Posted on 10/14/2014 8:07:35 PM PDT by ironman
The United States had gone to war declaring it must destroy an active weapons of mass destruction program. Instead, American troops gradually found and ultimately suffered from the remnants of long-abandoned programs, built in close collaboration with the West.
The New York Times found 17 American service members and seven Iraqi police officers who were exposed to nerve or mustard agents after 2003. American officials said that the actual tally of exposed troops was slightly higher, but that the governments official count was classified. The secrecy fit a pattern. Since the outset of the war, the scale of the United States encounters with chemical weapons in Iraq was neither publicly shared nor widely circulated within the military. These encounters carry worrisome implications now that the Islamic State, a Qaeda splinter group, controls much of the territory where the weapons were found.
The American government withheld word about its discoveries even from troops it sent into harms way and from military doctors. The governments secrecy, victims and participants said, prevented troops in some of the wars most dangerous jobs from receiving proper medical care and official recognition of their wounds.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I do indeed. One becomes accustomed to political posturing turning on a dime when convenient but this was something a bit new to me, and, frankly, even the UN seemed a little nonplussed at the sudden change in emphasis.
That stuff eventually ended up in Oak Ridge, TN, IIRC. And promptly went down the memory hole. This entire story poses as an indictment of Bush and the Pentagon but it's really an indictment of the media who could have told us about all this but chose instead to minimize the political impact by marginalizing the stories.
Actually, if you mean Joe Wilson - the NOT CIA agent sent to NIger by his wife’s CIA group - he reported that Iraq was sniffing around for supplies, but that they hadn’t BOUGHT any from the GOVERNMENT of Niger, and that the government was concerned that some of the mines might sell yellowcake to the Iraqis on their own.
My guess was that it was a guess, not known that that was where they went.
The article says these are chemical shells manufactured before 1991. Saddam had used them on both Iran and the Kurds prior to Gulf War I and I don’t remember anyone disputing that they existed.
Artillery shells are a threat to someone in range of a howitzer but I fail to see how they constituted an existential threat to anyone 20 miles beyond the Iraq border.
To justify Gulf War II we were told that Saddam also had biological weapons, anthrax in particular, and was building nuclear weapons along with ballistic missiles. Biological and nuclear weapons are WMDs that can threaten the US. But chemical artillery rounds? You have to be kidding.
I’m not nearly as threatened by Anthrax today either. You can take medication for it. It’s not a life threatening thing if treated properly. (as I understand it)
I’ll grant you that your comments are reasoned. There are chemical weapons being used by ISIS right now that burns the skin though. They say they found it in Iraq.
Are those the types of weapons one might think of as a WMD? Perhaps not. One of those shells emptied and the contents disbursed in a metropolitan city, could cause a lot of disruption.
If it was split up and disbursed over four or five locations, it could affect hundreds of thousands of people.
That still seems to me to be something worth preventing.
We see how easy it is for people with EBOLA to come here. What’s to stop someone with a talcum powder canister full of Anthrax from getting in?
Wilson’s case wasn’t that he had inspected the country, because in fact he never got out of the capital to inspect anything.
It was that IAEA inspections and French control made it impossible for uranium smuggling to take place.
Later we found out that IAEA doesn’t inspect yellow-cake. Yellow-cake producing countries were requested to self-report. And in any case, Niger national law didn’t allow IAEA inspectors to enter the country.
That, and we found out that Libya’s yellow-cake was smuggled in from Niger.
I noticed that Putin was oddly supportive of Bush at various times. And I noticed that when Bush’s administration criticized the Russians that Putin seemed to take it personally.
And I notice that Saddam’s generals seem to have believed that chemical weapons were available and would be used.
So yes, I believe Putin convinced Saddam to let him smuggle the weapons out making them unavailable for use. That he did it as a favor which neither Bush nor Putin could ever publicly acknowledge.
I had forgotten the Libya yellowcake part. thanks for the reminder.
