You don't suppose........no, it couldn't be!!! Suppose Saddam *won* the big prize!
You'd have to check with the prize committee: 
Posted on 01/15/2003 6:10:18 PM PST by MadIvan
White House officials have reassured Republicans by signalling that America and Britain are prepared to release powerful intelligence evidence to cement the case for war against Iraq.
Andy Card, the White House chief of staff, and Karl Rove, President George W Bush's chief political strategist, have each indicated privately that the administration has proof that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction.
Mr Card received blunt warnings from conservative Republican senators last week that Mr Bush had to produce a much more concrete case for war if he hoped to keep public support.
Senator Kit Bond of Missouri said more information should be released and asked: "What is the connection between Iraq and al-Qa'eda?" According to sources at the private meeting, Mr Card is understood to have urged him: "Don't worry."
Mr Rove is believed to have used similar language during private briefings to politicians in Washington.
He strongly suggested that the Bush administration already possesses a piece of intelligence from the CIA or MI6 that would amount to the "smoking gun" critics are calling for.
This is also key, though.
Methinks Mohammed Attaa trip to Prague and a chat with an Iraqi intelligence agent might be discussed as well.
Saddam's going down. Believe me, this thing with Iraq will settle the whole business that has built up.
Saddam needs to re-watch The Godfather - because he and his brats are gonna meet the same fate that the folks who went up against the Corleones did.
And then they will say we asked for it.
And the second I hear the name, will I know what it means?
2002 : They turned to the hot topic of anthrax. The powder in the letter mailed to Senator Daschle's office had been found to be potent, prompting officials to suggest its source was likely an expert capable of producing the bacteria in huge amounts. Tenet said, "I think it's AQ -- meaning Al Qaeda."
"I think there's a state sponsor involved. It's too well thought-out, the powder's too well refined. It might be Iraq, it might be Russia, it might be a renegade scientist, perhaps from Iraq or Russia."
"I'm not going to talk about a state sponsor." Tenet assured them.
"It's good that we don't." said Cheney, "because we're not ready to do anything about it."
- Bob Woodward, Bush at War (2002), pp. 248-249.
1992 : (ZAWAHIRI MET WITH IRAQI AGENTS IN BAGHDAD OVER SEVERAL DAYS) Upon information and belief, there have been numerous meetings between IRAQI Intelligence agents and high-ranking al Qaeda terrorists to plan terror attacks. Once such meeting occurred in 1992, when Zawahiri (Egyptian Islamic Jihad leader and al Qaeda officer) met with Iraqi Intelligence agents in Baghdad, Iraq over several days. An Iraqi serving with the Taliban who fled Afghanistan in the fall of 2001, was captured in Kurdistan and has corroborated this meeting and confirmed that Iraqi contacts with al Qaeda began in 1992. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda
1994 : (BIN LADEN MEETS IRAQI INTELLIGENCE AGENTS IN SUDAN) Bin Laden again met with Iraqi intelligence secret service director Faruq al-Hijazi agreed to work together on terrorist projects directed against the U.S. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda
1995 : (BIN LADEN MEETS IRAQI INTELLIGENCE AGENTS IN SUDAN) Bin Laden again met with Iraqi intelligence officers in 1994 and 1995 in the Sudan. At these meetings, bin-Laden and Iraqi intelligence secret service director Faruq al-Hijazi agreed to work together on terrorist projects directed against the U.S. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda
1996 - 2001 : (BIN LADEN, TALIBAN, IRAQ MUTUAL ASSISTANCE) From 1996 until 2001, bin Laden with the financial and logistical support of Omar and others in the Taliban and Iraq and Iraqi intellignece, created, supplied and operated at least five training camps in order to create an “Islamic Foreign Legion” capable of attacking their enemies throughout the world. These camps trained men from 15 nations in guerrilla warfare, terrorist activities, rocket warfare, demolition and bombing, including the use of mines, grenades, TNT, nitroglycerine and plastic explosives. Classes were also given in “how to kill a policeman” and “traps, murder and terrorist moves.” Iraq upon information and belief, agreed to supply arms to al Qaeda and provide al Qaeda with access to and training in the use of