Two new members of the Iraqi interim government insist that Saddam and al Qaeda were linked.

Weekly Standard ^

[King Prout]

datum.

[tiamat]

Thanks.

We need to keep in mind that they lie, though.

[GraniteStateConservative]

After all, Colin Powell told the United Nations Security Council that al Qaeda was operating in Iraq--almost certainly with the knowledge and approval of the Iraqi regime--before the war.

Is this the same Powell as this guy?

There is not — you know, I have not seen smoking-gun, concrete evidence about the connection, but I think the possibility of such connections did exist and it was prudent to consider them at the time that we did.

— Secretary of State Colin Powell, responding to a question on ties between al-Qaeda and Iraq in a press conference, January 8, 2004

He doesn't sound as sure as Hayes makes him out to be.

CIA Director George Tenet has testified to the presence of al Qaeda in Iraq on several occasions.

And Tenet is now rightfully unemployed.

[dyed_in_the_wool]

We need to keep in mind that they lie, though.

I agree with this whole-heartedly, however, why would Allawa lie? That is the curiousity.
Always presuppose the lie, but determine the end they seek.

[Dr Snide]

Stephen Hayes is one of the reason I started subscribing to The Weekly Standard (Fred Barnes being the other) and I have not been disappointed since. The thing about al Zarqawi is that the Administration knew and reported this BEFORE going to Iraq (i.e. Powel at the U.N.) and has been proven right since then. But when it comes to the mainstream media .. (cue cricket noises here)......

[cyborg]

verrrrry interesting

[GraniteStateConservative]

And Allawi is an exile-- like most of the lying weasels now in US disfavor.

The National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq report, which represented the consensus of US intelligence officials and experts, was circulated in the Bush Administration late last year. It contained cautionary language about Iraq's connections with al-Qaeda and warnings about the reliability of conflicting reports by Iraqi defectors and captured al-Qaeda members, sources said.

[tiamat]

He might be pandering: telling us what he thinks we want to hear.

It will be interesting to see what he says after we pull out.

[LADY J]

"Allawi provided journalists with a document indicating that September 11 hijacker Mohammed Atta trained in Iraq weeks before the 9/11 hijackings. That same three-page document also claimed that Iraq had--as President Bush claimed in his State of the Union Address--sought uranium from Niger. The report was a bit too politically convenient and was quickly dismissed as a forgery."

It would be interesting to know WHO dismissed it as a forgery.

[tiamat]

It would, wouldn't it?

[GraniteStateConservative]

Because he desperately wanted to go back to his homeland. Further, he wanted to give cover to those who made it possible for his return from exile. It makes perfect sense, actually. I don't blame him one bit for doing everything he could to achieve his goal. I'd do the same.

[gathersnomoss]

Who do we trust...the interim government members or our press? Hmmmm..let me think a moment.

Isn't It A Pity.

[trebb]

The report was a bit too politically convenient and was quickly dismissed as a forgery.

Hmm - if it was a true forgery, the Dims and the media wouldn't be able to let it go. The fact that it was summarily dismissed and got no real publicity gives it more credence than not - at least in my own little mind.

[King Prout]

of course they lie.
they learn to lie with their mothers' milk.
however, if they make statements which both make sense rationally and can be empirically verified, it is worht noting when they tell the truth :)

[tiamat]

It's a toughie.

[Shermy]

I got some breaking news...

Iraq had connections to AQ.

But so does Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, UAE, Yemen, etc. etc.

They all have connections.

Currently, Iran is the main guardian of the AQ armies, focusing them on increasing Iranian oil values while the jihadis die thinking they're serving some noble purpose.

[tiamat]

It's that verification thing.


I've just gotten disgusted with the whole culture

Frankly, if a Muslim told me that the sky was blue, I'd look out the window to check....

[King Prout]

running a variant play of "cui bono"?
always a good idea with those folks over there.

[FourtySeven]

Bookmark bump.