Terrorist Behind September 11 Strike was Trained by Saddam

The Telegraph ^ | December 14, 2003 | Con Coughlin

[quidnunc]

Iraq's coalition government claims that it has uncovered documentary proof that Mohammed Atta, the al-Qaeda mastermind of the September 11 attacks against the US, was trained in Baghdad by Abu Nidal, the notorious Palestinian terrorist.

Details of Atta's visit to the Iraqi capital in the summer of 2001, just weeks before he launched the most devastating terrorist attack in US history, are contained in a top secret memo written to Saddam Hussein, the then Iraqi president, by Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti, the former head of the Iraqi Intelligence Service.

The handwritten memo, a copy of which has been obtained exclusively by the Telegraph, is dated July 1, 2001 and provides a short resume of a three-day "work programme" Atta had undertaken at Abu Nidal's base in Baghdad.

In the memo, Habbush reports that Atta "displayed extraordinary effort" and demonstrated his ability to lead the team that would be "responsible for attacking the targets that we have agreed to destroy".

The second part of the memo, which is headed "Niger Shipment", contains a report about an unspecified shipment — believed to be uranium — that it says has been transported to Iraq via Libya and Syria.

Although Iraqi officials refused to disclose how and where they had obtained the document, Dr Ayad Allawi, a member of Iraq's ruling seven-man Presidential Committee, said the document was genuine.

"We are uncovering evidence all the time of Saddam's involvement with al-Qaeda," he said. "But this is the most compelling piece of evidence that we have found so far. It shows that not only did Saddam have contacts with al-Qaeda, he had contact with those responsible for the September 11 attacks."

-snip-

[Cindy]

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001: "ATTACK ON AMERICA!" (UPDATED)
http://www.truthusa.com/911.html

[Peach]

Further proof of what knowledgeable Freepers have known or suspected since 9/11.

[Mr. Mojo]

There are more pressing issues, such as W mispronouncing Nevada and displaying a "fake" turkey in a photo-op.

And the "photo-op" on the aircraft carrier decked out in a flight suit, and the "stolen" election, and the Cheney/Halliburton connection, and GWB's "smirk" and "Texas swagger," .........all these things infinitely more important than positively connecting Saddam with the worst terrorist attack in our nation's history.

[LoudRepublicangirl]

Now you've got something there Angelus. Wasn't he treated by a Floridian Pharmacist for what appeared to be burns on his hands? After 9-11 some pharmacist in Florida stated that the man in the photo(Atta) came to him and asked him for the best way to treat the burns on his hands-which they thought might be from Anthrax.

[Quilla]

Yea right, just like this was reported by the alphabets back in April:

"Top-secret Iraqi intelligence documents, unearthed by the Toronto Star in the bombed-out headquarters of the dreaded Mukhabarat intelligence service in Baghdad, have established the first clear link between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda organization. The documents were found by correspondent Mitch Potter, the Star's Jerusalem bureau chief. Potter, who has been in and out of Iraq since the war began, was digging through the rubble of the Mukhabarat's Baghdad headquarters with his translator Amir when they uncovered the intelligence treasure trove.

Bin Laden's name appears three times in the handwritten Iraqi file, but each of the references was clumsily concealed with White-Out and then blackened with ink, "presumably by agents of the Mukhabarat," writes Potter, who was travelling with Amir and Inigo Gilmore of London's Sunday Telegraph.

In his dispatch, Potter details how his translator, sitting on the end of his hotel room bed today, carefully scraped away the White Out with a scalpel to reveal bin Laden's name hidden underneath.

And he writes of Amir's stunned reaction when the name became apparent: "It says Bin Laden! It says Bin Laden!" The full account will appear in tomorrow's Star.

The discovery of the document coincides with the Friday capture of Farouk Hijazi, an Iraqi spymaster the United States claims was the link between Iraq and Al Qaeda. Hijazi, according to U.S. allegations, met bin Laden prior to the Sept. 11 attacks during Hijazi's term as Iraq's ambassador to Turkey.

"The document in question is in every way possible entirely like the hundreds of others we've been poring over in our spare hours these many nights in the safety of our hotel room while intermittent gunfire pops away in the distance," Potter writes.

Spies from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, who scoured the building after it was bombed into rubble, apparently missed the document.

The presence of bin Laden's name on the document has been verified by four Arabic interpreters."

http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1016307/posts

[Freedom of Speech Wins]

Of Course your only concern is for the Muslim Terrorists that Ashcroft has righteously prosecuted.

Never mind the 3,000+ Americans dead from the Muslims that were allowed to board planes unchecked.

[Angelus Errare]

I remember the report, not sure if anything came of it.

