9/11 panel: No evidence of al-Qaida, Iraq link

Bakersfield Californian ^ | 6/16/03 | Hope Yen - AP

[NormsRevenge]

WASHINGTON (AP) - Bluntly contradicting the Bush administration, the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks reported Wednesday there was "no credible evidence" that Saddam Hussein helped al-Qaida target the United States.

In a chilling report that sketched the history of Osama bin Laden's network, the commission said his far-flung training camps were "apparently quite good." Terrorists-to-be were encouraged to "think creatively about ways to commit mass murder," it added.

Bin Laden made overtures to Saddam for assistance, the commission said in the staff report, as he did with leaders in Sudan, Iran, Afghanistan and elsewhere as he sought to build an Islamic army.

While Saddam dispatched a senior Iraqi intelligence official to Sudan to meet with bin Laden in 1994, the commission said it had not turned up evidence of a "collaborative relationship."

The Bush administration has long claimed links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida, and cited them as one reason for last year's invasion of Iraq.

On Monday, Vice President Dick Cheney said in a speech that the Iraqi dictator "had long established ties with al-Qaida."

The bipartisan commission issued its findings as it embarked on two days of public hearings into the worst terrorist attacks in American history.

The panel intends to issue a final report in July on the hijackings on Sept. 11, 2001 that killed nearly 3,000, destroyed the World Trade Centers in New York and damaged the Pentagon outside Washington. A fourth plane commandeered by terrorists crashed in the countryside in Pennsylvania.

The staff report pieced together information on the development of bin Laden's network, from the far-flung training camps in Afghanistan and elsewhere, to funding from "well-placed financial facilitators and diversions of funds from Islamic charities."

Reports that bin Laden had a huge personal fortune to finance acts of terror are overstated, the report said.

The description of the training camp operations contained elements of faint, grudging praise.

"A worldwide jihad needed terrorists who could bomb embassies or hijack airliners, but it also needed foot soldiers for the Taliban in its war against the Northern Alliance, and guerrillas who could shoot down Russian helicopters in Chechnya or ambush Indian units in Kashmir," it said.

According to one unnamed senior al-Qaida associate, various ideas were floated by mujahadeen in Afghanistan, the commission said. The options included taking over a launcher and forcing Russian scientists to fire a nuclear missile at the United States, mounting mustard gas or cyanide attacks against Jewish areas in Iraq or releasing poison gas into the air conditioning system of a targeted building.

"Last but not least, hijacking an aircraft and crashing it into an airport or nearby city," it said.

The Iraq connection long suggested by administration officials gained no currency in the report.

"Bin Laden is said to have requested space to establish training camps, as well as assistance in procuring weapons, but Iraq apparently never responded," the report said. "There have been reports that contacts between Iraq and al-Qaida also occurred" after bin Laden moved his operations to Afghanistan in 1996, "but they do not appear to have resulted in a collaborative relationship," it said.

"Two senior bin Laden associates have adamantly denied that any ties existed between al-Qaida and Iraq," the report said.

In a separate report, the commission staff said that senior al-Qaida planner Khalid Shaihk Mohammed initially proposed a Sept. 11 attack involving 10 planes. An expanded target list included the CIA and FBI headquarters, unidentified nuclear plants and tall buildings in California and Washington state.

That ambitious plan was rejected by bin Laden, who ultimately approved a scaled-back mission involving four planes, the report said. Mohammed wanted more hijackers for those planes - 25 or 26, instead of 19.

The commission has identified at least 10 al-Qaida operatives who were to participate but could not take part for reasons including visa problems and suspicion by officials at airports in the United States and overseas.

From a seamless operation, the report portrays a plot riven by internal dissent, including disagreement over whether to target the White House or the Capitol that was apparently never resolved prior to the attacks. Bin Laden also had to overcome opposition to attacking the United States from Mullah Omar, leader of the former Taliban regime, who was under pressure from Pakistan to keep al-Qaida confined.

The United States toppled the regime in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, but Omar has eluded capture, as has al-Qaida.

[plain talk]

"Two senior bin Laden associates have adamantly denied that any ties existed between al-Qaida and Iraq," the report said.

LOL!

[Steven W.]

Remember Salman Pak!

[NormsRevenge]

FR Search Results for the thread's title..

Here

[randog]

While Saddam dispatched a senior Iraqi intelligence official to Sudan to meet with bin Laden in 1994, the commission said it had not turned up evidence of a "collaborative relationship."

What the.....??!!

Oh, I get it--it depends on the definition of "collaborative relationship", i.e. there's no evidence that Saddam Hussein engaged in oral sex with Osama bin Laden.

[Arpege92]

I say we should now create a commission to investigate the 9/11 commission.

[randog]

I say we should now create a commission to investigate the 9/11 commission.

How DARE you question their patriotism!!!!

[mattdono]

Uh, huh. Yeah. Ok.

What about this...

