Clinton first linked al Qaeda to Saddam
By Rowan Scarborough
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
The Clinton administration talked about firm evidence linking Saddam Hussein's regime to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network years before President Bush made the same statements.
The issue arose again this month after the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States reported there was no "collaborative relationship" between the old Iraqi regime and bin Laden.
Democrats have cited the staff report to accuse Mr. Bush of making inaccurate statements about a linkage. Commission members, including a Democrat and two Republicans, quickly came to the administration's defense by saying there had been such contacts.
In fact, during President Clinton's eight years in office, there were at least two official pronouncements of an alarming alliance between Baghdad and al Qaeda. One came from William S. Cohen, Mr. Clinton's defense secretary. He cited an al Qaeda-Baghdad link to justify the bombing of a pharmaceutical plant in Sudan.
http://tinyurl.com/rqe3h
This was the first time I have ever watched Bill Clinton do an interview. The first few minutes I came to the conclusion that Clinton would be a perfect used school bus salesman for "Chocolate" Ray Nagin.
Buy this bus and I will throw in a couple of boat paddles.........
New York -- A U.S. Federal Grand Jury in New York on Nov. 5 issued an indictment against Usama Bin Laden alleging that he and others engaged in a long-term conspiracy to attack U.S. facilities overseas and to kill American citizens.
The indictment noted that Al Qaeda, Bin Laden's international terrorist group, forged alliances with the National Islamic Front in Sudan and with the government of Iran and with its associated group Hezballah to "work together against their perceived common enemies in the West, particularly the United States."
Additionally, the indictment states that Al Qaeda reached an agreement with Iraq not to work against the regime of Saddam Hussein and that they would work cooperatively with Iraq, particularly in weapons development.
Terror chief 'offered asylum' in Iraq? US says dealings step up danger of chemical weapons attacks
By Julian Borger in Washington Saturday February 6, 1999 The Guardian
The Western nightmare: Saddam and Bin Laden versus the world
Even before the embassy bombings in Africa, US special forces had been rehearsing daring 'grab raids' aimed at fighting their way into Mr Bin Laden's mountain lair in Afghanistan and either abducting or assassinating him. But such an operation would almost certainly involve high American casualties and - like missile attacks - would require highly accurate information about the whereabouts of Mr Bin Laden.