(President) Bush Disputes al Qaida-Saddam Conclusion

Yahoo! News ^ | 6/17/04 | Deb Reichmann - AP

[NormsRevenge]

WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites) on Thursday disputed the Sept. 11 commission's finding that there was no "collaborative relationship" between Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) and the al-Qaida terrorist network responsible for the attacks.

"There was a relationship between Iraq (news - web sites) and al-Qaida," Bush insisted following a meeting with his Cabinet at the White House.

"This administration never said that the 9-11 attacks were orchestrated between Saddam and al-Qaida," he said.

"We did say there were numerous contacts between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida, for example, Iraqi intelligence agents met with (Osama) bin Laden, the head of al-Qaida in Sudan."

The independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks said Wednesday that no evidence exists that al-Qaida had strong ties to Saddam Hussein.

Although bin Laden asked for help from Iraq in the mid-1990s, Saddam's government never responded, according to a report by the commission staff based on interviews with government intelligence and law enforcement officials. The report asserted that "no credible evidence" has emerged that Iraq was involved in the Sept. 11 strikes.

[NormsRevenge]

Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites)(R), who took the lead in pushing the idea of long-standing links between Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) and al Qaeda, has no intention of backing down despite a finding to the contrary by the Sept. 11 commission, aides said on June 16, 2004. Administration officials stood by Cheney, who critics accuse of using faulty intelligence about alleged weapons of mass destruction and Iraqi links to al Qaeda to push the nation to war. Cheney is seen with President George W. Bush (news - web sites) in this October 29 file photo. Photo by Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

[HiJinx]

Well, there's one glaring fact in this and all other similar news reports.

The Left has never been constrained by the truth.

[johniegrad]

The independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks

ROFL.

[NormsRevenge]

President Bush (news - web sites) speaks to reporters at the end of a Cabinet meeting at the White House Thursday, June 17, 2004 in Washington. President Bush on Thursday disputed the Sept. 11 commission's finding that there was no 'collaborative relationship' between Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) and the al-Qaida terrorist network responsible for the attacks. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

[Peach]

We know Saddam worked with the PLO and other terrorists, he funded them. He at LEAST knew that 9/11 was coming.

Less than two months before 9/11/01, the state-controlled Iraqi newspaper “Al-Nasiriya” carried a column headlined, “American, an Obsession called Osama Bin Ladin.” (July 21, 2001)

In the piece, Baath Party writer Naeem Abd Muhalhal predicted that bin Laden would attack the US “with the seriousness of the Bedouin of the desert about the way he will try to bomb the Pentagon after he destroys the White House.”

The same state-approved column also insisted that bin Laden “will strike America on the arm that is already hurting,” and that the US “will curse the memory of Frank Sinatra every time he hears his songs” – an apparent reference to the Sinatra classic, “New York, New York”.
(Link below)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1106657/posts?page=1

List of newspaper article in the 90's which mention the world's concern regarding the growing relationship between OBL and Saddam: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/946809/posts?page=1

Son of Saddam coordinates OBL activities:http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/951911/posts

The AQ connection (excellent):http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/944617/posts?page=2

Western Nightmare: http://www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/story/0,12469,798270,00.html

Saddam's link to OBL: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/866105/posts

NYT: Iraq and AQ agree to cooperate: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/985906/posts

Document linking them: http://tennessean.com/nation-world/archives/03/06/34908297.shtml?Element_ID=34908297

Iraq and terrorism - no doubt about it: http://www.nationalreview.com/robbins/robbins091903.asp

A federal judge rules there are links:http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/986293/posts

Wall Street Journal on Iraq and AQ:http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/987129/posts

Iraq and Iran contact OBL: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/981055/posts

More evidence: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2003%2F04%2F27%2Fwalq27.xml

Saddam's AQ connection: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/969032/posts

Further connections: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1007969/posts

What a court of law said about the connections:
http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/pol/terror/98110402.htm

Some miscellaneous stuff on connections:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/989201/posts

Saddam's Ambassador to Al Qaeda: (February 2004, Weekly Standard)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1083778/posts

Yes - it's NewsMax but loaded with interesting bullet points.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1097521/posts?page=1

Saddam's Fingerprints on NY Bombing (Wall Street Journal, June 1993)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1115387/posts

Colin Powell: Iraq and AQ Partners for Years (CNN, February 2003)
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/05/sprj.irq.alqaeda.links/

The Iraq-Al Qaeda Connections (September 2003, Richard Miniter)
http://www.techcentralstation.com/092503F.html

Oil for Food Scandal Ties Iraq and Al Qaeda (June 2003)
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1125899/posts

Saddam and OBL Make a Pact (The New Yorker, February 2003):
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?030210fa_fact

Al Qaeda's Poison Gas (Wall Street Journal, April 2004):
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110005016