It’s spin. The statement is that since these were all old weapons, Bush’s rationale for invading was invalid. Neither one of these is actually true: the article admits that Saddam was actively procuring precursors prior to the invasion, and that was NOT Bush’s rationale for invading in any case.
Thanks but why would the Pentagon suppress this news and why would Bush not use the bully pulpit to expose the liars in the media? ( admittedly tougher than it sounds)
So Bush DID lie about weapons of mass destruction. They found them and kept quiet about it.
“We see how easy it is for people with EBOLA to come here. Whats to stop someone with a talcum powder canister full of Anthrax from getting in?”
They could send it through the mail if it was packaged well enough. Sniffers were installed in mail processing equipment to detect threats but if no trace is leaking out it will just go on through. ISIS can pick up their package after they fly in on a student visa or walk across the Rio Grande.
“There are chemical weapons being used by ISIS right now that burns the skin though. They say they found it in Iraq.”
That’s easy to believe and it is almost certainly these old artillery shells.
One reason that shell caches like this one still exist is because Rumsfeld went in too light. We didn’t have the troops to secure our rear and Iraqis behind the front were able to spirit off whatever they wanted.
There’s also the problem that Saddam’s people weren’t all that great at keeping records of their weapons and where they were stored.
So God knows how many of these chem shells are floating around Iraq. But I’m sure ISIS will do their best to give the world a good idea.
Yellowcake is unprocessed uranium ore. It is more than 99% U-238 which is not useful for a bomb. You build bombs with U-235. The less than 1% U-235 found in yellowcake needs to be extracted through gas diffusion or centrifuges like what Iran is currently using. And the U-235 needs to be concentrated to a level of 90%.
If Saddam had been processing yellowcake we would have found miles of gas diffusion tubing or labs full of gas centrifuges. If anything of that sort was found it has never been made public.
Great questions. Some of it was OPSEC, that is, you don't want to announce a fresh cache find in the middle of a shooting war. Some of it, I've always suspected but cannot prove, was that by the time it was safe for Bush to use the news, the media dismissed it and he just was too tired to fight against that stream of inveterate hostility for nothing more than a reputation - recall that by then he wasn't running for anything.
There is a far darker reason why it remained suppressed after he left office - merely, I think, to keep the lie alive and protect 0bama's reputation and intention to close down the Iraq deployment. Yes, good people suffered for that. The current administration doesn't care, as its disgraceful performance with respect to the VA demonstrates.
It's still entirely possible to marginalize and dismiss the clear proof that Iraq still had a very impressive cache of chemical weapons - that's what this story is all about, that's the bounce it's been spun to take. Just my $0.02.
The 90’s:
Saddam’s Fingerprints on NY Bombing
June 28, 1993. The Wall Street Journal. Laurie Mylroie
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1115387/posts
“His regime threatens the safety of his people, the stability of his region, and the security of all the rest of us.
What if he fails to comply, and we fail to act, or we take some ambiguous third route which gives him yet more opportunities to develop this program of weapons of mass destruction and continue to press for the release of the sanctions and continue to ignore the solemn commitments that he made?
Well, he will conclude that the international community has lost its will. He will then conclude that he can go right on and do more to rebuild an arsenal of devastating destruction.
And some day, some way, I guarantee you, he’ll use the arsenal.”
President Clinton
Address to Joint Chiefs of Staff and Pentagon staff
February 17, 1998
http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/02/17/transcripts/clinton.iraq/
“In the next century, the community of nations may see more and more the very kind of threat Iraq poses now — a rogue state with weapons of mass destruction ready to use them or provide them to terrorists, drug traffickers or organized criminals who travel the world among us unnoticed.
If we fail to respond today, Saddam and all those who would follow in his footsteps will be emboldened tomorrow by the knowledge that they can act with impunity, even in the face of a clear message from the United Nations Security Council and clear evidence of a weapons of mass destruction program.”