The thing is that if he was only there for 3 days in the summer of 2001, that isn't enough time for him to learn to fly, besides he was already getting classes in the States. OTOH, if the Iraqis wanted to hand him off a nasty bio-weapon as payback against the US, 3 days is more than enough time to get it to him and to show him how it works.

[Mr. Mojo]

If Clinton (or any other 'Rat) were in office and had launched the war in Iraq, you can bet your boots that every single one of the Saddam-Al Qaeda linkage stories since 9/11 would've been dutifully reported by the alphabets.

[LoudRepublicangirl]

I would love to see the original documents. I can read enough Arabic to tell if Bin Laden's name is on them.

[Peach]

I didn't want you to miss this. British paper has physical proof that Atta trained in Iraq in weeks before 9/11.

[Mr. Mojo]

Ping

[polemikos]

Oddly, I don't see this posted at DU. I wonder why??

[Mr. Mojo]

Same reason we're not going to see it on ABC/NBC/CBS.

[Mr. Mojo]

or CNN

[Freedom of Speech Wins]

You are forgetting that Gore conceded the election, and that the Florida Supreme Court which protested it had a 5-4 decision in which the Chief Justice said they were out of control, a decision which the Supreme Court came in and squashed. You all tried to selectively recount votes in counties only that were predominantly Democratic counties. All it was was a vote manufacturing orgy and the American people saw right through it, hence the retirment from politics of Gore.

[John H K]

Isn't the name Atta Mohammed on the order of John Smith ?

Basically.

One of the most common bogus chain e-mails last year was the claim that "Mohammed Atta" was held in prison by the Israelis and Clinton forced his release; it was a DIFFERENT Mohammed Atta.

It was almost as common as the bogus e-mail claiming that Ollie North wanted protection against being assassinated by Bin Laden back during Iran-Contra; actually, it was Nidal.

[nuffsenuff]

I frequent another message board that's mainly a bunch of soreloserman, anti-GOP, anti-Bush-no-matter-what, naysayers...

I shored them the article and the first thing they said was that the Telegraph is not a reputable news source... this from the people that cite Guardian news links.

Unbelievable.

How much must it suck to have to hope that this story isn't true?

[LoudRepublicangirl]

I think it was only a suspicion during the Anthrax scares following 9-11. There are so many unanswered questions about this whole thing. I just wonder if we will ever get truly concrete answers. I want to believe these documents are genuine but I want to make sure that it is solid evidence that we can present to the world, especially those who are so openly hostile to the president for the war.

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on or off this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

One more reason to support the creation of a new terrorist state in the mideast. If these guys can't train in Iraq, they need somewhere to go.

Abu Nidal Organization (ANO)

From: Patterns of Global Terrorism, 2002. United States Department of State, April 2003.

Comments on the content of the material should be sent to the U.S. Department of State

Other Names

Fatah Revolutionary Council
Arab Revolutionary Brigades
Black September
Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims

Description

International terrorist organization founded by Sabri al-Banna (a.k.a Abu Nidal). Split from PLO in 1974. Made up of various functional committees, including political, military, and financial. In November 2002, Abu Nidal died in Baghdad; the new leadership of the organization is unclear.

Activities

Has carried out terrorist attacks in 20 countries, killing or injuring almost 900 persons. Targets include the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Israel, moderate Palestinians, the PLO, and various Arab countries. Major attacks included the Rome and Vienna airports in December 1985, the Neve Shalom synagogue in Istanbul and the Pan Am Flight 73 hijacking in Karachi in September 1986, and the City of Poros day-excursion ship attack in Greece in July 1988. Suspected of assassinating PLO deputy chief Abu Iyad and PLO security chief Abu Hul in Tunis in January 1991. ANO assassinated a Jordanian diplomat in Lebanon in January 1994 and has been linked to the killing of the PLO representative there. Has not staged a major attack against Western targets since the late 1980s.

Strength

Few hundred plus limited overseas support structure.

Location/Area of Operation

Al-Banna relocated to Iraq in December 1998, where the group maintains a presence. Has an operational presence in Lebanon including in several Palestinian refugee camps. Authorities shut down the ANO’s operations in Libya and Egypt in 1999. Has demonstrated ability to operate over wide area, including the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. Financial problems and internal disorganization have reduced the group’s activities and capabilities.

External Aid

Has received considerable support, including safehaven, training, logistic assistance, and financial aid from Iraq, Libya, and Syria (until 1987), in addition to close support for selected operations.

[MainFrame65]

"... I am treating this with careful optimism. ..."

Me, too. This looks like an embarrassment of riches, almost like bait in a trap. The adversaries would like nothing better than another opportunity to do what they did with the Nigerian uranium story, even though it was never actually proved false - just not proved, and with suspect documentation.

Investigate before we invest....