Wolfowitz Says Saddam behind 9/11 Attacks:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/921398/posts

Saddam behind first WTC attack - PBS, Laurie Mylroie:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/gunning/interviews/mylroie.html

Growing Evidence of Saddam and Al Qaeda Link, The Weekly Standard, July 2003:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/946997/posts

Qusay Hussein Coordinated Iraq special operations with Bin Laden Terrorist Activities, Yossef Bodansky, National Press Club
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/951911/posts

The Western Nightmare: Saddam and Bin Laden vs. the Rest of the World, The Guardian Unlimited:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/story/0,12469,798270,00.html

Saddam Link to Bin Laden, Julian Borger, The Guardian, February 1999
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/866105/posts

The Al Qaeda Connection, The Weekly Standard, July 2003
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/944617/posts?page=2
Cheney lectures Russert on Iraq/911 Link, September 2003:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/982713/posts

No Question About It, National Review, September 2003
http://www.nationalreview.com/robbins/robbins091903.asp

Iraq: A Federal Judges Point of View
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/986293/posts

Mohammed's Account links Iraq to 9/11 and OKC:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/987075/posts

Free Republic Thread that mentions so me books Freepers might be interested in on this topic:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/977221/posts?page=8

The Proof that Saddam Worked with AQ, The Telegraph, April 2003:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2003%2F04%2F27%2Fwalq27.xml

Saddam's AQ Connection, The Weekly Standard, September 2003
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/969032/posts

September 11 Victims Sue Iraq:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2237332.stm

Osama's Best Friend: The Further Connections Between Al Qaeda and Saddam, The Weekly Standard, November 2003

Terrorist Behind 9/11 Attacks Trained by Saddam, The Telegraph, December 2003
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1007969/posts

James Woolsey Links Iraq and AQ, CNN Interview, March 2004, Also see Posts #34 and #35
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1104121/posts

A Geocities Interesting Web Site with maps and connections:
http://www.geocities.com/republican_strategist/Iraq-Bin-Laden.html

Bin Laden indicted in federal court, read down to find information that Bin Laden agreed to not attack Iraq and to work cooperatively with Iraq:
http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/pol/terror/98110402.htm

Case Closed, The Weekly Standard, November 03
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/378fmxyz.asp

CBS - Lawsuit: Iraq involved in 9/11:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/09/05/september11/main520874.shtml

Exploring Iraq's Involvement in pre-9/11 Acts, The Indianapolis Star:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/746225/posts

The Iraq/AQ Connection: Richard Minister again
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/989201/posts

Militia Defector says Baghdad trained Al Qaeda fighters in chemical weapons, July 2002
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/743892/posts

The Clinton View of Iraq/AQ Ties, The Weekly Standard, December 2003
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/527uwabl.asp

Saddam Controlled the Camps (Iraq/AQ Ties): The London Observer, November 01
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/741676/posts

Saddam's Terror Ties that Critics Ignore, National Review, October 2003:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1005579/posts

Tape Shows General Wesley Clark linking Iraq and AQ:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1056113/posts

Freeper list of links between AQ and Iraq:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/850346/posts

Salman Pak (Aviation Weekly)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/865435/posts

Another freeper resource - list of links between OBL and Saddam:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/838309/posts

Saddam/911 Link (FrontPage Magazine, Laurie Mylroie, May 2004):
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1133317/posts


Bush says Zarqawi killed Berg, cites Saddam ties (Reuters, May 2004)
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1136076/posts

The Connections (May 2004, The Weekly Standard)
New Information:http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1144123/posts?page=11

Saddam's role in 9/11. (Freeper book, May 2004)
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1144699/posts?page=5

Entire link and Post #5 - Clinton mentioned how AQ was developing a relationship with Iraq.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1145787/posts

The House of Representatives read into the congressional record the ties that Saddam had to Osama bin Laden (read down and open links in the record): June 2004
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/B?r108:@FIELD(FLD003+h)+@FIELD(DDATE+20040601)


Exploring the links between 9/11 and Iraq (Richard Miniter, June 2004)
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1146319/posts?page=1


The Terrorist behind 9/11 was trained by Saddam (The Telegraph, 12/03)
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1146356/posts?page=1

New Iraqi Chief Links 9/11 to Saddam (June 2004, NewsMax)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1146579/posts?page=1


Increasing evidence of Saddam's ties to 9/11 and AQ (National Review, June 2004)
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1146984/posts

Pre Bush Timeline of Saddam/OBL Ties (Freeper research):
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1152923/posts?page=1

Cheney claims Iraq/AQ connections (June 2004)
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1153781/posts?page=20

[Always Right]

"This administration never said that the 9-11 attacks were orchestrated between Saddam and al-Qaida," he said.

You mean ABC, NY Times, LA Times, CNN, CBS, Yahoo, Reuters, and everyone else got it wrong????? How could that be????? Certainly ONE reporter at these major media sources did a little fact finding check before coming up with this lead story....

