Replies

FEBRUARY 1999 : (IRAQI OFFICIAL ZAHAWIE aka ZAHAWI TRAVELS TO NIGER; IAEA WOULD LATER IN 2003 SAY THAT HE WAS ON A "TRADE MISSION" TO AFRICA ) In this column last week [2003] , I reported that IAEA Senior Information Officer Melissa Fleming, in response to written questions from me, did state that Zahawie was the Iraqi official who went to Niger in 1999. He went, she said , as "a part of a trade mission and also he was accredited to Niger as Ambassador." IAEA, she said, had interviewed him in Baghdad in the presence of Iraqi monitors.- "Iraqi Nuke Hawk Went to Niger," by Terence P. Jeffrey, Human Events , 8/1/03

FEBRUARY 1999 : (AN IRAQI OFFICIAL -ACCORDING TO THE IAEA IT IS AL-ZAHAWIE, IRAQ'S AMBASSADOR TO ROME - WAS IN NIGER AND OTHER AFRICAN COUNTRIES AT THIS TIME, IRAQ WOULD SAY, IN EARLY 2003- AT LEAST ACCORDING TO UN'S EL BARADEI) The head of the U-N nuclear agency ElBaradei [in 2002] said Baghdad suggested the visit by an unidentified Iraqi official to a number of African countries, including Niger, in February 1999, might have given rise to the allegations. " - Source : VOA News Report, VOA Correspondent ALEX BELIDA, 03/07/03, via http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iraq/2003/iraq-030307-2d189eab.htm.
(*The IAEA says the Iraqi ambassador in question is the "Ambassador to Rome, Ambassador Al Zahawie. He retired in August 2000." and it was his name which was on the forged documents) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/951024/posts

FEBRUARY 1999 : (NIGER : IRAQ'S FORMER AMBASSADOR TO THE VATICAN AL-ZAHAWIE VISITS NIAMEY, NIGER'S CAPITOL, WHILE ON A TOUR OF WEST AFRICAN NATIONS, TO INVITE PRESIDENT MAINASSARA TO BAGHDAD) a February 1999 visit to Niamey, Niger's capital, by Wissam al-Zahawie, Iraq's former ambassador to the Vatican. [He later claimed that his] trip had nothing to do with uranium. He was touring four West African nations, he said, and came here to invite Niger's then-President Ibrahim Bare Mainassara to Baghdad. Mainassara was assassinated two months later, and al-Zahawie could not be reached for comment about their talks. - "A look at the U.S.-British claims that Iraq tried to acquire uranium in Africa," AP, SEPT 21, 2003

FEBRUARY 26? +/-, 1999 : (PAKISTANI NUKE SCIENTIST QADEER KHAN'S GROUP TRAVELS TO NIGER, CHAD AND THEN TO SUDAN WHERE THEY VISITED THE SHIFA "ASPIRIN" FACTORY WHICH THE US HAD DESTROYED EARLIER) After spending a couple of days [in Timbuktu] we were on our way back and our first stop was Niamey, capital of Niger." Siddique also writes that after a stopver at N'Djamena, capital of Chad... they we flew to Khartoum. After Khan had attended to "some business", they visited the Shifa factory that was destroyed by American missiles ... - "Khan made trips to Niger, Sudan," CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA, TIMES NEWS NETWORK, THE TIMES OF INDIA, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2004 11:52:23 AM , http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow/497486.cms

1999 early : (VALERIE AND JOE WILSON ATTEND AFRICAN STATE DINNER) Ha! Wilson and his wife showed up at a big African State dinner in 1999, as shown on this guest list published in "Africa Today." Click here and scroll down...guest list is alphabetical, and wife is listed as "Valerie Wilson" Wilson is listed as the President of Wilson International Ventures, and this dinner took place in early 1999. 40 posted on 08/04/2003 5:43 AM PDT by Miss Marple

APRIL 1999 (NIGER : AFTER ALLEGEDLY RECIEVING INVITATION FROM IRAQ TO VISIT BAGDHAD FROM IRAQI DIPLOMAT AL ZAHAWIE MAINASSARA IS ASSASSINATED) Mainassara was assassinated two months later, [in April after feb 1999 visit to Niger by Wissam al-Zahawie]- "A look at the U.S.-British claims that Iraq tried to acquire uranium in Africa," AP, SEPT 21, 2003

APRIL 1999 : (NIGER : MILITARY JUNTA LED BY MAJOR DAOUDA WANKE TAKES POWER) A few days after the assassination of Ibrahim Bare Mainassara, a military junta headed by Major Daouda Wanke took power. They pledged to hold civilian elections by the end of the year. - "On this Day 9 April 1999: President of Niger 'killed in ambush,' BBC News

APRIL 9, 1999 : (NIGER : ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT MAINASSARA) The president of Niger, Ibrahim Bare Mainassara, has been shot dead in an apparent coup attempt. However, his death has been described as a "tragic accident" by the prime minister [Ibraim Assane Mayaki] of the west African state. But diplomats from Niger, based in the neighbouring country of Burkina Faso, said Mr Mainassara was ambushed and shot by mutinying troops as he tried to flee the country. The diplomats said they had been told by colleagues in Niger that the uprising began shortly after sunrise when soldiers swarmed on to the streets of the capital, Niamey. Troops with tanks are said to have blocked access to the presidential palace and other key locations.
In a radio broadcast Niger's Prime Minister, Ibraim Assane Mayaki , announced the country's parliament had been dissolved and that all political activity had been suspended. A government of national unity would be formed in a few days, Mr Mayaki added. It is still unclear whether forces loyal to the Mr Mayaki, were involved in the president's death.
There has been no explanation for Mr Mainassara's assassination but it follows opposition calls for him to resign after the annulment of regional elections held earlier this week. Mr Mainassara, a former army colonel, seized power in January 1996, ousting the country's first democratically elected president, Mahamane Ousmane. Mr Mainassara said he had staged the coup because Mr Ousmane had failed to address Niger's economic and political problems. Last year his government quashed several army uprisings and mutinies. The United Nations secretary-general, Kofi Annan, has reacted "with dismay" to the killing and called on Niger's leaders to work for "an early return to peace, stability and constitutional order". - "On this Day 9 April 1999: President of Niger 'killed in ambush,' BBC News

