Iraq Officer Tied to Al-Qadea

Reuters ^ | 6/20/2004 | Peter Kaplan

[Tennessean4Bush]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks has been told "a very prominent member" of al Qaeda served as an officer in Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s militia, a panel member said on Sunday.

Republican commissioner John Lehman told NBC's "Meet the Press" program that the new intelligence, if proven true, buttresses claims by the Bush administration of ties between Iraq (news - web sites) and the militant network believed responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America.

"We are now in the process of getting this latest intelligence," Lehman said.

Commission Chairman Thomas Kean urged the administration to make any such information available to the panel quickly.

"Obviously, if there is any information (that) has to do with the subject of the report, we need it, and we need it pretty fast," Kean said on ABC's "This Week" program. "We'll ask for it and see."

He said the final report would be modified to take any new intelligence into account.

Lehman said the information, contained in "captured documents," was obtained after the commission report was written that stated there was no evidence of a "collaborative relationship" between Iraq and al Qaeda.

"Some of these documents indicate that (there was) at least one officer of Saddam's Fedayeen, a lieutenant colonel, who was a very prominent member of al Qaeda," Lehman said.

"That still has to be confirmed, but the vice president (Dick Cheney (news - web sites)) was right when he said that he may have things that we don't yet have," said Lehman, a former Navy secretary.

Cheney and President Bush (news - web sites) continued to insist that Iraq had ties to al Qaeda after the commission report issued last week found no evidence that Iraq collaborated with al Qaeda.

Lehman did not say whether the additional information was given to the commission in response to demands from Kean and commission vice chairman, Lee Hamilton.

On CBS's "Face the Nation," Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) said the White House should comply. "I see no reason why not," the Arizona Republican said.

Democratic commission member Richard Ben-Veniste told NBC he hoped Cheney would provide information "on a current basis ... with respect to the individual that John Lehman has talked about."

The Bush administration has been accused by critics of using faulty intelligence about alleged weapons of mass destruction and Iraqi links to al Qaeda to push the nation to war.

Lehman said there was no evidence Saddam was involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America. But he said the recent information about the Fedayeen officer "demonstrates the difficulty that we've had in this commission."

"We're under tremendous political pressures -- everything we come out with, one side or the other seizes on in this election year," Lehman said.

The conclusion of the commission staff report, released last Wednesday, contradicted Bush administration contentions before and after the U.S.-led war on Iraq. The president argued a connection with al Qaeda constituted an unacceptable threat to the United States.

Some officials, including Cheney, suggested an Iraqi role in the Sept. 11 attacks. Bush later ruled out that possibility, but many Americans still believe it and critics have accused the administration of misleading the public.

Bush's Democratic challenger, Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites) of Massachusetts, said the president owed the American public "a fundamental explanation about why he rushed to war for a purpose it now turns out is not supported by the facts."

[Dog]

Memorial Day weekend. Look at the photos of GWB and Rumsfeld on Memorial Day

I remember that now.....I think you pointed them out then..

[Peach]

The report was released last week, Wed. or Thursday I think.

When they actually wrote it, I don't know.

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

And here...
"Saddam's Fingerprints on WTC Bombing (1993)"

:)

[Peach]

Ahhh, yes. The first WTC. His fingerprints were ALL over that deal and Clinton brushed it off as rather uneventful and never even visited the site. Oh, don't even get me started on that :-)

[Dog]

I just found this over on Rantburg

"Some of these documents indicate that (there was) at least one officer of Saddam’s Fedayeen, a lieutenant colonel, who was a very prominent member of al Qaeda," Lehman said. "That still has to be confirmed, but the vice president (Dick Cheney) was right when he said that he may have things that we don’t yet have," said Lehman, a former Navy secretary. "And we are now in the process of getting this latest intelligence."

[Peach]

Good find, Dog.

I think sKerry is going to regret, along with the mainstream media, the rush to say, once again, that "Bush lied."

It is my fondest wish that not only new documents get turned over to the Commission which exposes them for the frauds they are, but that documents which show Saddam's fingerprints all over material support to AQ is exposed as well. And quite possibly links to 9/11.

[Tennessean4Bush]

I think you might be right. They must be real confident about this or they would never have mentioned it.

[not-alone]

thanks for link

[Dog]

Here is something else I found ....and it names names.

Direct Link Detailed.

[demkicker]

You're a peach, Peach!

[Peach]

I'm hoping we hear information eventually that Saddam provided material support/money to AQ. He certainly knew 9/11 was coming and I doubt those men were just gossiping over the backyard fence!

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

The '93 WTC, Oklahoma City, Flight 800... it's been Saddam all along.

I'd like to blame Clinton -- and I do, usually -- but I think a lot of Americans have been guilty of ignoring the facts of this war for a very long time. I know I didn't see the truth until I started paying attention, and that wasn't until after they slaughtered 3,000 Americans.

I guess I'm making up for lost time, here.

