Posted on 09/13/2006 8:40:01 AM PDT by april15Bendovr
Evidence: Saddam did have al-Qaida ties Documents contradict Senate conclusion to the contrary Posted: September 13, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
Saddam Hussein on Iraqi TV prior to the war
A new Senate report that concludes there was no connection between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida apparently relegates to insignificant documentation that the federal government released earlier this year drawing that very conclusion.
The Senate Intelligence Committee has disclosed an October 2005 CIA conclusion that the Iraqi dictator did not have a "relationship, harbor or turn a blind eye toward" Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, an al-Qaida operative, or any of his associates.
(Story continues below)
In fact, Saddam rejected approaches from al-Qaida and feared Islamic extremists as a danger to his regime, the committee determined.
But as WND reported earlier this year, pre-war documents posted online by the Pentagon included a letter from a member of Saddam's intelligence apparatus indicating al-Qaida and the Taliban had a relationship with the regime prior to the 9/11 attacks.
A letter by the member of Saddam's Al Mukabarat to a superior, dated Sept. 15, 2001, reported a pre-9/11 conversation between an Iraqi intelligence source and a Taliban Afghani consul.
That information had been released on the orders of National Intelligence Director John Negroponte, and the letter was reviewed by an independent Middle East analyst whose conclusion was that it appeared genuine.
The letter indicated Osama bin Laden and the Taliban in Afghanistan were in contact with Iraq – noting a specific visit to Baghdad – and said the U.S. had proof Saddam's regime and al-Qaida were cooperating to hit a target in the U.S.
The documents also suggested the possibility that the U.S. could strike Iraq and Afghanistan if an attack on the U.S. proved to be tied to bin Laden and the Taliban.
Democrats on the Senate committee told the Associated Press that the administration's belief there was a connection was based partly on intelligence the White House knew was flawed.
President Bush numerous times, and as lately as last month, noted the possibilities of "a world in which you had Saddam Hussein" with access to weapons of mass destruction and a connection with al-Qaida.
A committee member, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., told reporters that CIA chief George Tenet admitted that policymakers wanted him to be consistent with the president's message, despite doubts expressed by his own agents.
However, the earlier documents, including one dated Aug. 17, 2002, identified the al-Qaida member as Ahmed Fadil Nizal Al Khalaylah, the real name of Zarqawi, and includes a series of photos. Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. airstrike last summer.
Laura Mansfield, the independent Middle East analyst, said the document provided "startling" evidence at the very least Saddam Hussein's government knew al-Qaida was active in Iraq.
The government, in releasing the documents, did caution that it had not determined the accuracy of what it was releasing.
Both Republicans and Democrats charged the other side was trying using the release of more information for its political purposes.
The Gateway Pundit Blog republished much of the documentation, noting that Saddam Hussein's government was aware not just of the presence of al-Qaida terrorists in Iraq, but also that the Anbar province was being used as a launch point for those headed to Afghanistan to fight the U.S.
The blind choose not to see.
Al-Qaeda grew while Monica blew.
Here is the letter, first translated and posted right here on FR.
Document: Afghani Taliban Consul Spoke of a Relationship Between Iraq and Bin Laden See Translation
Here is the translation of Zarqawi in Iraqi document.
Document: Zarqawi in Iraq Long Before the War Started (See translation and interesting finds)
bump
Saddam Regime Document: Iraqi Intelligence met with Bin Laden in 1995 (Translation)
The pisser is that many main stream "conservatives" spew, in unison with the left, the shiboleth that there were no WMD and no tie between Saddam and AQ. I can understand the left spewing it, but anyone on our team spewing it should be shaken manually and their sanity questioned!
Yep. The Senate report touted by the democrats is as bogus as the 9-11 committee's whitewash of the Clinton administrations ineptitude.
How do the Democrats and drive by media get away with ignoring this when the evidence is clear?
ABC news found a link during the Clinton administration
http://www.mediaresearch.org/rm/cyber/2004/binladen061704/segment1.ram
see the video
-The pisser is that many main stream "conservatives" spew, in unison with the left...-
Yes, that angers me more. Not just that, but few if any Pubs chime in with evidence to the contrary, to battle the constant whine of the media. The evidence is there!
Despite the Keno monitor, betting slips and Scratch Ticket machine, I found no evidence of the Lottery at the Highland Cafe last night.
The problem starts with Bush and goes down. For some reason, he just rolls over and plays dead on this. I've about had it with him over this. He knows they were involved together. I have a suspicion that the real reason is that Bush the First had something to do with letting ex-Republican Guard settle in Oklahoma, they were involved with McVeigh in blowing up the Murrah Federal Bldg, and Bush II doesn't want that whole house of cards to fall on his father. Who knows, it's as good of a conspiracy theory as any I guess.
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