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-

[Franking]

As much as I would like to believe this is authentic, the inclusion of the Niger uranium in a handwritten memo is pretty fishy. Like somebody on the IGC fabricated it to ingratiate himself with the US.

F

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

Well lookie here!

Any comments Dascle, Hitlery, Kennedy, Dean, Kerry, etc., etc.?

[gaspar]

It should be easy to check the Habbush memo, using the boxes of material obtained by the Telegraph's David Blair following his entry into the bombed Ministry of Intelligence building (see Telegraph article, 7 May 2003). Apparently, Habbush's signature was on certain memos, and there are those the CIA and others who should be able to determine the validity of the report.

[nuffsenuff]

I saw a story about this Tahir guy being involved with the Germans somehow on a last minute deal before the invasion...

It is possible that the country that the UK refuses to name as one of the sources of the Niger claim is Germany. But it would look really bad for Germany if this is how they got the info.

This Tahir must be caught ASAP... He seems to be the center of a lot of behind the scenes stuff.

[okie01]

Three days in June, 2001...

Didn't Atta go to Spain in June, 2001? His exact whereabouts were unknown for several days. But it was assumed that he attended a major pow-wow among al-Qaeda bigwigs that is now known to have taken place at that time near Barcelona

It was rumored that Atta may have entered Switzerland sometime in this time frame, as well.

In any event, I believe there is a period in June that is unaccounted for.

[denydenydeny]

Atta's stay in Iraq would have had to be before July 1, 2001 (because of the date of the document). And three weeks was the result of my hasty misreading -- Atta's stay was three days, which, taking travel time into account, I estimate would require five consecutive days unaccounted for.

Okay, then. Atta's movements in June are not as documented as those in July and August were. The only documented Atta sightings were on:

* an unspecified date in June: Atta joined a Jim Woolard’s World Gym in Delray Beach, FL. I've never seen the date reported.

* June 12/13, when he and other hijackers moved into the Tara Garden condo at 10001 W. Atlantic Blvd. in Coral Springs FL.

* June 28, when he flew to Las Vegas to meet with the other three pilots. After this point, Atta's movements until his return from Spain on July 19th are fairly trackable.

So, if only five days would be required, there were numerous opportunities in early June.

[Mo1]

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.

Anyone send this to Joe Wilson yet??

[aristeides]

I suspect it's significant that Atta missed that court date on May 28 (and a warrant was issued for him a few days later).

[browardchad]

BUMP

[Angelus Errare]

Yeah, he may well have been out of country at the time.

Keep in mind that whatever time frame we set up has to be consistent with both known facts and likely post-Prague, especially if we view the Prague meeting as being necessary for his trip to Iraq. Going on my earlier thoughts, if we have Atta picking up anthrax in Iraq, does anyone have a general date cited by the doctor who said that he (Atta) may have been exposed to anthrax?

[Qwinn]

I fired off an email to Drudge about it a few hours ago. There haven't been any updates to his site since tho.

Qwinn

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Howard Dean responds with "Yeah, but the UN never said Simon Says".

[GeronL]

I knew it! I just knew it!! =o)

[Angelus Errare]

Mega-ping

[tallhappy]

It'll be denied and countered with a flurry of alternate tales.

Strangely it is the Bush administration that denies such things.

[bonesmccoy]

You wanna go toe-to-toe on the Anthrax attack in October 2001?

How much you wanna bet that the stock came DIRECTLY from Baghdad?

[Tamzee]

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".

While this almost seems too good to be true...

...if this were faked, wouldn't it have made much more sense to write "responsible for attacking the targets IN AMERICA that we have agreed to destroy"?...

... or even "responsible for capturing American planes and attacking the targets that we have agreed to destroy".

[Destro]

Yup-well said.