*********************************************

February 23, 1990:
President Bush announces the U.S. ground war againt Saddam Hussein's forces. Operation Desert Storm begins.
Feburary 23, 1998:
Usama bin Laden issues his fatwa (Islamic declaration of war) against the United States. His primary stated reasons for this fatwa are the continued U.S. agression against Iraq and the U.S. occupation of the Arab peninsula (read: Saudi Arabia) for the purposes of threatening Arab neighbors (read: Saddam Hussein).

February 26, 1991:
Saddam Hussein announces the withdraw of Iraqi troops from Kuwait. The Gulf War ends.
February 26, 1993:

Ryder truck bomb attack on WTC in New York City kills 6.

April 19, 1991:
UNSCOM is formed to carry out weapons inspection in Iraq. In this interview with CNN, Tariq Aziz refers to "the end of the war in April 19, 1991".
April 19, 1995:

Ryder truck bomb attack on Murrah Building in Oklahoma City kills 168.

July 17:
Annual celebration of 1969 Ba'athist takeover of Iraq. July 17, 1996:

TWA Flight 800 "bombing" (according to George Stephanopoulos) kills 230 passengers

June 25, 1993:
U.S. launches cruise missile strikes against Iraqi intelligence for the attempted assassination of President George H.W. Bush in Kuwait City (and, unofficially, for the February WTC attack).
June 25, 1999:

Fuel truck-bomb explodes outside the Khobar Towers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia killing 19 USAF military personnel and wounding 515 persons, including 240 U.S. personnel.

August 7, 1990:
Operation Desert Shield begins, in response to the August 2 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
August 7, 1998:

Two car bombs explode at the American Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 224 people and wounding more than 5,000 others.

September 11, 1990:
President George H.W. Bush addresses a joint session of the U.S. Congress on the matter of Saddam Hussein and the looming Gulf War ("This is not, as Saddam Hussein would have it, the United States against Iraq. It is Iraq against the world"). This was President Bush's first major address on the issue.
September 11, 2001:

Terrorists hijack four commercial airliners in coordinated strikes on New York City and Washington, DC, killing over 3000.

February 23, 1990:
President Bush announces the U.S. ground war againt Saddam Hussein's forces. Operation Desert Storm begins.
Feburary 23, 1998:
Usama bin Laden issues his fatwa (Islamic declaration of war) against the United States. His primary stated reasons for this fatwa are the continued U.S. agression against Iraq and the U.S. occupation of the Arab peninsula (read: Saudi Arabia) for the purposes of threatening Arab neighbors (read: Saddam Hussein).

[demkicker]

Wondering if the Iraqis are getting Saddam to talk? Or maybe some other terrorists have given up some valuable info?

[Peach]

I was in the same boat as you were.

When 9/11 happened, I was alone because my husband was poll managing. I thought, for the first hour, that it was China attacking us :-(

Since that time, I've been making up for my lack of knowledge and reading every book I can get my hands on regarding Muslim terrorism, AQ and Iraq.

A much better read and a better researched book than I expected it to be was Jayna Davis's book The Third Terrorist.

There is no doubt in my mind Iraq was behind the OKC attack.

Over 40 people placed Timothy McVeigh with a man who is named in the book and who is an ex-Iraq Republican Guard.

The guy was working at Logan International Airport on 9/11 as a food handler! He told four psychiatrists that if something happened at that airport, he would be blamed.

A woman who lost her leg in the OKC building and was worked on for 12 hours as doctors amputed her leg at the scene to free her from the rubble, told doctors and LE officials that she saw a middle eastern man get out of the Ryder Truck. She described him to a tee, including his distinctive tattoo.

The book should be required reading for all Americans. The only downside to reading it is that you will come away disappointed in our government and the lackluster investigation. And not just Clinton's Justice Department, although they certainly dropped the ball. But since that initial investigation, subsequent (albeit small) investigations have been undertaken by Congress and they have brushed their findings under the rug because "there are too many bodies buried in that investigation". Meaning - too many people who are still holding positions of power are still in power.

A national disgrace. Read it. You'll never forget it.

[musicman]

Gosh!! If this IS true, and the White House releases the info before this comming Friday.....

Do ya think Michael Moore will be "deeply saddened" ??

[Peach]

If I were Saddam I'd be singing like a canary right now with a deal on the table that he'll talk if we can persuade the Iraqi Interim Goverment to keep from letting him swing in the town square.

[FreedomForce]

This was posted weeks ago.


http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110005133

[Peach]

I don't care when the information is released as long as it's well before the election.

Today, I saw Michael Moore for the very first time. He reminded me of Jabba the Hut.

[Peach]

Thought you'd be interested in this article.

Somehow I feel we are at a tipping point with regard to the press, Kerry, Iraq and educating the American public about the ties that Saddam had to Al Qaeda.

[Boot Hill]

“GWB has been calm and self-confident in recent weeks, when a lot of people in this forum have been panicky”

I concur, his demeanor reminds me of quarterback Joe Montana at the two minute warning. I'll stick with a proven winner.

--Boot Hill