chemical and biological weapons and agreed to instruct al Qaeda terror trainers at its Salman Pak camp in Baghdad that contained a Boeing 707 used to practice hijacking. Iraq also agreed to supply al Qaeda terrorists with new identities and passports from Yemen and the United Arab Emirates. Al Qaeda agreed to provide protection from political opponents to Iraq and Saddam Hussein, and to commit assassinations and other acts of violence to create instability in regions of Iraq, particularly Kurdistan, to assist the regime of Saddam Hussein. Al Qaeda further agreed to provide trained terrorists, assassins and martyrs to carry out terror attacks in concert with Iraq against their common enemies, including the United States. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda
FEBRUARY 1997 : (BIN LADEN ON IRAQ) Bin Laden publicly expressed his support for Iraq in its conflict with the United States stating: “The hearts of the Muslims are filled with hatred towards the United States of America and the American president for American conduct towards Iraq.”- Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda
APRIL 25 - MAY 1, 1998 : (AL QAEDA'S ABU-ISLAM & QASSIM MEET WITH QUSAY HUSSEIN IN IRAQ; ALSO IRAQI AGENTS MET WITH AL QAEDA IN AFGHANISTAN) Between April 25 and May 1, 1998, two of bin Laden’s senior military commanders, Muhammad Abu-Islam and Abdullah Qassim, visited Baghdad for discussions with Saddam Hussein’s son -- Qusay Hussein -- the “czar” of Iraqi intelligence. Qusay Hussein’s participation in those meetings highlights the importance of the talks in both symbolic and practical terms. Upon information and belief, as a direct result of these meetings, Iraq again made commitments to provide training, intelligence, clandestine Saudi border crossings, financial support and weapons and explosives to al Qaeda. Iraqi intelligence officials met with bin Laden in Afghanistan several more times. A second group of bin Laden and al Qaeda operatives from Saudi Arabia were then trained by Iraqi intelligence in Iraq to smuggle weapons and explosives into Saudi Arabia and other countries, which they later accomplished in an effort to carry out future terrorist acts of violence. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda
1993 -2001 : (911 HIJACKER ATTA, CZECHOSLAVAKIA TRIPS) Another lead: reports that chief hijacker Mohammed Atta made as many as four trips to Prague in the Czech Republic, dating from 1993 to 2001. So far U.S. intelligence only has hard evidence of one trip in 1999, when Atta was on his way to the United States. Prague is important because it has been alleged, though again not proved, (* My note : Not proved? We have two named Czechoslavakian officials who have adamantly stated he did meet- this is far more proof than the typical US reporter ever had to claim that 'militia groups' were behind the OK City bombing.) that Atta met there with a senior Iraqi intelligence officer. - "9/11 Bombshell: New Evidence Of Iraq-Al Qaeda Ties?," by David Martin, CBS News Oct. 1, 2002 David Martin
1998 summer : (IRAQ TRAINS AL QAEDA PERSONNEL) After the meetings in Iraq with Qusay Hussein, Saddam hussein's son, Iraqi intelligence officials met with bin Laden in Afghanistan several more times. A second group of bin Laden and al Qaeda operatives from Saudi Arabia were then trained by Iraqi intelligence in Iraq to smuggle weapons and explosives into Saudi Arabia and other countries, which they later accomplished in an effort to carry out future terrorist acts of violence.A third group of bin Laden and al Qaeda operatives received a month of sophisticated guerrilla operations training from Iraqi intelligence officials later in the Summer of 1998. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda
JULY 1998 mid : (AL ZAWAHIRI MEETS WITH IRAQI VICE PRESIDENT RAMADAN IN IRAQ) Despite philosophical and religious differences with Saddam Hussein, bin Laden continually sought to strengthen and reinforce the support he and al Qaeda received from Iraq. In mid-July 1998, bin Laden sent Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian co-founder of al-Qaeda, to Iraq to meet with senior Iraqi officials, including Iraqi vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan. Upon information and belief, the purpose of this meeting was to discuss and plan a joint strategy for a terrorist campaign against the United States. During the July 1998 visit Zawahiri toured an Iraqi military base and nuclear and chemical weapons facility near al-Fallujah in Iraq and upon information and belief, observed training by Iraqi intelligence officials of al Qaeda operatives at the al-Nasiriyah military and chemical weapons facility in Iraq. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda
DECEMBER 1998 : (IRAQI OFFICIAL AL-HIJAZI MEETS WITH BIN LADEN IN AFGHANISTAN) Following the December 1998 air strikes on Iraq, Saddam Hussein dispatched Faruq al-Hijazi to Kandahar, Afghanistan in order to meet with bin Laden and plot their revenge. To demonstrate Iraq’s commitment to bin Laden and al Qaeda, Hijazi presented bin Laden with a pack of blank, official Yemeni passports, supplied to Iraqi Intelligence from their Yemeni contacts. Hijazi’s visit to Kandahar was followed by a contingent of Iraqi intelligence officials who provided additional training and instruction to bin Laden and al Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan. These Iraqi officials included members of “Unit 999,” a group of elite Iraqi intelligence officials who provided advanced sabotage and infiltration training and instruction to al Qaeda operatives. At that meeting, upon information and belief, bin Laden, al Qaeda and Iraq agreed to join efforts in a detailed, coordinated plan for a protracted terrorist war against the United States. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda
1998 or after : (IRAQ AGREES TO AID BIN LADEN IN SETTING UP LAB IN AFGHANISTAN TO PRODUCE ANTHRAX) Iraq maintains an advanced chemical and biological weapons program and is one of only three countries in the world producing a highly developed weaponized anthrax. Some time during or after 1998, Iraq agreed to help bin Laden and al Qaeda develop a laboratory in Afghanistan designed to produce anthrax. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda
JANUARY 1999 : (IRAQ TRAINS MORE AL QAEDA OPERATIVES AT ADDITIONAL CAMPS AROUND BAGHDAD) In addition to the al-Nasiriyah and Salman Pak training camps, by January 1999, bin Laden and al Qaeda operatives were being trained by Iraqi intelligence and military officers at other training camps on the outskirts of Baghdad. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda
JANUARY 1999 : (IRAQI AGENT ISMAIL BECOMES LIASON BETWEEN AL QAEDA, TALIBAN & IRAQ) In January 1999, Iraq began reorganizing and mobilizing Iraqi intelligence front operations throughout Europe in support of bin Laden and al Qaeda. Haqi Ismail, believed to be a member of the Iraq's Mukhabarat Secret Service, left Iraq to train in an Afghanistan al Qaeda camp. Ismail was believed to be a liason between Iraq, the Taliban and al Qaeda and was rewarded with a position in the Taliban Foreign Ministry. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda
JANUARY 2000 : (MALAYSIA, 911 HIJACKER AL MIDHAR, IRAQI SHAKIR) When hijacker Khalid al Midhar arrived in Malaysia in January of 2000 for a meeting of key al Qaeda operatives, he was met at the airport by an Iraqi named Ahmad Shakir, who worked part-time greeting VIPs, a job he got with the help of someone in the Iraqi Embassy. One week later, al Midhar flew to the United States, and 18 months later he was aboard the airliner that crashed into the Pentagon. He is considered one of the most important hijackers because he was in charge of the so-called muscle – the young Saudi men responsible for subduing the passengers. - "9/11 Bombshell: New Evidence Of Iraq-Al Qaeda Ties?," by David Martin, CBS News Oct. 1, 2002 David Martin
2000 spring : (911 HIJACKERS JARRAH & AL-SHEHHI MET WITH IRAQI INTELLIGENCE AGENTS) According to U.S. and foreign intelligence officials, in the spring of 2000, Iraqi intelligence agents met with September 11 th pilot hijackers Zaid Samir Jarrah and Marwan al-Shehhi in Dubai, UAE in order to advance the hijacking of U.S. aircraft to commit terrorist acts. Not long after the meeting, al-Shehhi entered the United States on May 29 and Jarrah entered on June 27, to begin preparations for attacks. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda
MAY 29, 2000 : (911 HIJACKER AL-SHEHHI ENTERS THE US) Shortly after meeting with Iraqi intelligence agents in Dubai, UAE, Marwan al-Shehhi enters the US - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda JUNE 27, 2000 : (911 HIJACKER JARRAH ENTERS THE US) Shortly after meeting with Iraqi intelligence agents in Dubai, UAE, Zaid Samir Jarrah enters the US. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda
JULY 21, 2001 : (IRAQ, FOREWARNING) On July 21, approximately six weeks before the September 11 th attacks, Iraqi columnist Mulhalhal reported that bin Laden was making plans to “demolish the Pentagon after he destroys the White House.” Mulhalhal’s July 21 article further informed that bin Laden would strike America “on the arm that is already hurting.” Upon information and belief, this references a second Iraqi sponsored attack on the World Trade Center. This interpretation is further bolstered by another reference to New York as “[bin Laden] will curse the memory of Frank Sinatra everytime he hears his songs.” (e.g., “New York, New York”) identifying New York, New York as a target. Mulhalhal further indicated, “The wings of a dove and the bullet are all but one and the same in the heart of a believer.” (Emphasis supplied) This appears to be a reference to the use of commercial aircraft as a weapon. The information was reported in an Iraqi newspaper who’s editor-in-chief serves as secretary to Uday Hussein’s Iraqi Syndicate of Journalists. The article expressed Iraqi admiration and support for bin Laden’s plans and its appearance in the newspaper would clearly have to be endorsed by Saddam Hussein himself. All Iraqi news media is strictly controlled and censored by the government of Saddam Hussein and is under the direct oversight of Uday Hussein. Various members of Iraqi intelligence work at and control the content of each and every newspaper published inside Iraq. The information contained in Mulhalhal’s published statements were known prior to the events of September 11 th , and that Mulhalhal has ties to Iraqi intelligence, demonstrates foreknowledge of the planned attacks by bin Laden and indicates support by Iraqi co-conspirators. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda
2001 - 2002 winter : (IRAQI SUPERGUN INSTRUCTIONS FOUND IN AL QAEDA CAMPS) Instruction documents on an artillery weapon known as the “Super Gun” were found in al Qaeda camps when they were captured by U.S. forces in the winter of 2001-2002. Iraq is the only state known to have purchased and assembled the super gun, a weapon so large it must be constructed in segments. It has a range of several hundred miles. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda
SEPTEMBER 2002 late : (NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR RICE SAYS AL QAEDA & IRAQ ARE LINKED) The clearest link so far is that at least one senior member of al Qaeda fled to Baghdad after Sept. 11. He has since left Baghdad and there is no evidence Saddam Hussein knew about his visit, although in a police state like Iraq people don't just come and go. No one who has seen the intelligence is prepared to make the case that Saddam had a role in the Sept. 11 attacks. But suspicious links between Iraq and al Qaeda are becoming part of the Bush administration's case for removing him from power. Last week, President Bush's national security adviser said al Qaeda operatives had found refuge in Baghdad, and accused Saddam's regime of helping Osama bin Laden's followers develop chemical weapons. Condoleezza Rice's statements were the strongest public charges yet alleging contacts between al Qaeda and the Iraqi government. "There clearly are contacts between al Qaeda and Iraq that can be documented; there clearly is testimony that some of the contacts have been important contacts and that there's a relationship here," Rice said. She said much of the information was coming from al Qaeda operatives captured since Sept. 11. This included several senior leaders whom the U.S. alleges organized terrorist attacks. "We clearly know that there were in the past and have been contacts between senior Iraqi officials and members of al Qaeda going back for actually quite a long time," Rice said. "We know too that several of the (al Qaeda) detainees, in particular some high-ranking detainees, have said that Iraq provided some training to al Qaeda in chemical weapons development." The widely held view has been that while Saddam and bin Laden both oppose the United States, their motivations are too different for them to work together. Saddam seeks secular power; bin Laden's drive comes from religious motivations and his opposition to the U.S. military presence in Saudi Arabia and the Arab world. "No one is trying to make an argument at this point that Saddam Hussein somehow had operational control of what happened on Sept. 11, so we don't want to push this too far, but this is a story that is unfolding, and it is getting clearer, and we're learning more," Rice said. - "9/11 Bombshell: New Evidence Of Iraq-Al Qaeda Ties?," by David Martin, CBS News Oct. 1, 2002 David Martin
You don't suppose........no, it couldn't be!!! Suppose Saddam *won* the big prize!