President Clinton
Address to Joint Chiefs of Staff and Pentagon staff
February 17, 1998
http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/02/17/transcripts/clinton.iraq/
“No one has done what Saddam Hussein has done, or is thinking of doing. He is producing weapons of mass destruction, and he is qualitatively and quantitatively different from other dictators.”
Madeleine Albright, President Clinton’s Secretary of State
Town Hall Meeting on Iraq at Ohio State University
February 18, 1998
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9802/18/town.meeting.folo/
“Iraq is a long way from Ohio, but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face.”
Madeleine Albright, President Clinton’s Secretary of State
Town Hall Meeting on Iraq at Ohio State University
February 18, 1998
http://www.fas.org/news/iraq/1998/02/20/98022006_tpo.html
“Imagine the consequences if Saddam fails to comply and we fail to act. Saddam will be emboldened, believing the international community has lost its will. He will rebuild his arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. And some day, some way, I am certain, he will use that arsenal again, as he has ten times since 1983.”
Sandy Berger, President Clinton’s National Security Advisor
Town Hall Meeting on Iraq at Ohio State University
February 18, 1998
http://www.fas.org/news/iraq/1998/02/20/98022006_tpo.html
“Dear Mr. President: ... We urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraq sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq’s refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs.”
Sincerely,
Carl Levin, Joe Lieberman, Frank R. Lautenberg, Dick Lugar, Kit Bond, Jon Kyl, Chris Dodd, John McCain, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Alfonse D’Amato, Bob Kerrey, Pete V. Domenici, Dianne Feinstein, Barbara A. Mikulski, Thomas Daschle, John Breaux, Tim Johnson, Daniel K. Inouye, Arlen Specter, James Inhofe, Strom Thurmond, Mary L. Landrieu, Wendell Ford, John Kerry, Chuck Grassley, Jesse Helms, Rick Santorum.
Letter to President Clinton
Signed by Senators Tom Daschle, John Kerry and others
October 9, 1998
http://www.iraqwatch.org/government/US/Letters,%20reports%20and%20statements/levin-10-9-98.html
The Clinton Justice Department’s indictment against OBL in federal court which mentions the terrorist’s connections to Iraq.
November 4, 1998. The federal indictment
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/985906/posts?page=30#30
Regime change in Iraq has been official US policy since 1998:
The Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 (sponsored by Bob Kerrey, John McCain, and Joseph Lieberman, and signed into law by President Clinton) states:
“It should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime.”
Iraq Liberation Act of 1998
105th Congress, 2nd Session
September 29, 1998
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iraq/1998/980929-in2.htm
Iraq and AQ agree to cooperate. The federal indictment against OBL working in concert with Iraq and Iran is mentioned.
November 1998. The New York Times
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/985906/posts
UN weapons inspectors were forced to leave Iraq in 1998:
CNN
November 5, 1998
U.N. Security Council votes to condemn Iraq
The United Nations Security Council late Thursday voted unanimously to condemn Iraq and to demand that Baghdad immediately resume cooperation with U.N. weapons inspectors. Baghdad has already said it will not comply.
The resolution called Iraq’s decision last week to halt cooperation with the U.N. Special Commission a “flagrant violation” of the 1991 resolution on Iraqi disarmament. It is the 45th U.N. resolution involving Iraq since the country invaded Kuwait in 1990.
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/meast/9811/05/un.iraq.02
America is threatened by an “unholy axis”:
“We must exercise responsibility not just at home, but around the world. On the eve of a new century, we have the power and the duty to build a new era of peace and security.
We must combat an unholy axis of new threats from terrorists, international criminals, and drug traffickers. These 21st century predators feed on technology and the free flow of information... And they will be all the more lethal if weapons of mass destruction fall into their hands.
