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Intelligence documents reveal Iraq link to al-Qaida, London paper reports (France)
Tribnet ^ | 4/26/02 | AP

Posted on 04/26/2003 6:34:35 PM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection

LONDON (April 26, 4:49 p.m. PDT) - Documents discovered in the bombed out headquarters of Iraq's intelligence service provide evidence of a direct link between Saddam Hussein's regime and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network, a newspaper reported Sunday.

Papers found Saturday by journalists working for the Sunday Telegraph reveal that an al-Qaida envoy met with officials in Baghdad in March 1998, the newspaper reported.

The paper quoted an unidentified Western intelligence official as saying the find was "sensational."

The paper said the documents show that the purpose of the meeting was to establish a relationship between Baghdad and al-Qaida based on their mutual hatred of the United States and Saudi Arabia.

The meeting went so well that it was extended by a week and ended with arrangements being discussed for bin Laden to visit Baghdad, the newspaper said.

Journalists found a three-page file on bin Laden inside a folder lying in the rubble of one of the rooms of the intelligence headquarters, the paper said.

"Iraqi agents at some point clumsily attempted to mask out all references to bin Laden, using white correcting fluid," the newspaper reported. "After carefully removing the dried fluid, however, the name is clearly legible three times in the documents."

One of the pages, dated Feb. 19, was marked "top secret and urgent" and referred to plans for the trip from Sudan of the unnamed envoy, who is described in the file as a trusted confidant of bin Laden's, the paper said.

The document, signed, "MDA," which the newspaper said is a code name believed to belong to the director of one of the Iraqi intelligence sections, said the Iraqis sought to pay for the envoy's costs while in Iraq "to gain the knowledge of the message from bin Laden and to convey to his envoy an oral message from us to bin Laden."

The message to bin Laden "would relate to the future of our relationship with him, bin Laden, and to achieve a direct meeting with him," the newspaper quoted the document as saying.

The other documents confirm that the envoy traveled from Khartoum in Sudan to Baghdad in March 1998 and that he stayed at the al-Mansour Melia hotel.

The documents do not mention whether any meeting took place between bin Laden and Iraqi officials, the newspaper said.

Separately, The Sunday Times reported that its own journalists had found documents in the Iraqi foreign ministry that indicate that France gave Saddam Hussein's regime regular reports on its dealings with American officials.

The newspaper said the documents reveal that Paris shared with Baghdad the contents of private transatlantic meetings and diplomatic traffic from Washington.

One document, dated Sept. 25, 2001, from Iraqi foreign minister Naji Sabri to Saddam's palace, was based on a briefing from the French ambassador in Baghdad and covered talks between presidents Jacques Chirac and George W. Bush.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: alqaeda; alqaedaandiraq; france; inigogilmore; iraq; terrorsummits

1 posted on 04/26/2003 6:34:35 PM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
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To: Tumbleweed_Connection
Quite a stunning find! Weasles from France consorted with those who blew up the WTC. If this doesn't turn this country away from France nothing will.
2 posted on 04/26/2003 6:42:32 PM PDT by cajungirl (no)
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To: Tumbleweed_Connection
Hussein would be happy to meet with anybody who might do him any good.
3 posted on 04/26/2003 6:46:28 PM PDT by RLK
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To: Tumbleweed_Connection
Let’s see here.... what were the names the French were calling Bush? Well I can’t post what I think of them.
4 posted on 04/26/2003 6:50:25 PM PDT by Taxbilly
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To: Tumbleweed_Connection
One document, dated Sept. 25, 2001, from Iraqi foreign minister Naji Sabri to Saddam's palace, was based on a briefing from the French ambassador in Baghdad and covered talks between presidents Jacques Chirac and George W. Bush.

That is so sweet, the only way the French ambassador in Iraq would have known all the details of the conversations between Chirac and Bush would be that he was briefed by Chirac or a proxy of his and told to go blab. That cartoon of Saddam and Chirac in bed together isn't a joke now, it's to close to the truth.

If Dubya was furious before, just wait....

5 posted on 04/26/2003 6:59:27 PM PDT by xJones
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To: xJones
I hope to God that President Bush decides to spend the night in Switzerland after the upcoming meeting in France. This is disgusting!
6 posted on 04/26/2003 7:06:43 PM PDT by ImpotentRage
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To: Tumbleweed_Connection
track
7 posted on 04/26/2003 7:15:22 PM PDT by LiteKeeper
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To: ImpotentRage
Is that meeting in early June? At the rate these documents are turning up, who knows what else will emerge before the Evian meeting? It it disappointing to think of all the destroyed documents, but I've read that we have recovered so far the eqivalent of 80 large truck loads of papers.

It is consoling to think of Chirac sweating bullets, wondering what will be found. :)

8 posted on 04/26/2003 7:17:11 PM PDT by xJones
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Comment #9 Removed by Moderator

To: Tumbleweed_Connection
but, gosh, robert scheer at the los angeles times said the other day, that damn bush went off to war without any connection.

(/s)
10 posted on 04/26/2003 7:19:22 PM PDT by liberalnot
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To: Tumbleweed_Connection
Taliban, Saddam, North Korea, Syria, Iran, France

11 posted on 04/27/2003 4:32:04 PM PDT by Kay Soze (France helped Iraq and Osama kill 3,000 of my fellow citizens.)
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