Clarke: Iraq Teamed up with Bin Laden to Produce WMDs

NewsMax.com ^ | March 23, 2004 | Carl Limbacher

[Carl/NewsMax]

The media are fascinated with the parts of former White House terrorism czar Richard Clarke's book that trash President Bush as being out to lunch on the al Qaeda threat before 9/11.

But reporters aren't talking about the chapter of "Against All Enemies" that describes how Osama bin Laden cooperated with Iraqi scientists to make weapons of mass destruction - a development that, if true, would more than justify President Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq.

In his book, Clarke describes how the Clinton CIA determined in 1996 that Sudan's Shifa chemical plant, which was allegedly bankrolled by bin Laden, was producing the chemical EMPTA.

"EMPTA is a compound that had been used as a prime ingredient in Iraqi nerve gas," writes Clarke. "It has no other known use, nor had any other nation employed EMPTA to our knowledge for any purpose."

"What was an Iraqi chemical weapons agent doing in Sudan?" the terrorism authority asked.

He then explains:

"UNSCOM and other U.S. government sources had claimed that the Iraqis were working on something at a facility near Shifa. Could Sudan, using bin Laden's money, have hired some Iraqis to make chemical weapons? It seemed chillingly possible."

Invoking the 2001 testimony to U.S. interrogators of captured al Qaeda operative Jamal al-Fadl, Clarke says that he "matter-of-factly described his role in traveling to Sudan for his terrorist organization. [Al Fadl] said his assignment was to follow the work al Qaeda had underway in Khartoum to develop chemical weapons."

In fact, much remains in dispute over just what was going on at the Shifa plant, which was bombed to smithereens in a 1998 cruise missile attack ordered by President Clinton.

But since the press has crowned Richard Clarke as America's ultimate authority on the al Qaeda threat, they ought to at least be honest enough to acknowledge that his account provides ample justification for Bush's decision to oust the regime that Clarke says teamed up with bin Laden to make WMDs in Sudan.

[jwalsh07]

LOL, this guy is burnt toast.

[Fee]

In the book he claimed that Ms Rice, did not seem to know who Bin Laden was after the attack on 11 Sept 2001, yet Sean Hannity found a radio interview done in October 2000 that Ms Rice explain the need to combine FBI/CIA intel efforts, otherwise Bin Laden may suceed in making an attack on US soil. In the interview she also criticized the peacemeal approach of the Clinton administration with their on again and off again airstrikes against terrorist bases with no wide sustain military pressure.

[eddie willers]

Ah...so the story is in black & white and in the book!

That explains Sec. Cohen shocking my ass by admitting this today.

Preemptive CYA.

[zip]

ping

[ironman]

"did not seem to know who Bin Laden was after the attack on 11 Sept 2001"

No the incident w/ Condi was in early 2001 not on Sept 11.

[jla]

Carl...You or any associates have any first hand knowledge of Clarke, and what his objective(s) is? (Besides book sales)

[BenLurkin]

BTTT

[FreeAtlanta]

Copy and email to everyone!
Freeps-oh-hoy!

[JulieRNR21]

"But since the press has crowned Richard Clarke as America's ultimate authority on the al Qaeda threat, they ought to at least be honest enough to acknowledge that his account provides ample justification for Bush's decision to oust the regime that Clarke says teamed up with bin Laden to make WMDs in Sudan."

Press only reports Blame Bush news!

[BenLurkin]

Condi rocks! Mission Accomplished!

[JulieRNR21]

BINGO.........BUMP

[Intolerant in NJ]

But reporters aren't talking about the chapter of "Against All Enemies" that describes how Osama bin Laden cooperated with Iraqi scientists to make weapons of mass destruction...another section they probably won't talk much about is a brief paragraph that Sec. Powell turned neatly against Clarke and Clinton in the hearings today - 'rat ex-congressman Roehmer read a part of the book which praised Powell for showing great interest in a presentation Clarke gave which asserted that the terrorists were already present and active in the U.S., but he went on the question why Bush didn't do anything about this when the information was made available - Powell cooly pointed that the briefing by Clarke had taken place on December 10th, over a month before Bush took office, and then asked why, if Clarke had this information back then, he and the Clinton administration didn't take aggressive action - pretty devastating comeback.....

[BenLurkin]

"What is up with this Clarke character?"

[endthematrix]

"You had prescience...I urge you to maintain that role in the White House."

Consider that a challenge met!

[pawdoggie]

I know that life is neither this fair nor this symmetrical, but wouldn't it be ironic if the "commission" looking into US intelligence on Iraq discovered that the one official in both the Clinton and Bush administrations who most fervently believed in the "stockpiles" of Iraqi WMD was none other than Tricky Dick Clarke?

[Sacajaweau]

Why is this "biased" book being used as the bible of these hearings??? in the first place. There is no documentation directly attached to it as for as I can see. It is the opinions of one man with limited access.

[kabar]

The latest Dem spin on the letter as articulated by Howard Fineman on the Imus show is that Clark was only complimenting the President for his actions on 9/11. Fineman failed to mention Clark's statement in the same letter that "it was an enormous privilege to serve you these last 24 months.