The Definitive Link List - Iraq-Al Qaeda Connections
Collected
1993 Saddam's Fingerprints on NY Bombing June 28, 1993 The Wall Street Journal Reproduced Online: http://www.mondopolitico.com/discus/messages/441/1207.html?1070677043 1998 BIN LADEN, ATEF INDICTED IN U.S. FEDERAL COURT FOR AFRICAN BOMBINGS November 4, 1998 http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/pol/terror/98110402.htm "In addition, al Qaeda reached an understanding with the Government of Iraq that al Qaeda would not work against that government and that on particular projects, specifically including weapons development, al Qaeda would work cooperatively with the Government of Iraq," the indictment said. " Bin Laden and Iraq Agreed to Cooperate on Weapons Development New York Times November 5, 1998 Section A; Page 1; Column 2; Foreign Desk http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10910F73D5A0C768CDDA80994D0494D81 1999 Western Nightmare February 6, 1999 http://www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/story/0,12469,798270,00.html Saddam's link to OBL February 6, 1999 http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,314700,00.html 2001 Gunning for Saddam October 18, 2001 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/gunning/interviews/mylroie.html Saddam Controlled the Camp: The Iraqi Connection November 11, 2001 http://politics.guardian.co.uk/archive/article/0,,4296646,00.html 2002 Iraq's Tie to Al-Qaeda Terrorists, Airline Hijackings January 7, 2002 Aviation Week & Space Technology Reproduced Online: http://www.ourjerusalem.com/news/story/news20030315.html Lawsuit: Iraq Involved In 9/11 Conspiracy September 5, 2002 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/09/05/september11/main520874.shtml 2003 The Unkwown - The C.I.A. and the Pentagon take another look at Al Qaeda and Iraq February 3, 2003 http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?030210fa_fact Al Qaeda, Iraq partners in terror -- Powell February 5, 2003 http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/05/sprj.irq.alqaeda.links/ The proof that Saddam worked with bin Laden April 27, 2003 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2003%2F04%2F27%2Fwalq27.xml Oil for Food Sales Seen As Iraq Tie To Al Qaeda June 20, 2003 http://www.forward.com/issues/2003/03.06.20/news2.html Document links Saddam, bin Laden June 25, 2003 http://tennessean.com/nation-world/archives/03/06/34908297.shtml?Element_ID=34908297 The AQ connection July 11, 2003 http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/002/889jldct.asp Growing Evidence of a Saddam - al-Qaeda Link July 15, 2003 http://www.frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=8927 Saddam's al Qaeda Connection September 1-8, 2003 http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/033jgqyi.asp Memo shows Iraq, Iran tried to contact bin Laden September 12, 2003 http://www.washtimes.com/world/20030912-012437-3992r.htm No Question About It: Saddam and the terrorists September 19, 2003 http://www.nationalreview.com/robbins/robbins091903.asp Iraq: A Federal Judge's Point of View September 20, 2003 http://globalspecops.com/view.html Iraq and al Qaeda - There's more evidence of a link than the critics admit Septembe 23, 2003 http://opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110004046 The Iraq -- Al Qaeda Connections September 25, 2003 http://www.techcentralstation.com/092503F.html Saddam's Terror Ties - Iraq-war critics ignore ample evidence October 21, 2003 http://www.nationalreview.com/murdock/murdock200310210934.asp Osama's Best Friend November 3, 2003 http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/296fmttq.asp Case Closed November 24, 2003 http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/378fmxyz.asp The Clinton View of Iraq-al Qaeda Ties December 29, 2003-January 5, 2004 http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/527uwabl.asp 2004 Tape Shows General Clark Linking Iraq and Al Qaeda January 12, 2004 New York Times Reproduced Online: http://www.ndtceda.com/archives/200401/0142.html Saddam's Ambassador to al-Qaeda February 23, 2004 http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=12292 Interview with James Woolsey March 23, 2004 http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0403/23/ldt.00.html (scroll down for interview with Lou Dobbs and James Woolsey) Al Qaeda's Poison Gas April 29, 2004 http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110005016 The Connection June 7, 2004 http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/152lndzv.asp?ZoomFont=YES

[mattdono]

I guess they can't read too well.

[Izzy Dunne]

"Two senior bin Laden associates have adamantly denied that any ties existed between al-Qaida and Iraq," the report said.

When did THEY testify before the commission ?

[Arpege92]

Yep....they stumble over words that have five or more letters in them.

[Heff]

BTTT

[Diogenesis]

=========== Documents linking Atta, Saddam, Nidal, bin Ladin ===========

Handwritten letter dated Feb. 19, 1998 linking bin Laden and Saddam Hussein
discussing arrival of a secret envoy sent by bin Laden to Iraq.
The signature beneath the letter is a codename, "MDA" - the Mukhabarat.

---

========= Chemical Warhead found in Kirkuk =============

Chemical warhead found at an Iraqi air base, marked with a green band,
the symbol for chemical weaponry. Trace amounts of a nerve agent were found
at two spots along the ~meter-long warhead. These amounts are consistent with
leakage from the chemically armed weapon. A 13-foot missile was found next to it.

---

========= Halabja =========

Dead children, previously playing in Halabja
Victims of Saddams' WMD in March 1988.