JUNE 1999 : (NIGER : BUSINESSMAN APPROACHES A FORMER NIGERIEN OFFICIAL AND ASKS FOR A MEETING, THE OFFICIAL INTERPRETED IT AS AN ATTEMPT TO DISCUSS URANIUM SALES, ACCORDING TO TENET IN 2003, CITING A REPORT BY AN OUTSIDE INVESTIGATOR THE CIA SENT TO NIGER IN 2002- FORMER AMBASSADOR WILSON WOULD LATER CLAIM TO BE THIS OUTSIDE INVESTIGATOR) An outside investigator whom the CIA sent to Niger [in 2002] reported that a former Niger official he spoke with "said that in June 1999 a businessman approached him and insisted that the former official meet with an Iraqi delegation to discuss 'expanding commercial relations' between Iraq and Niger. The former official interpreted the overture as an attempt to discuss uranium sales." This alleged June overture, trying to set up a subsequent Iraq-Niger "commercial relations" meeting, would have taken place four months after what the IAEA described as Zahawi's February 1999 "trade mission."According to a July 11 statement by CIA Director George Tenet )- "Iraqi Nuke Hawk Went to Niger," by Terence P. Jeffrey, Human Events , 8/1/03

JUNE 1999 : (NIGER : A NIGER OFFICIAL ENCOUNTERED A BUSINESSMAN SEEKING TO GET THE OFFICIAL TO MEET WITH AN IRAQI DELEGATION; THE NIGER OFFICIAL INTERPRETED IT AS AN OVERTURE TO DISCUSS URANIUM SALES) - According to CIA outside investogator -allegedly Joe Wilson- via later George Tenet statement - "Iraq's trade mission to Niger, " by Terence Jeffrey, TownHall.com, 7/23/03

AUGUST 1999 : (NIGER ADOPTS NEW CONSTITUTION AFTER REFERENDUM GRANTS AMNESTY TO THOSE INVOLVED IN COUP AGAINST FORMER PRESIDENT MAINASSARA) In August 1999 a new constitution was adopted following a referendum which granted an amnesty for those involved in the coup. - "On this Day 9 April 1999: President of Niger 'killed in ambush,' BBC News

OCTOBER 1999 : (INTEL ON INDIA INTERCEPTION OF N KOREAN MISSILE COMPONENT SHIPMENT TO PAKISTAN, MISSILE STEEL TO EGYPT, IRAN & LIBYA , EVEN CONGO, POSSIBLY INVOLVED FOR URANIUM) "….. Other recent activities by the North Koreans outlined in classified intelligence reports include: North Korea last summer tried to ship missile components to Pakistan but the ship was intercepted during a stop in India. In July, North Korea sent specialty steel with missile applications through a Chinese company in Hong Kong to Egypt, which is secretly cooperating with Pyongyang in building Scud missiles. Iranian officials recently traveled to North Korea to discuss missile cooperation. Iran is building two types of medium-range missiles, mostly with Russian and Chinese assistance. There are some signs that North Korea is assisting Libya with its efforts to develop missiles. North Koreans are helping train the Congo military and may be paid for the training with uranium ore from the African nation's Shinkolobwe mine -- where fuel for the first U.S. nuclear weapons originated….." - The Washington Times 10/28/99 Bill Gertz

OCTOBER 23, 1999 : (FORMER AMBASSADOR JOSEPH WILSON, RICHARDSON, AL AMOUDI, ROCK CREEK CORP, WESTAR) To: Shermy The Letter of The Indian Ocean

October 23, 1999
(Some) Well introduced businessmen American buinessmen who will go from November 6-14 to Addis - Abeba at the instigation of the Ethio-American Trade and Investment Council (EATIC, organization close to the government Ethiopian and directed by Gezahegn Kebede) have solid support in American administration. This visit is sponsored by Osyka Corporation, an oil firm of Texas whose president, Michael F Harness, is at the same time a member of EATIC and the National Petroleum Council, an organization charged to advise the American minister of Energie Bill Richardson. Other sponsors: F.C. Schaffer & Associates, a sugar company whose president, Mina Nedelcovych, is also the owner of Corporate Council of Africa (CCA) which assembles the active American companies in Africa.
Several companies controlled by the Saudi-Ethiopic billionaire Mohamed Hussein Al Amoudi helped with the organisation of the voyage: Westar Group, which manages the interests dof Al Amoudi in Washington and which is chaired by Derige Mekonen after being directed a long time by the banker Jeff Wilson; Sheraton of Addis-Abeba whose council of administration includes the ex - American ambassador in Ethiopia Irvin Hicks and group MIDROC Ethiopia; but also the Rock Creek Corporation, an investment company controlled by Al Amoudi and chaired since 1997 by a Lebanese businessman very connected into the power circles of Washington, Elias Aburdene. Former adviser of the Franklin Bank National in Washington DC, Aburdene at the start of his accession to the head (position) of Rock Creek Corporation hired the ex - adviser to Bill Clinton for African affairs, Joseph Wilson IV. The latter had already met Mohamed Al Amoudi in 1997 at the time of a reception organized for the World Bank by Westar Group (LAW n.794).
In addition to his responsibilities with the Rock Creek Corporation, Elias Aburdene is the executive chairman very influential National Association of Arab Americans. Alumnus of the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, he is also very active in the old networks of the university, where teaches the ex-under-secretary of State for African Affairs Chester A. Crocker and the American mediator between Ethiopia and Eritrea, former National Security Advisor of Bill Clinton Anthony Lake.

