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May 13, 2002

NEW CIA DOCUMENTS REVEAL CLINTON’S BOMBING OF SUDAN HELPED BOLSTER SADDAM HUSSEIN AMONG ARABS

“Top Secret” Documents Unclassified By CIA In Response To Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act Request

(Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, reported today that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) released documents which detail how the Clinton Administration’s bombing of a Sudanese pharmaceutical plant in 1998 contributed to helping bolster Saddam Hussein among Arab nations. The August 20, 1998 bombing of the al-Shifa plant occurred in the heat of the Lewinsky scandal, and most observers believe that the attack on the plant, which was alleged to have ties to Osama bin Laden, was a “mistake.” Judicial Watch received these documents only recently, over two years after they were requested from the CIA under the Freedom of Information Act in January, 2000.

The heavily redacted documents include Senior Executive Intelligence Briefs which discuss the al-Shifa attack. In a September 21, 1998 Senior Executive Intelligence Brief, under the topic “Middle East: Currents Favor Saddam,” the CIA reports:
Stalemate in the peace process, growing Arab dissatisfaction with sanctions against Iraq, and Arab anger over the US military strike in Sudan have added momentum to regional trends benefitting Saddam. Regional states – wagering that sanctions will soon end – are positioning themselves to gain from Iraq’s anticipated reemergence as a viable player in the region

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The US military strike last month against the al-Shifa plant in Sudan has fueled Arab perceptions of US hostility toward Muslims, increasing the political risk to US allies of siding with Washington to renew pressure against Saddam.

“These newly released documents show that Clinton’s bombing of Sudan helped no one but Saddam Hussein. The ‘Wag the Dog’ bombing gave Saddam Hussein time and breathing space, which he used to bolster his regime on the world stage and, as Judicial Watch and many other experts allege, to conspire with bin Laden to commit the worst attack on America in its history,” stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.