---

Also found in Iraq:

* A clandestine network of laboratories and safehouses within the Iraqi Intelligence Service
that contained equipment subject to UN monitoring and suitable for continuing CBW research.

* A prison laboratory complex, possibly used in human testing of BW agents, that Iraqi officials
working to prepare for UN inspections were explicitly ordered not to declare to the UN.

* Reference strains of biological organisms concealed in a scientist's home,
one of which can be used to produce biological weapons.

* New research on BW-applicable agents, Brucella and Congo Crimean Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF),
and continuing work on ricin and aflatoxin were not declared to the UN.

* Documents and equipment, hidden in scientists' homes, that would have been useful in
resuming uranium enrichment by centrifuge and electromagnetic isotope separation (EMIS).

* A line of UAVs not fully declared at an undeclared production facility and an admission
that they had tested one of their declared UAVs out to a range of 500 km, 350 km beyond the permissible limit.

* Continuing covert capability to manufacture fuel propellant useful only for prohibited SCUD variant missiles,
a capability that was maintained at least until the end of 2001 and that cooperating Iraqi scientists
have said they were told to conceal from the UN.

* Plans and advanced design work for new long-range missiles with ranges up to at least 1000 km -
well beyond the 150 km range limit imposed by the UN. Missiles of a 1000 km range would have allowed
Iraq to threaten targets through out the Middle East, including Ankara, Cairo, and Abu Dhabi.

Clandestine attempts between late-1999 and 2002 to obtain from North Korea technology
related to 1,300 km range ballistic missiles --probably the No Dong -- 300 km range anti-ship cruise missiles,
and other prohibited military equipment.

---

Still missing based on the UNSCOM report to the UN Security Council in January 1999,
when the UN inspectors left Iraq in 1998, they had been unable to account for:

• up to 360 tons of bulk chemical warfare agents, including 1.5 tons of VX nerve agent;

• up to 3,000 tons of precursor chemicals, including approximately 300 tons which,
in the Iraqi chemical warfare program, were unique to the production of VX;

• growth media procured for biological agent production (enough to produce
over three times the 8,500 litres of anthrax spores Iraq admitted to UN inspectors to having manufactured);

• over 30,000 special munitions for delivery of chemical and biological agents;

• 20 al-Hussein missles with a range of 650 km, in violation
of UN Security Council Resolution 687 (Iraq had told UNSCOM that it filled these warheads with anthrax and botulinum);

• 2,850 tons of mustard gas, 210 tons of tabun, and 795 tons of sarin and cyclosarin;

• development of the Al-Samoud short-range missle (which had the capability to fly beyond the 150 km allowed by UN resolutions)

---

Who's Who on the 9/11 "Independent" Commission

---

"According to a 1998 Senate testimony of former CIA director James
Woolsey, powerful financier Khalid bin Mahfouz’ younger sister is
married to Osama bin Laden,. (US Senate, Senate Judiciary
Committee, Federal News Service, 3 Sept. 1998, See also Wayne
Madsen, Questionable Ties, In These Times,12 Nov. 2001 )
Bin Mahfouz is suspected to have funneled millions of dollars to the Al
Qaeda network.(See Tom Flocco, Scoop.co.nz 28 Aug. 2002)
Now, "by sheer coincidence", former New Jersey governor Thomas
Kean, the man chosen by President Bush to lead the 9/11 commission
also has business ties with bin Mahfouz and Al-Amoudi.
Thomas Kean is a director (and shareholder) of Amerada Hess
Corporation , which is involved in the Hess-Delta joint venture with
Delta Oil of Saudi Arabia (owned by the bin Mahfouz and Al-Amoudi
clans)...
Now you would think that being a business partner of the brother in
law and alleged financier of "Enemy No. 1" would also be considered a
bona fide "conflict of interest", particularly when your mandate --as
part of the 9/11 Commission's work-- is to investigate "Enemy No. 1".
"(Michel Chossudovsky, New Chairman of 9/11 Commission had
business ties with Osama's Brother in Law,
Centre for Research on Globalization, December 2002 )

---

Commissioner Kean: "Ms Gorelick is one of the finest members
of the commission and one of the most bipartisan members.
People ought to stay out of our business"

---

911 Commission Meets

[trebb]

there was "no credible evidence" that Saddam Hussein helped al-Qaida target the United States.

Of course, the fact that Al-Qaida was in Iraq and being assisted there, has no bearing - they didn't actually get in on the planning.

The same twits who will argue this, will not hesitate to try to sue a gun manufacturer for someone else's crime..

[clintonh8r]

Was this within the scope of the commission's mission? I don't think so....

[onedoug]

Remember Salman Pak, BUMP!

[Diogenesis]

[MHGinTN]

Jamie Gore lick has served her purpose for the democrta party. No trail that extends back into the sinkEmperor's administration will be allowed to see the light of public opinion. The commission is a sickening joke.

[Mo1]

While Saddam dispatched a senior Iraqi intelligence official to Sudan to meet with bin Laden in 1994, the commission said it had not turned up evidence of a "collaborative relationship."

They evdidence is there if the commission really wanted to look for it