(100 posted on 06/26/2004 6:42:46 PM PDT by Shermy )

OCTOBER 31, 1999 : (EGYPT AIR FLIGHT SENT PLUMMETING INTO THE OCEAN OFF US COAST BY SUICIDAL EGYPTIAN PILOT) A suspected suicidal Muslim pilot was believed to have purposely crashed an Egypt Air Flight into the sea shortly after takeoff from New York on October 31, 1999 killing all 217 on board - "A Short History of World War IIIA Lesson of the Future.," by Sal Rosken, The Partial Observer , 2 March 2003

NOVEMBER 1999 : (NIGER : MAMADOU ELECTED PRESIDENT IN CLOSE ELECTION) a former army officer, Tandja Mamadou, was elected president after a close-run election. - "On this Day 9 April 1999: President of Niger 'killed in ambush,' BBC News

DECEMBER 26, 1999 : (BOXING DAY HOLIDAY : UK LABOUR MP GALLOWAY WAS IN IRAQ, MET WITH IRAQI INTELLIGENCE AGENT OVER GALLOWAY'S CUT OF THE OIL FOR FOOD PROGRAM) One of the documents [found by the UK Telegraph in Iraq in 2003] was a memorandum suggesting that on Boxing Day 1999 Mr Galloway met an Iraqi intelligence agent in Baghdad and laid out his demands for a larger slice of the revenue from the sale of three million barrels of oil every six months. It also purported to show him as asking for "exceptional" commercial opportunities. Saddam Hussein's office rejected these alleged requests for more money, explaining that they were unaffordable. -"I was in Iraq on day alleged in memos, admits Galloway," By Sally Pook, Daily Telegraph - UK, June 18, 2003

2000 : (LIBYA IMPORTS MORE UF6 - SLIGHTLY ENRICHED URANIUM, IT WOULD BE DISCOVERED LATER)- "UN Says Libya Made Plutonium, Imported Uranium," By Louis Charbonneau, Reuters, Fri Feb 20, 2004 04:08 PM ET

2001 : (LIBYA IMPORTS EVEN MORE UF6 - SLIGHTLY ENRICHED URANIUM, IT WOULD BE DISCOVERED LATER)- "UN Says Libya Made Plutonium, Imported Uranium," By Louis Charbonneau, Reuters, Fri Feb 20, 2004 04:08 PM ET

FEBRUARY 2000 : (1998 US EMBASSY BOMBING TRIALS, Al-QEADA, WMD, NUKES, AL-FADL) Sudanese-born Al Qaeda defector Jamal Ahmed al-Fadl testifies in the trial of 4 men accused in the bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. He revealed many details about the al Qaeda network. The 4 defendants were convicted. ("Jamal al Fadl, an al Qaeda defector who testified in the trial of four men convicted in the 1998 embassy bombings, illuminated an organization structured with bin Laden and his consultative council at the top, surrounded by committees to handle business enterprises, military training, religious policy and even publicity." -- Washington Post, 9/15/01) Al-Fadl testified that he was born and raised in Sudan, moved to the US, then moved back to Sudan in 1991 to work for an al Qaeda office in Khartoum. He decided to defect after he realized he was in trouble for having embezzled $100,000 from bin Laden's fund. He also testified that bin Laden had tried to buy uranium from black market sources for $1.5 million, presumably in an attempt to develop nuclear weapons.

MAY 2000 : (IAEA FINDS IN JORDAN A MACHINE ORDERED BY IRAQ WHICH IS RELATED TO URANIUM ENRICHMENT ) The IAEA said that in May the agency found a filament-winding machine ordered by Iraq that had arrived in Jordan. The agency said the system was part of Baghdad's clandestine uranium enrichment program. The machine and its spare parts were destroyed, the agency said..” - Source : Middle East Newsline 10/18/00

2000 summer : (AGREEMENT WHERE NIGER WAS TO PROVIDE IRAQ WITH 500 METRIC TONS OF CONCENTRATED URANIUM ORE WAS ALLEGEDLY CONCLUDED) U-S officials have acknowledged seeing documentation purporting the existence of a secret agreement concluded in the summer of 2000 under which Niger was to provide Iraq with 500 metric tons of concentrated uranium ore. - VOA News Report, V-O-A Correspondent ALEX BELIDA, 03/07/03, via http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iraq/2003/iraq-030307-2d189eab.htm

2000 : (NIGER, IRAQ STRIKE URANIUM DEAL) U-S officials said that Niger signed an agreement in 2000 to sell Iraq 500 metric tons of a concentrated form of uranium known as yellowcake.
However, Niger's former minister of Mining and Energy [Yhaya Barre (yah-HIGH-yah BAR-eh)] later responded by telling V-O-A the charges were "lies." The official said in an interview that it is the Niger government's practice to check any potential buyers of uranium against the so-called "red list" of the International Atomic Energy Agency -- adding if any nation is on the list, there would be no deal. In addition, he said any such deal could not be made without the knowledge of the French-owned company Cogema, which operates uranium mining in Niger..- VOA News Report, 3/4/03 , via http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2003/03/mil-030304-2a189293.htm.

JUNE 13, 2000 : (IRAQI 'EXPAT ORGANIZATIONS' FRONT FOR IRAQI INTELLIGENCE; ARRANGE FOR US CONGRESSIONAL TRIPS TO INFLUENCE THEIR VOTES) A group of Iraqi opposition organizations--including The Iraqi Islamic Call Party, the Iraqi Communist Party, the Kurdistan Communist Party, the Council of Iraqi Tribes, the Islamic Action Organization, and the Islamic Accord Movement--claim that Iraqi intelligence agencies have set up new "expatriates' organizations" as a cover for Baghdad's efforts to undermine genuine opposition groups. The statement, published in London's "Al-Zaman" on 13 June, adds that these groups are designed "to throw dust in people's eyes...and convince Iraqis abroad that their actions are purely humanitarian and that their only objective is to remove the blockade imposed on our people. In time, however, they revealed themselves to be offshoots of the regime's intelligence services."
The statement claimed that these groups had held an annual international conference in Copenhagen in which official figures took part and pointed out that "these associations pose a threat to Iraqis abroad and particularly to the dissidents among them, since they spy on their activities and gather information about them which is sent to Iraq and used to threaten their families that are still in the homeland."
In a possibly related matter, Shakir Al-Khafaji, head of the sixth conference of Iraqi expatriates, said that contacts are currently underway with members of the U.S. Congress to form a delegation to visit Iraq to "get acquainted with the Iraqi people's suffering as a result of the unjust embargo clamped on it," according to Baghdad Radio of 14 June. He noted that several activities to expose the war of mass annihilation waged by the U.S and Britain have been staged in Europe, and last month they organized a seminar in Michigan "in the presence of Scott Ritter...who exposed UNSCOM's relationship with the CIA and the Mossad and its role in plotting against Iraq." (David Nissman)- http://216.239.53.100/search?q=cache:j7K77nPRnEgC:www.rferl.org/iraq-report/2000/06/20-230600.html+%22Shakir+al-Khafaji%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

