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It's true, folks - Saddam had deep ties to terrorism
Lansing State Journal ^ | Published January 19, 2006 | Keith Kelly

Posted on 01/19/2006 10:19:52 AM PST by april15Bendovr

Published January 19, 2006

Keith Kelly: It's true, folks - Saddam had deep ties to terrorism

Intelligence review reveals terrorist training inside Iraq

Last week it was reported in the Weekly Standard magazine that Saddam Hussein had trained thousands of radical Islamic terrorists in the four years preceding the invasion by the U.S. and our allies.

Don't look for this one in the "mainstream" media, sports fans.

How is this possible? Germany, France, Russia, et al, assured us Saddam was a reasonable man; a man who could be negotiated with. Sanctions would work.

First the facts.

Saddam trained up to 2,000 terrorists a year between 1999 and 2002, at camps in Samarra, Ramadi and Salman Pak. (You may have heard of Ramadi, site of some of the bloodiest battles of the war, and home to countless terrorists. The 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines suffered the highest casualty rate of any battalion in theater while there.)

This information was gleaned from some 2 million pieces of intelligence found by the U.S. military, known as "exploitable items," captured in Iraq and Afghanistan. To date only 2.5 percent of this material has been thoroughly examined.

And who were these terrorists? Mainly they hailed from northern Africa with ties to the Algerian GSPC and the Sudanese Islamic Army. Nice fellas.

It has been opined by those "opposed to the war" (read that as "opposed to Bush") that Saddam would never align himself with Islamic fundamentalists, being the secularist that he is. One would do well to remember that Saddam is a firm believer in the old adage, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

One would also do well to remember Saddam is not new to the terrorist game and vehemently hates the U.S.

Six months after deploying for Desert Storm, I was redeployed to Kuwait. While there, I operated with the Kuwaiti Special Forces and received numerous briefs from the Kuwaiti military. It was there that I learned that Saddam had placed a large number of sleeper cells within Kuwait City years before the war.

Once the battle commenced, they donned their uniforms, and began the "cleansing" process, whereby the Kuwaiti intelligentsia was systematically murdered, along with countless other innocents. The plan worked flawlessly, as the sleepers acted as guides for the advancing army.

Now the Jihadists have 8,000 more terrorists ready, willing and able to act as sleeper cells. Or merely to act as foot soldiers in the ongoing war.

The fact that more than 80 percent of the terrorists now being killed by coalition forces are not Iraqis is germane to this discussion. This also raises the question regarding Saddam's supposed non-involvement in 9/11.

But I'm not worried. Sens. John Kerry and Ted Kennedy, as well as Howard Dean, have assured me Saddam had no ties to Islamic extremists.

What do you think? Keith Kelly of Grand Ledge served for 20 years in the Marine Corps. He's a member of the State Journal's Community Advisory Board. Write to him c/o Lansing State Journal, 120 E. Lenawee St., Lansing, MI 48919.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: alqaedaandiraq; saddam
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1 posted on 01/19/2006 10:19:53 AM PST by april15Bendovr
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To: april15Bendovr

You may have noticed that, while the MSM uses itself as the source for nearly everything it reports, The Weekly Standard is nearly never used as a source for a story. TWS has been reporting these ties incessantly for months and months and NOTHING is ever quoted or mentioned in the MSM.


2 posted on 01/19/2006 10:23:57 AM PST by Another Thought
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To: april15Bendovr

Another profound, Pulitzer Prize winning observation. Saddam and terror...whoda thunk??? Gee, Bush and the rest of the world was right, and the libeal Dems were wrong --- has a familar ring to it.


3 posted on 01/19/2006 10:25:54 AM PST by EagleUSA
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To: april15Bendovr
All those meeting with Al Quada terrorist/Bin Ladin "yes men" were NOT just for swapping chocolate chip recipes

Just how stupid does the MSM think we are?

4 posted on 01/19/2006 10:27:43 AM PST by LowOiL ("I am neither . I am a Christocrat" -Benjamin Rush)
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To: Another Thought
They wouldn't do that. To the MSM that would be like quoting Rush Limbaugh.
5 posted on 01/19/2006 10:29:37 AM PST by april15Bendovr
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To: EagleUSA

But Helen Thomas just told McClellan that since Saddam didn't plan 9-11, he was no threat to us.


6 posted on 01/19/2006 10:31:17 AM PST by digger48
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Comment #7 Removed by Moderator

To: EagleUSA
How are the Democrats going to continue living with themselves.


8 posted on 01/19/2006 10:32:05 AM PST by april15Bendovr
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To: EagleUSA

"Gee, Bush and the rest of the world was right, and the libeal Dems were wrong --- has a familar ring to it."

Too bad Bush has never pushed the Saddam/Terrorism angle, and focused on the WMD angle. I still don't understand that, I always thought the WMD idea was not as good a reason for invasion as the Saddam/Terrorism reason.

I support Bush on Iraq but it seems he has not sold it well.


9 posted on 01/19/2006 10:33:03 AM PST by fizziwig
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To: april15Bendovr

Of course Saddam did 9-11. Duh!


10 posted on 01/19/2006 10:34:23 AM PST by Blue State Insurgent (Shatter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter the remnants to the wind. Avenge JFK.)
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To: fizziwig
He didn't have much of an outlet from the MSM.

We all know the MSM is a megaphone for the Democrats but try getting information out when your a Republican past all the liberal drivel.
11 posted on 01/19/2006 10:36:59 AM PST by april15Bendovr
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To: fizziwig

The WMD argument is the crux of the Iran issue. Do we ignore that? They could be bluffing on their progess.


12 posted on 01/19/2006 10:37:08 AM PST by One Proud Dad
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To: Karolinger
1st: The article is wrong (highest possibility))

And you base your fantasy premise on what, exactly?

13 posted on 01/19/2006 10:38:15 AM PST by DJ MacWoW (If you think you know what's coming next....You don't know Jack.)
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To: fizziwig
Yes but look how 'WMD' sets up Iran nicely. The libs all tell us that WMD is the only justification for war, ya know.
14 posted on 01/19/2006 10:40:02 AM PST by Blue State Insurgent (Shatter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter the remnants to the wind. Avenge JFK.)
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To: fizziwig
We have only gone through a small % of documents at Qatar with the DOCEX Project and Stephen Hayes is finding many connections.

It is insulting that Democrats and the MSM have jumped the gun knowing that much of the evidence has yet to be translated because they were to lazy to do their homework.
15 posted on 01/19/2006 10:41:43 AM PST by april15Bendovr
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To: april15Bendovr

That Saddam supported Islamic terrorism over the years is no secret, and was no secret. The Dems are suffering from selective amnesia. When Bush invaded Iraq, the Dems suddenly discovered that Saddam was never a threat. Their tactic is obvious and transparent.


16 posted on 01/19/2006 10:42:02 AM PST by popdonnelly
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To: april15Bendovr

Bump!


17 posted on 01/19/2006 10:42:33 AM PST by talleyman (Kerry & the Surrender-Donkey Treasoncrats - trashing the troops for 40 years.)
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To: fizziwig

We might actually be talking about the same thing anyway. As we sift through the documents in Qatar we could come across more info on WMD's


18 posted on 01/19/2006 10:47:03 AM PST by april15Bendovr
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To: One Proud Dad

I see General Clark is now happy to talk about that.


19 posted on 01/19/2006 10:49:55 AM PST by april15Bendovr
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To: april15Bendovr
Saddam had ties with terror?

Who'da thunk?

20 posted on 01/19/2006 10:51:58 AM PST by b4its2late (Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.)
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