Iraq, 9/11 Still Linked By Cheney

Washington Post ^ | Oct. 29, 2003 | Dana Priest and Glenn Kessler, also Margot Williams

[pttttt]

Iraq, 9/11 Still Linked By Cheney

Minutes after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack, Vice President Cheney was in the operations center with his chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby, far right, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, center left, and his wife, Lynne Cheney, far left. (White House Photo David Bohrer)

By Dana Priest and Glenn Kessler Washington Post Staff Writers Monday, September 29, 2003; Page A01

In making the case for war against Iraq, Vice President Cheney has continued to suggest that an Iraqi intelligence agent met with a Sept. 11, 2001, hijacker five months before the attacks, even as the story was falling apart under scrutiny by the FBI, CIA and the foreign government that first made the allegation.

The alleged meeting in Prague between hijacker Mohamed Atta and Iraqi Ahmed Khalil Ibrahim Samir al-Ani was the single thread the administration has pointed to that might tie Iraq to the attacks. But as the Czech government distanced itself from its initial assertion and American investigators determined Atta was probably in the United States at the time of the meeting, other administration officials dropped the incident from their public statements about Iraq.

[pttttt]

Excerpted per policy. Entire article is at link.

[Peach]

The claim that Atta, an Egyptian and Sept. 11 hijacker, had met with al-Ani in early April 2001 has been a constant element of the vice president's case against Iraq. Surveillance cameras at the Radio Free Europe building in Prague had picked up al-Ani, an intelligence officer at the Iraq embassy, surveying the building in April, five months before the Sept. 11 attacks. The tape was made available to Czech intelligence. Al-Ani was expelled at the U.S. government's request soon afterward for conduct incompatible with his diplomatic status.

Bears repeating.

[The G Man]

If Bigtime says it, I believe it then.

[Admin Moderator]

Briefer excerpt next time, please.

[MEG33]

What Cheney said when asked if Iraq had any role in 911 was"I don't know".He did say that Iraq did have ties to terrorism.

[Shermy]

Interesting Al Ani meeting update story. New info in the WashPost story.

Obviously an anti-Cheney leak. With some good new info, some misleading about Havel again.

"...In October 2001, after pictures of Atta had circulated publicly, an Arab student who worked as an informant for BIS, the Czech Security Information Service, told the service he had seen Atta meeting with al-Ani in April.

That November, Stanislav Gross, the Czech Republic's interior minister, said publicly that al-Ani and Atta had met in Prague. A short while later, Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman told Powell that the two had discussed targeting the Radio Free Europe building, not the Sept. 11 targets.

On Dec. 9, 2001, Cheney said on "Meet The Press" that "it's been pretty well confirmed that he did go to Prague and he did meet with a senior official of the Iraqi intelligence service in Czechoslovakia last April, several months before the attack."

But that same month, Czech President Vaclav Havel was retreating from the more definitive accounts provided by his government, saying there was "a 70 percent" chance the meeting took place. Indeed, while Czech officials never officially backed away from their initial stance, officials at various agencies say that, privately, the Czechs have discredited the accuracy of the untested informant who came to them with the information. According to one report, Havel quietly informed the White House in 2002 there was no evidence to confirm the meeting...

[MEG33]

Havel denied calling the White House about Atta.

[Shermy]

IMO, what makes the Atta in Prague story intriguing is the degree to which some wanted to destroy it. Tactics include the completely false planting of the story that Havel debunked the story. Also, the retired Czech Foreign Ministry official trotted out who, when cutting to the chase, said nothing much more than a meeting didn't happen in April.

Also, our govt. must have closely reviewed where Atta was throughout his life. But they only say they have no "evidence" that Atta left in "April"

Well, what about March?

[Shermy]

Havel denied calling the White House about Atta.

True, and wasn't that story planted by Isikoff? In retrospect, the plant was a mistake, it was to easily discountable...although it gained traction.

Reading this article does seem to tell a story about a Cheney v. CIA battle.

But if you remember from 2001, the Admin, even Cheney, never went out of its way to link 9/11 to Iraq. They were circumspect, to say the least.

The article ends with Al Ani supposedly "denied meeting Atta." Maybe he didn't, maybe he did. He certainly wouldn't say.

[MEG33]

I was shocked to hear Americans believed the tie because the admistration had not pushed it.Al Ani of course would not tie himself to a 911 murderer.I find no real meat in this article.

[Shermy]

This is a May 2002 Isikoff piece. Notice that much of the Wash Post article is not new.

A Spy Story Tying Saddam to 9-11 is Looking Very Flimsy

FR Thread, Same Story

[Peach]

Thanks for the ping; I'll read it later. (Trying to get over a cold)

This topic interests me and I appreciate your remembering.