SEPTEMBER 2000 : (FRENCH PRIEST BENJAMIN LEADS SANCTION-BUSTING FLIGHT TO IRAQ) A diplomatic row has blown up at the United Nations over a direct flight between Paris and Baghdad. [The flight is to] to fight against an intolerable situation which condemns an innocent population to a slow agony. Flight organiser Father Jean-Marie Benjamin
About 80 French doctors, artists and sports personalities are planning to leave for Baghdad at 0800 (0600 GMT) on Friday to provide medical assistance and take part in a cultural festival.
Britain and the United States say that the French are violating UN sanctions against Iraq by not giving enough notice of the flight. However, France maintains that it is not trying to erode sanctions, but merely interpreting UN resolutions in a more liberal way than Washington and London.
The flight has been arranged by a private French group opposed to the international sanctions imposed after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. A second French group has announced plans for another flight on 29 September. Its organiser, Father Jean-Marie Benjamin, said it was "to fight against an intolerable situation which condemns an innocent population to a slow agony".
Last week Russia flew a passenger flight to Iraq carrying humanitarian aid and a number of oil executives. But it gave the UN sanctions committee a few day's notice, enabling other countries to decide whether they wanted to raise any objections. Objections However, this time, France gave the committee only a few hours' notice, arguing that it did not need the UN's approval as the flight is not commercial. Britain has formally objected to the flight, saying that it breaks the sanctions. "We objected. We don't think it is humanitarian," a British diplomat said.
US officials said they were still reviewing the situation, although they had raised similar concerns earlier in the day.
The Netherlands, which chairs the committee on the Iraqi sanctions, has asked France to delay the flight's departure.
Both France and Russia, close trading partners of Iraq before the invasion of Kuwait, want the sanctions eased and lifted.
The BBC's United Nations correspondent says the row over flights raises questions about the future of the sanctions now that such prominent countries appear increasingly willing to test the embargo's limits.
Iraq re-opened its international airport last month to enable it to receive international flights against, despite the sanctions.
In a separate development, Russia, France and Tunisia have proposed a reduction of the amount of compensation Iraq pays to Gulf war victims from 30% to 20% in order to allow more funds for humanitarian goods. The proposal comes as the UN Security Council discusses the latest UN report on the oil-for-food programme that allows Iraq to buy humanitarian goods to counter the effect of sanctions. - " French defiant on flight to Iraq," BBC, Friday, 22 September, 2000, 02:12 GMT 03:12 UK

2001 early : (ARRANGED DATE THAT NIGER WAS TO SEND SEVERAL TONS OF 'PURE URANIUM' - PROBABLY YELLOWCAKE- TO IRAQ, ACCORDING TO LATER NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE- THE NIE) the [Oct 2002] NIE says that "A foreign government service reported that as of early 2001 Niger planned to send several tons of 'pure uranium' (probably yellowcake) to Iraq. As of early 2001, Niger and Iraq reportedly were still working out arrangements for this deal, which could be for up to 500 tons of yellowcake. We do not know the status of this arrangement."
That foreign government service is of course the British, who still stand by their intelligence. In the next paragraph, the NIE goes on to say that "Reports indicate Iraq also has sought uranium ore from Somalia and possibly the Democratic Republic of the Congo." It then adds that "We cannot confirm whether Iraq has succeeded in acquiring uranium ore and/or yellowcake from these sources." This information, by the way, does not come from the White House [it reportedly comes from NIE, which is meant to be the best summary judgment of the intelligence community] - "CIA Intelligence Report Believed Niger Story was Accurate in Oct," The Wall Street Journal , July 17, 2003

JANUARY 2001 : (REPORT SURFACES SAYING IRAQI LEADER SADDAM HUSSEIN SMUGGLED WMD INTO LIBYA AS WELL AS ALGERIA & SUDAN) - an Iraqi-Kurdish doctor, Hassan Abdul Salaam, who served in the Iraqi army, claims Hussein smuggled weapons of mass destruction into Libya, as well as Algeria and Sudan. - WorldNetDaily reported in January 2001 , - "Gadhafi offers to mediate on Iraq: Libyan dictator wants 'to save international peace' ," WorldNetDaily.com , Wednesday, February 5, 2003

MARCH 2001 : (ALAN FOLEY IS APPOINTED HEAD OF THE CIA'S WEAPONS INTELLIGENCE, NONPROLIFERATION AND ARMS CONTROL aka WINPAC CENTER - HE WOULDLATER RESIGN AFTER THE WILSON/PLAME/NIGER FLAP) Alan Foley is best known today for being the "senior CIA analyst" who had the infamous conversation with Robert G. Joseph about the notorious 16 words in the President's State of the Union address from last January.
In March 2001, Foley was appointed head of the CIA's Weapons Intelligence, Nonproliferation, and Arms Control (WINPAC) Center, overseeing about 500 employees. Foley is thus the boss of Valerie Plame Wilson, who is the wife of former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV. - Seamole and Dog via William McKinley's blog