You'd have to check with the prize committee:
No, I don't imagine you've ever missed a thread, LOL.
Sorry to be vague. Just from what has been said on this thread about how Tony Snow acted like the smoking gun info would jeopardize someone.
I'm wondering if we are harboring an individual that has first hand knowledge, maybe even pics of Iraq's weapons program from the inside...a defector, perhaps.
And I have missed threads, too! There are many topics on here that I, though I'm sure you won't believe it, actually read and don't comment on because I don't know enough to hold up my end of the debate.
It gets more interesting when you add iran and others to the picture...here's a bit:
1992 : (HIZBALLAH, IRAN, BIN LADEN, AL QEADA) Bin Laden makes a proposal to the Shiite organization Hizballah that they set aside their differences to cooperate in a common objective of killing US troops stationed in Asia and Africa. - MSNBC
1990s early : (HIZBALLAH, IRAN & AL QAEDA STILL LINKED) Testimony in the East Africa embassy bombings trial, concluded last year (2001), lays out connections between al-Qaida and the Iranian government, an unidentified senior Iranian religious leader and Iran’s most favored terrorist group, the Hizballah, during the early 1990s. - MSNBC
1990s early and mid : (AL QAEDA & IRANIAN OFFICIALS MEET) Specifically, the transcript of the trial shows that as early as 1998 the US was aware that on “various” occasions during the early to mid-1990s, high-ranking al-Qaida members met with Iranian officials and that bin Laden himself met with the leader of its terrorist surrogate, the Hizballah, to “cooperate against the perceived common enemy,” the US. Among the prosecutors’ revelations at the embassy bombing trials was that Iran and Hizballah provided weapons and weapons training to al-Qaida and its ally, the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, and that “Osama bin Laden and other ranking members of al-Qaida, stated privately ... al-Qaida should put aside its differences with Shiite Muslim terrorist organizations, including the government of Iran and its affiliated terrorist group Hizballah, to cooperate” against the US. Moreover, there was testimony that bin Laden met with Imad Mugniyeh, the mastermind behind the terrorist attacks that took more than 300 American lives in Beirut during the 1980s.- MSNBC
1992 - 1996 : (AL QAEDA'S SALIM, IRANIAN CLERIC, AL QAEDA, NATIONAL ISLAMIC FRONT OF SUDAN, IRANIAN GOVERNMENT) The meetings between al-Qaida and the unidentified Iranian religious leader took place in Sudan with Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, bin Laden’s former financial manager, representing al-Qaida. They took place at “various times” between 1992 and 1996, according to prosecutors. All the meetings apparently took place in Sudan. According to U.S. prosecutors, “At various times between in or about 1992 and in or about 1996, the defendant Mamdouh Mahmud Salim met with an Iranian religious official in Khartoum as part of an overall effort to arrange a tripartite agreement between al-Qaida, the National Islamic Front of Sudan and elements of the government of Iran to work together against the United States, Israel and other Western countries.” Salim goes on trial in New York early next year, and it is expected that details of those dealings will be made public. -MSNBC
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