[Shermy]

You guys ever see this report from Czechoslovakia? -

http://respekt.inway.cz/english/priloha-eng-2002-43-01.php

[Shermy]

"...Atta was living in Florida at the time when he was to have visited Prague. Two days before a possible meeting with al-Ani he flew from Virginia Beach, Florida to New York, but seventy- two hours later he was back in Florida. Czech officials checked out all suspicious men who arrived in Prague on the incriminating days, but were not able to confirmed Atta's visit. Nonetheless a visit was possible. Atta, say, could have flown to Vienna and taken a bus to Prague. "Atta's mysterious stay in Prague can neither be ruled out nor confirmed. We're at the same place we were a year ago," says one reporter occupied on the case. One interesting piece of evidence is the report by the New York Times stating that a few days after the alleged visit to Prague last year one hundred thousand dollars was transferred to Atta's bank account at Sun Bank in Florida from the United Arab Emirates. ..."

Mistook "Virginia Beach" as being in Florida

[Shermy]

http://respekt.inway.cz/english/priloha-eng-2002-43-01.php

""The report by the U.S. Inspector General of the Justice Department, Glenn A. Fine, reads: "Egyptian terrorist Muhammad Atta most likely did not meet in Prague in April of last year with an Iraqi spy Ahmed al-Ani operating in the Czech capital under the diplomatic protection." ""

Any of you guys ever hear of this report by "Glenn A. Fine"? The Wash Post article doesn't mention it. Also, the Wash Post article says ""they could find no indication he had left Virginia or traveled outside the United States." But the Czech article explicitly mentions a flight to New York City.

[Shermy]

Flashback: article from April 2002 with links.

Czech Officials Say Story That Atta Met with Iraqi Agent in Prague May Be Wrong

[Shermy]

Forgot to ping you guys too.

[Shermy]

Washington Post, Sept. 29, 2003 - never left Virginia in "April".

U.S. records showed Atta living in Virginia Beach in April 2001, and they could find no indication he had left Virginia or traveled outside the United States.

Newsweek, May 6, Isikoff Atta in Virginia AND Florida:

The FBI could find no visa or airline records showing he had left or re-entered the United States that month. The bureau does have records showing Atta was in Virginia Beach-where officials suspect he was casing U.S. naval facilities in the area - and Florida in April.

2002 Prospekt, the Czech site:

Atta was living in Florida at the time when he was to have visited Prague. Two days before a possible meeting with al-Ani he flew from Virginia Beach, Florida to New York, but seventy- two hours later he was back in Florida. Czech officials checked out all suspicious men who arrived in Prague on the incriminating days, but were not able to confirmed Atta's visit. Nonetheless a visit was possible. Atta, say, could have flown to Vienna and taken a bus to Prague. "Atta's mysterious stay in Prague can neither be ruled out nor confirmed. We're at the same place we were a year ago," says one reporter occupied on the case. One interesting piece of evidence is the report by the New York Times stating that a few days after the alleged visit to Prague last year one hundred thousand dollars was transferred to Atta's bank account at Sun Bank in Florida from the United Arab Emirates.

Unfortunately the Czech is a little confused about "Virginia Beach" being in Florida. New York?

Interresting side point - Ahmed Alhaznawi was treated by Dr. Tsonas for a sore, possibly anthrax, in June 2001.

[Shermy]

Bill Gertz, July 30, 2003

September 11 report alludes to Iraq-al Qaeda meeting

"The 850-page congressional report on September 11 intelligence failures says that a key terrorist organizer may have met with an Iraqi intelligence officer in the months before the attack.

Mohamed Atta, one of the pilots of the two hijacked jets that hit the World Trade Center, "may have traveled" to Prague to meet an Iraqi intelligence officer, the report said, quoting CIA Director George Tenet.

Whether Atta and Iraqi intelligence officer Ahmed al-Ani met in the Czech capital remains one of the mysteries of the September 11 plot.

A senior U.S. official said yesterday that U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies differ on whether the meeting occurred.

The reported meeting has been cited by some officials as a link between the al Qaeda terrorist network and Iraqi intelligence.

Intelligence officials who are part of the Pentagon's Iraq Survey Group are searching Iraq for any information that could establish connections between al Qaeda and the Iraqi intelligence service, including information about any meeting between Atta and al-Ani.

"We haven't ruled out the possibility of [the meeting] happening," a senior U.S. official said yesterday. "But we have no evidence to demonstrate conclusively that it did."

.... ....

Later, the report states that CIA's Mr. Tenet told the committee: "Atta may also have traveled outside of the U.S. in early April 2001 to meet an Iraqi intelligence officer, although we are still working to corroborate this."

According to the report, "Atta may have traveled under an unknown alias: the CIA has been unable to establish that he left the United States or entered Europe in April under his true name or any known alias."

The U.S. official said yesterday that the FBI is more skeptical than the CIA that the meeting took place.

[Shermy]

Forgot the Bill Gertz link

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/954925/posts