MARCH 2001 : (LIBYA'S GADAFFI ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR A UNIFIED AFRICA, WHERE NATIONAL SOVEREIGNITY WILL BE ESSENTIALLY SCRAPPED- AND LIBYA FLATTERS SOUTH AFRICA'S MBEKI BY SUGGESTING THE FIRST AU SUMMIT BE HELD IN PRETORIA) In March, Gadaffi announced plans for single a African identity and a union under which the boundaries between states would be scrapped, national armies merged and a single passport introduced. Amazingly, this vision seems to have been largely accepted by African leaders. It has also been decided that, besides the parliament, there will be a pan-African court of justice, a central bank and a common currency. Clearly with the aim of flattering Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, Gadaffi has proposed that the first AU summit should be held in Pretoria next year and should elect a president - presumably Mbeki. - Gadaffi bids to be leader of Africa, July 2001, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/492243/posts

APRIL 2001 : (NIGER : 2ND ANNIVERSARY OF MAINASSARA'S ASSASSINATION : PROTESTERS DEMAND A FULL INQUIRY) On the second anniversary of Ibrahim Bare Mainassara's death in April 2001 more than 2,000 protesters gathered in front of Niger's parliament to demand a full inquiry into his killing. - "On this Day 9 April 1999: President of Niger 'killed in ambush,' BBC News

JULY 2001 : (AFRICA : AU IS LAUNCHED AT A SUMMIT OF OAU; ITS PARLIAMENT WILL BE IN TRIPOLI, LIBYA) THE new African Union (AU), launched at a summit of the Organisation of African Unity in Lusaka last week, is to have its own parliament. Indeed, the parliament building has already been built - in Tripoli. For the idea of the AU is being driven by Colonel Muammar Gadaffi, the Libyan president. Now that his long-standing ambitions for an Arab Union have come to nothing, he is hoping to play a central role in a union of African states instead. The organisation promises to respect democracy and good governance more than the OAU ever did. The snag is that its new parliament will sit in a country that allows no opposition, no free elections, free speech or free press.
In March, Gadaffi announced plans for single a African identity and a union under which the boundaries between states would be scrapped, national armies merged and a single passport introduced. Amazingly, this vision seems to have been largely accepted by African leaders. It has also been decided that, besides the parliament, there will be a pan-African court of justice, a central bank and a common currency. Clearly with the aim of flattering Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, Gadaffi has proposed that the first AU summit should be held in Pretoria next year and should elect a president - presumably Mbeki. - Gadaffi bids to be leader of Africa, July 2001,http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/492243/posts

JULY 2001 : (PARIS, FRANCE : THREE SUSPECTS ARRESTED FOR ATTEMPTING TO SELL HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM) Abstract: Three suspects arrested in Paris in July 2001 for attempting to sell highly enriched uranium (HEU) appeared before a French court on 25 March 2003, AFP reported. The suspects had been caught with 5 g of HEU and had offered to sell "several kilos" more for 130,000 euros ($111,000 on 15 July 2001) per gram. (For more details about the initial arrest, see abstracts 20010310 and 20010550.) According to AFP, both the investigation and the hearing failed to provide any evidence that the three men were part of an organized network illegally selling enriched uranium from Eastern Europe. The article notes that the suspects "came across as mere con men." At the time of the arrest, the uranium was reported to be enriched to 80%.[source: "Police nab three suspects in France's first U-235 smuggling," Nucleonics Week, Vol. 42, No.30, 26 July 2003, p. 13; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, http://web.lexis-nexis.com.]
AFP quotes unnamed sources as saying that it is most likely from a Russian reprocessing facility. The article identified the three suspects as Frenchman Serge Salfati, 36, and Yves Ekwella, 34, and Raymond Love, 52, both citizens of Cameroon. Lobe admitted to having brought the HEU to France from Romania. However, he offered contradictory testimony both during the investigation and the hearing, leading the presiding judge to conclude that it is "impossible to establish the origin of the material and the route it followed, which gives cause for concern." A verdict in the case is scheduled to be handed down on 6 May 2003. [An additional suspect in the case was arrested in Portugal in July 2001 and will be tried separately in that country. See abstract 20020360 for details.]- Source for all above : - "France tries trio who offered enriched uranium for sale,"AFP, 25 March 2003, FBIS Document EUP20030325000506

JULY 21, 2001 : (THE DOMAIN BEATBACKBUSH.ORG IS REGISTERED; LATER THIS BECAME INTERNATIONAL A.N.S.W.E.R. - IT IS ASSOCIATED WITH RAMSEY CLARK)

AUGUST 2001 : (BIN LADEN DISCUSSES NUKES WITH PAKISTANI SCIENTISTS) : · A month before the September 11 terrorist attacks on the US, Osama bin Laden held long discussions with Pakistani nuclear scientists about making weapons of mass destruction, it is reported. http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,1284,616642,00.html

SEPTEMBER 10, 2001 : (TRUTHOUT.ORG,.COM, AND .NET IS REGISTERED BY "MARC ASH" THE DAY BEFORE THE 911 ATTACKS; WOULD PLAY ROLE IN NIGER/IRAQ/WILSON/PLAME/T J WILKINSON / URANIUM FLAP)

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 : (9/11 TERRORIST ATTACKS ON THE UNITED STATES) NOVEMBER 2001 : (KENYA : A DELEGATION OF FIVE IRAQIS WAS ARRESTED ON THEIR WAY TO EASTERN CONGO ON FAKE INDIAN PASSPORTS) - "African gangs offer route to uranium : Suspicion falls on Congo and South Africa ," by James Astill in Nairobi and Rory Carroll in Johannesburg, The Guardian UK, Wednesday September 25, 2002

