within these documents, memos, and transcripts, the truth behind Colin Powell’s address to the United Nations on February 5, 2003 is revealed. In my book, I have detailed with facts that Saddam was financing, training, supporting, and providing a safe haven for al Qaida.

The U.S. military says the No. 2 leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq has been killed by Coalition forces during an Oct. 5 operation in the northern city of Mosul. The military has positively identified the insurgent leader as a Moroccan known as Abu Qaswarah or Abu Sara.