[HiJinx]

And this isn't really about a connection between Iraq and 9/11. The second war in Iraq was, as the President first said, a logical step in the global War on Terror. If you harbor or aid terrorists, you have declared your enmity to the United States of America...and we will come for you.

Here's the question nobody is asking publicly...yet should be.

Our job in Iraq is just about finished, give or take a year.

Who's next?

[Frank_Discussion]

Why do you laugh? They are independent...

... of the constraints of reality, that is.

[Joe Hadenuf]

No matter how you chop it up, this doesn't look or sound good.

"There was a relationship between Iraq (news - web sites) and al-Qaida," Bush insisted following a meeting with his Cabinet at the White House.

"This administration never said that the 9-11 attacks were orchestrated between Saddam and al-Qaida," he said.

[cweese]

"Who's next?"

...my money is on syria or iran...

[ZULU]

Bush should know there is no justice bfore an unjust judge.

He should have known about Kean, his record and personality before he placed that bloated, egotistical, arrogant, self-centered, elitist limousine liberal in change of that kangeroo court.

A body composed of such ferocious partisans, most of whom are totally unqualified, both on the basis of education and experience to accurately assess what is essentially a security issue, could not be expected to produce anything other than the kind of partisan attack the final report will represent.

The best thing to come out of all this is to expose Kean and his northeastern liberal cronies for the kind of Judases they really are. Unfortunately this will not compensate Bush for any damage done to his election chances by their shameless conniving.

[Beenliedto]

The Left has never been constrained by the truth.

No POLITICIAN in recent memory has been constrained by the truth (with the possible exception of Ron Paul).

[Vigilantcitizen]

Who's next?

Iran. The mullahs are surrounded and cutoff.

IMO..Iran has been the prize all along. We just had to be "sneaky" about it.

[mattdono]

Hey, folks this situation is simple: "It depends on what the meaning of is is".

Well, it depends on what the meaning of "strong" is, or "working relationship" is, or any other threshold that would suggest some connection.

The press has done the same thing with the Joe Wilson situation with the word "significant". Some quick facts: 1) Joe Wilson was sent to see if Iraq was trying to obtain significant quantities of yellow cake; 2) Joe Wilson interviewed a Nigerian official that told him Iraq did contact a Nigerian official about obtaining some yellowcake; 3) the amount ("some") was determined not to be "significant"; so, 4) Joe Wilson returns home says, "No significant yellowcake was purchased and no significant yellowcake was sought to be purchased".

So, you see the word "significant" crosses a threshold...a threshold that the lib-democrat-antiAmerican-scum continue to change (the old "moving-the-goalposts" approach).

None of these linguistic contortions come back on their head because (NO ONE) in the mainstream press questions them about it.

It's friggin' pathetic.

Memo to All Media: We ONLY need SOME connection, you F*CKING IDIOTS! We can't EVEN risk that SOME chemical weapons will be boarded onto an airplane and aim it at NYC or DC or Philly or LA! We can't EVEN risk that SOME biological weapons will fall into the hands of terrorists who will use it (just as they were going to do in Jordan)!

You media people need to get your head tied on straight.

The first people that tyrants and terrorists will come kill is people who might possibly dissent.

And, even though you would agree with these filthy scumbags and would profess to support their cause (as you do each passing day), they will still slit you and your families throat just as soon as they can get their hands on you.

So, much for your precious journalistic integrity...oh, and you head too!

[jmc813]

Makes you wonder why the administration avoids discussing the Iraq-OKC bombing connection.

[KansasGirl]

Agreeing to form the 9/11 Commission was a HUGE MISTAKE on President Bush's part. It may just cost him the Presidency. The DNC has used the 9/11 Commission and their media lap dags well.

[HenryLeeII]

The Left has never been constrained by the truth.

Yes, which is why I'm so glad to see the President speak out so quickly and directly on the commission's lying about his administration's alleged linking of Hussein to 9/11, and the double-plus lie that there is no Hussein/al-Qaeda link.

For a good shredding of the commission's "reasoning," please go to the thread "No Evidence of Meeting With Iraqi (Atta in Prague)" and scroll through the replies, especially starting around No. 70 or so. We the Freepers are a heckuva lot more intelligent and informed on these issues than most of the commisars, excuse me, commissioners.

Henry Lee II
"Leftists are crazed and violent people,
with the blood of millions on their hands.”

[HenryLeeII]

This is a great resource! Thank you. I'm going to bookmark it and use it for future reference.

Henry Lee II
"Leftists are crazed and violent people,
with the blood of millions on their hands.”

[Peach]

Great!

Don't let your leftist friends forget that the Clinton administration said that AQ and Iraq had a relationship. OBL agreed not to attack Iraq in exchange for WMD training.