NOVEMBER 7, 2001 : (ZIMBAWE : LIBYA BUYS SAFE HOUSES) Harare: Zimbabwe- Libya's President Muammar Gadaafi has bought up 20 houses in Zimbabwe which seem likely to be used as safe-houses for death squads supplied by the Libyan dictator as part of his plan to assist the man he sees as his embattled comrade in arms, President Robert Mugabe. In addition Gadaafi has bought Gracelands, the gigantic Harare mansion belonging to Grace Mugabe, the President's young wife. The house is now to become the Libyan Embassy, making it by far the biggest embassy building in Zimbabwe, dwarfing the British and American missions.
In effect Gadaafi seems to be making a bid to save Mugabe which, if successful, would create a virtual Libyan client state at the far end of Africa. Already there is evidence of direct Libyan involvement in the violence which racked Zimbabwean farms in the last ten days. Relations between Mugabe and Gadaafi have been warm for some time but it is only in the last year, as Zimbabwe's shortage of foreign exchange has caused repeated fuel cut-offs that Mugabe has several times flown to Tripoli to plead with Gadaafi for deliveries on credit.
Gadaafi, who has despaired of his efforts to play a leadership role in the Arab world, has begun to use his financial muscle to make interventions right across black Africa where he has made Zimbabwe a special case, advancing Mugabe a loan of $100 million.
……. More sinister is the fact that Gadaafi insisted on calling into conclave Harare's small community of Indian Muslims, telling them that they must assist Mugabe's plans by declaring a jihad (holy war) to throw the whites out. If they did not do this, he told the Muslim elders, he would bring in strong arm men from the Pagad movement in Cape Town with which he had close links. There has long been speculation that Gadaafi might have links to Pagad, an extremist Muslim vigilante movement often linked to bombings and murders in the Cape, including bomb attacks on US-linked enterprises such as the Planet Hollywood restaurant on the Cape waterfront, but this is the first open confirmation of the fact.
The bulk of Harare's Muslim community, consisting largely of merchants and professionals, was aghast at this demand and has failed to declare a jihad ,a failure which they believe lies behind the sudden spate of attacks on Muslim shops by Zanu-PF youths in the last ten days. For heaven's sake, said one Muslim merchant, we all do business with whites all the time. We rely on them and most of us are appalled by what Mugabe's doing. It's obvious that those youths who were sent to attack white and Muslim shops were meant to be punishing us for not complying. - It looks like Gadaafi already has his foot in the door, 11-07-01

DECEMBER 5, 2001 : (SOUTH AFRICA : FORMER FIRST LADY MARIKE DE KLERKE, WIFE OF SOUTH AFRICAN LEADER WHO HAD ONCE ANNOUNCED THE DESTRUCTION OF THE COUNTRY'S NUCLEAR WEAPONS DEVELOPMENT CAPABILITY IS, IS MURDERED) - "Ex-S.African first lady murdered," CNN.com, December 5, 2001 Ex-first lady murdered

2002 : (LIBYA IMPORTS 'URANIUM COMPOUNDS', IT WOULD BE DISCOVERED LATER) - "UN Says Libya Made Plutonium, Imported Uranium," By Louis Charbonneau, Reuters, Fri Feb 20, 2004 04:08 PM ET

JANUARY 2002 : (BRITISH DISCOVER THAT SCUD MISSILES FROM CHINA WERE BEING SMUGGLED INTO LIBYA THROUGH BRITAIN) In July 2001, the British government restored diplomatic relations with Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi, convinced that he wanted to rejoin the “international community.” Six months later, the British discovered that SCUD missiles capable of hitting targets in Europe with chemical or biological warheads were being smuggled to Libya through Britain from China. The British have now convinced President Bush that Gadhafi has changed for the better and that he is really going to give up his weapons of mass destruction, or WMD, programs. - "Libya's Propaganda Ploy," By Cliff Kincaid , Accuracy in Media, January 16, 2004

FEBRUARY 2002 : (CIA ALLEGEDLY SENDS OPERATIVE TO NIGER - AMBASSADOR WILSON- RECOMMENDED FOR THE TRIP BY HIS WIFE, VALERIE PLAME)

MARCH 2002 : (ZIMBABWE : MUGABE'S CONTROVERSIAL VICTORY IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS) -- "Libya threatens to cut fuel supplies over debt," http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/665267/posts

APRIL 2002 : (ZIMBABWE : LIBYANS HAVE BEEN ALLOCATED ZIMBABWE FARMS IN EXCHANGE FOR LIBYAN OIL & CASH; FARMS HAVE BEEN TAKEN FROM WHITE ZIMBAWEANS BY FORCE, ZIMBABWE NOW IMPOVERISHED BY MUGABE'S DESTRUCTIVE RULE AND FOR ALL PRACTICAL PURPOSES, MORTGAGED TO LIBYA) Mugabe has been increasingly isolated by the world in the wake of his controversial victory in last month's presidential election amid reports that Zimbabwe is virtually mortgaged to Libya in exchange for oil and money. The Libyans are said to have been allocated farms by the government. No official comment could be obtained from the Libyan ambassador, Mahmoud Azabi, who was said by his office to be out of the country. Reports in the State-controlled Herald yesterday said Libya was now providing 70 percent of Zimbabwe fuel imports. A 12-month US$330 million (Z$18,15 billion) oil deal signed by Mugabe and Gaddafi last year for Libya to supply Zimbabwe with oil expires in two months' time and Mugabe was reportedly anxious to secure an extension to avert another crisis in the tense period after the presidential poll. "The bottom line is that Libya has been unable to get the products promised by Mugabe when the deal was sealed," another source said. "That is why Mugabe had to go and plead with Gaddafi." The deal, under which Gaddafi supplied oil in exchange for land, agricultural produce and stakes in key enterprises in the tourism sector, helped Mugabe reduce the magnitude of the crippling fuel crisis which started in October 1999. With the exception of Gaddafi, the rest of the world's suppliers had stopped oil supplies to Zimbabwe due to non-payment. *** -- "Libya threatens to cut fuel supplies over debt," http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/665267/posts

MAY 10, 2002 : (REPORT : SOUTH AFRICA HAS BEEN SELLING ALUMINUM TUBES TO IRAQ; SOUTH AFRICAN EMBASSY OFFICIAL IN JORDAN PLAYED MIDDLEMAN) "Well, Mr Mandela's country has been busy selling aluminium tubes for uranium enrichment centrifuges to Saddam. The first secretary of the South African embassy in Jordan is serving as the local sales rep to Iraqi procurement agents. Thanks to these sterling efforts, they're bringing significantly closer the day when the entire Middle East, much of Africa and even Europe will be under the Saddamite nuclear umbrella and thus safe from Bush's aggression." - Mark Steyn, Spectator, MAy 10, 2002 via "SA reportedly assisting Iraq with nuclear weapons - DA requests clarity from govt," October 8, 2002 , http://www.woza.co.za/oct02/da08.htm

AUGUST 8, 2002 : (UNITED NATIONS : PROTEST OF LIBYA'S NOMINATION TO BE CHAIRMAN OF THE UN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS) A leading human rights organization has appealed to African nations to reverse their decision to nominate Libya as the next chairman of the Geneva-based U.N. Commission on Human Rights. "Countries with dreadful rights records should never be in charge of chairing the Commission on Human Rights," Rory Mungoven, global advocacy director for New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), said Thursday. "Libya's long record of human rights abuses clearly does not merit such a reward," he added. But a spokesman for the Libyan Mission to the United Nations refuted the charges made by HRW. "They are entitled to their opinion," he told IPS. "Ours is an open society. We have nothing to hide and we are not in violation of human rights," he added. Moreover, he said, Libya's nomination had been endorsed at the highest levels of government - at a summit meeting of more than 50 African leaders in Durban, South Africa last month. The original decision to nominate Libya was taken by the U.N.'s African regional group, comprising all 54 African members. It was reaffirmed by heads of state attending the recently concluded inaugural summit of the new African Union (AU), the successor to the now-defunct Organisation of African Unity (OAU) .- "Group Faults Libya's Nomination to Head U.N. Commission on Human Rights," IPS, August 9, 2002

AUGUST 2002 : (LIBYA USING IRAQI SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS IN ITS EFFORT TO JOIN NUCLEAR CLUB) But in the last month, Western intelligence agencies gained details of Khadafy's latest adventure - his bid to join the Nuclear Club. At first, intelligence analysts suspected that Egypt was helping him in this project. But now it is certain that Iraqi scientists and engineers, who developed their expertise in the last 25 years under Khadafy, are leading the underground Libyan effort. - "NOW KHADAFY CLOSING IN ON NUKE CAPABILITY: SHARON," by URI DAN, New York Post , 9/08/02

SEPTEMBER 2002 : (ISRAEL : SHARON SAYS LIBYA HAS BEEN DEVELOPING NUCLEAR WEAPONS CAPABILITY AND MAY ACQUIRE NUCLEAR WEAPONS BEFORE IRAQ) LIBYA'S Colonel Moammar Khadafy has been secretly developing nuclear-weapons capability and may acquire it before Iraq. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon disclosed this less-than-heartwarming news in interviews before last week's Rosh Hashanah holiday weekend. But he added, "Israel may be the best-prepared country in the world against the danger of a chemical or biological offensive."
This was his message to Israeli citizens, who are already discussing on a daily basis the possibility that Saddam Hussein may launch warheads containing smallpox or anthrax at them as a last resort once the Bush administration moves to dethrone him.
But the threat of Libya is not well known - in part because Khadafy has tried hard to clean up his act. After being forced, by U.S.-led sanctions, to indirectly admit complicity in the Lockerbie airliner sabotage, the dictator in Tripoli denounced terrorism.
He tried to hire a Washington lawyer to get Libya removed from the U.S. list of terror-sponsoring nations. He nearly succeeded - since the State Department during the Clinton administration conveyed discreet messages to then-Israeli-prime-minister Ehud Barak's government that Khadafy had "endorsed Yasser Arafat's peace process."
Sharon said a secret weapons effort "is taking place in Iraq, and a similar process is going on in Libya - which probably will turn out to be the first Arab state with weapons of mass destruction." Other countries are helping Khadafy, but the extent of the assistance is not clear, Sharon said. "It may be that there is assistance from Pakistan, as Iran had [in nuclear weapons development]," the prime minister warned. "But for sure, there is assistance from North Korea." - "NOW KHADAFY CLOSING IN ON NUKE CAPABILITY: SHARON," by URI DAN, New York Post , 9/08/02

SEPTEMBER 9, 2002 : (EGYPT & LIBYA JOINT SPY SATELLITE PROGRAM) CAIRO [MENL] -- Egypt wants Libya to help fund a joint program for the manufacture and launch of a spy satellite. Officials said the Egyptian request is being discussed with Tripoli as part of the current talks on scientific cooperation. Last month, the Egyptian-Libyan Committee for Scientific Research examined a proposed joint fund to finance joint research programs. The Egyptian official Middle East News Agency reported that the discussions in Tripoli covered several subjects including remote-sensing satellites and space projects. The agency said the committee meeting was chaired by Egyptian Higher Education Minister Mofid Shihab and Libya's Matouk Mohammed Matouk. The Libya heads the Libyan People's Committee for Scientific Research. Officials said the committee is meant to implement agreements already signed for space cooperation and remote-sensing. They said the cooperation is meant to be limited to civilian rather than limited issues. - "EGYPT, LIBYA DISCUSS JOINT SPY SATELLITE," http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2002/september/09_11_1.html

OCTOBER 2002 : (2004 REPORT SAYS ABDUL QADEER KHAN HAS PAKISTANI AIRCRAFT STOP IN SYRIA TO PICK UP IRAQI "WMD MATERIAL" FOR SAFEKEEPING IN PAKISTAN) Pakistani sources claim that there has been another bombshell in the admissions of guilt made by Khan's colleagues and juniors, who are still under custody and questioning. They are reported to have stated that during his over 40 visits to Dubai in the last three years, he had met Iraqi intelligence officials who sought his help in having some of the weapons of mass destruction (WMD) material of Iraq airlifted from Syria to Pakistan for being kept in safe custody there to prevent their falling into the hands of the UN inspectors. Khan allegedly agreed to their request. According to them, in October,2002, Khan had a Pakistani aircraft, which had gone to Iran to deliver some equipment, stop in a Syrian airport on its way back . It picked up the Iraqi WMD "material" and brought it to Pakistan for safe custody on behalf of Iraq. It is not clear what did they mean by material---only documents or something more? http://saag.org/papers10/paper916.html

2003 : (SPIES : USAF MASTER SERGEANT REGAN CONVICTED OF SPYING; WAS INITIALLY ACCUSED OF PASSING CLASSIFIED INFO TO LIBYA, IRAQ & CHINA ; HE WAS ACQUITTED OF SPYING FOR LIBYA EVEN THOUGH HIS COMPUTER CONTAINED A LETTER TO GADHAFI OFFERING SATELITE INTEL, AND CONFIDENTIAL DOCS ABOUT LIBYA'S BIOWARFARE PROGRAM) Regarding Gadhafi’s latest offer, recall that retired 38-year-old former Air Force Master Sergeant Brian P. Regan, who was working at the National Reconnaissance Office, the NRO, was convicted of spying last year. The NRO operates U.S. government spy satellites. Regan, who had a top-secret security clearance, was initially accused of passing classified documents and photos to Libya. Experts speculated that Libyan intelligence was interested in U.S. overhead coverage and reporting of Libya’s WMD programs. Curiously, Regan was acquitted of spying for Libya, but was convicted of trying to sell classified information to Saddam Hussein and Communist China. Yet his computer contained a letter to Gadhafi offering satellite intelligence that could help Libya hide its WMD programs. Regan also had confidential documents about Libya's biological warfare program. - "Libya's Propaganda Ploy," By Cliff Kincaid , Accuracy in Media, January 16, 2004

2003 : (LIBYA : LIBYA PROVIDES ALAMOUDI WITH CASH) More recently, Gadhafi’s regime was caught providing American Muslim activist Abdurahman Alamoudi with $340,000 in cash. - "Libya's Propaganda Ploy," By Cliff Kincaid , Accuracy in Media, January 16, 2004

FEBRUARY 2003 : (LIBYA & ZIMBABWE) In recent years, Gadhafi has worked to strengthen his alliance with Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe with an eye toward gaining more influence in Africa. Citing intelligence sources, WND reported Gadhafi and Mugabe struck a deal in which Libya would support Mugabe's expulsion of white farmers and seizure of their property in exchange for a piece of Zimbabwe's lucrative mining industry and a chance to build African clout. The deal apparently paid off. African nations recently threw their weight behind Libya, helping to elect it as the chairman of the United Nations Human Rights Commission over U.S. objections. Libya's Najat al-Hajjaji will now preside over the commission's next review of human rights around the world. - "Gadhafi offers to mediate on Iraq: Libyan dictator wants 'to save international peace' ," WorldNetDaily.com , Wednesday, February 5, 2003

APRIL 2003 : (BOLTON, SUBTLE AS EVER, WARNS SYRIA, LIBYA & IRAN ABOUT WMD) "...In the interview, Bolton said he hoped the removal of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from power would send a message to Libya, Syria and Iran. "We are hoping that the elimination of the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein and the elimination of all of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction would be important lessons to other countries in the region particularly Syria, Libya, and Iran, that the cost of their pursuit of weapons of mass destruction is potentially quite high." - U.S.: Libyan pursuit of nukes increases UPI ^ | April 6, 2003 | Eli J. Lake

SEPTEMBER 12, 2003 : (UN LIFTS SANCTIONS ON LIBYA - BUT LIBYA WOULD LATER BE CAUGHT IMPORTING MATERIALS FOR ITS WMD PROGRAM) THE 13-0-2 VOTE to lift the arms embargo and ban on flights to Libya was more symbolic than substantive because the sanctions have been indefinitely suspended for over four years. The council imposed the sanctions in 1992 to force Libya to hand over two indicted men for trial in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jet over Lockerbie, Scotland. Once they were turned over in April 1999, the council suspended the sanctions indefinitely — but Libya had pressed for the embargoes to be lifted to restore its standing in the international community. - Source: - "U.N. Lifts Sanctions Against Libya," MSNBC , 9/12/03, http://www.msnbc.com/news/965122.asp?0na=x210n430-&cp1=1

OCTOBER 2003 : (AFTER GETTING CAUGHT IN THE ACT BY THE INTERDICTION OF WMD-RELATED CARGO DESTINED FOR LIBYA, LIBYA PERMITS THE CIA TO INSPECT HIS WEAPONS FACILITIES) In October, after the WMD interdiction, the Libyan strongman permitted the CIA to inspect his facilities on the ground U.S. inspectors were "surprised at how much they were able to see and surprised by how far Gadhafi had gotten, incidentally, in moving ahead on his weapons programs," Kristol said. From that point, disarmament negotiations "moved quickly," he added. - "U.S. Intercepted Libyan WMDs," by Limbacher, NewsMax 12/21/03

DECEMBER 2003 : (LIBYA ANNOUNCES IT IS SCRAPPING ITS WMD PROGRAMS AND INVITED THE US, UK AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS IN TO HELP IT DISARM) In December, Libya said it was scrapping its nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programs and invited U.S., British and international experts to help it disarm. - "UN Says Libya Made Plutonium, Imported Uranium," By Louis Charbonneau, Reuters, Fri Feb 20, 2004 04:08 PM ET

DECEMBER 2003 : (LIBYA'S CHANGE IN POLICY SPURRED ON BY INTERDICTION OF SHIP & EXPOSURE OF THEIR WMD PROGRAM) While many analysts are crediting the U.S.'s capture of Saddam Hussein for the decision by Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi to change his ways, it was actually the discovery by U.S. intelligence of a cache of Libya's WMDs that convinced the duplicitous dictator that the jig was up. According to Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol, "One thing that pushed Gadhafi over the top in making this deal was that we intercepted a ship on the high seas sometime in the summer or early fall that had weapons of mass destruction components being shipped to Libya." Kristol told Fox News Sunday that the WMD seizure, which has gone unreported till now, was "the final straw in convincing Gadhafi that he wasn't going to get away with advancing his nuclear and other programs." In October, after the WMD interdiction, the Libyan strongman permitted the CIA to inspect his facilities on the ground U.S. inspectors were "surprised at how much they were able to see and surprised by how far Gadhafi had gotten, incidentally, in moving ahead on his weapons programs," Kristol said. From that point, disarmament negotiations "moved quickly," he added. - "U.S. Intercepted Libyan WMDs," by Limbacher, NewsMax 12/21/03