Together, we must confront the new hazards of chemical and biological weapons and the outlaw states, terrorists, and organized criminals seeking to acquire them. Saddam Hussein has spent the better part of this decade and much of his nation’s wealth not on providing for the Iraqi people but on developing nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and the missiles to deliver them.”
President Clinton
State of the Union address
January 27, 1998
http://clinton5.nara.gov/textonly/WH/SOTU98/address.html
http://www.usemb.ee/union98.php3
“Heavy as they are, the costs of action must be weighed against the price of inaction. If Saddam defies the world and we fail to respond, we will face a far greater threat in the future. Saddam will strike again at his neighbors; he will make war on his own people. And mark my words, he will develop weapons of mass destruction. He will deploy them, and he will use them.”
President Clinton
National Address from the Oval Office
December 16, 1998
http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/New/html/19981216-3611.html
http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1998/12/16/transcripts/clinton.html
“As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, I am keenly aware that the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons is an issue of grave importance to all nations. Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process.”
Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (Democrat, California)
Statement on US Led Military Strike Against Iraq
December 16, 1998
http://www.house.gov/pelosi/priraq1.htm
Saddam reaching out to OBL
January 1, 1999. Newsweek
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1158277/posts
ABC news reports on the Osama/Saddam connections
January 14, 1999. ABC News
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1229608/posts?page=1
Osama and Saddam Work Together
January 27, 1999. Laurie Mylroie interview. She is a former Clinton terrorism czar.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1158482/posts
A Much Shunned Terrorist Takes Refuge In Iraq (Abu Nidal)
New York Times. January 1999.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1433610/posts
Western Nightmare: Saddam and OBL versus the World. Iraq recruited OBL.
February 6, 1999. The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/story/0,12469,798270,00.html
Saddam’s Link to OBL
February 6, 1999. The Guardian
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/866105/posts
Saddam offered asylum to bin Laden
February 13, 1999. Associated Press
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1158274/posts
Son of Saddam coordinates with OBL.
Iraqi Special Ops coordinates with Bin Laden’s terrorist activities.
August 6, 1999. Yossef Bodansky, National Press Club
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/951911/posts
List of newspaper articles written in the 90’s which mention the world’s concern regarding the growing relationship between OBL and Saddam.
FrontPage Magazine.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/946809/posts?page=1
The Clinton View of Iraq/AQ Ties.
The Weekly Standard.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/527uwabl.asp
Deutsche Presse-Agentur. February 17, 1999, Wednesday, BC Cycle Militant Osama bin Laden is in Iraq from where he plans to launch a campaign of terrorism against Baghdad’s Gulf neighbors. The claim was made by Bayan Jabor, spokesman for the Teheran-based Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). Bin Laden “recently settled in Iraq at the invitation of Saddam Hussein in exchange for directing strikes against targets in neighboring countries,”
Associated Press Worldstream. February 14, 1999. Analysts say bin Laden’s options for asylum are limited. Iraq was considered a possible destination because bin Laden had received an invitation from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein last month. And Somalia was a third possible destination because of its anarchy and violent anti-U.S. history .
San Jose Mercury News (California). February 14, 1999 Sunday..”It’s clear the Iraqis would like to have bin Laden in Iraq,” said Vincent Cannistraro, a former head of counterterrorism operations at the Central Intelligence Agency ... Saddam has even offered asylum to bin Laden, who has expressed support for Iraq. ... (in) late December, when bin Laden met a senior Iraqi intelligence official near Qandahar, Afghanistan, there has been increasing evidence that bin Laden and Iraq may have begun cooperating in planning attacks against American and British targets around the world. Bin Laden, who strikes in the name of Islam, and Saddam, one of the most secular rulers in the Arab world, have little in common except their hatred of the United States .
The Herald (Glasgow, Scotland), December 28, 1999. Iraq tempts bin Laden to attack West. Exclusive. By: Ian Bruce, Geopolitics Editor. The world’s most wanted man, Osama bin Laden, has been offered sanctuary in Iraq if his worldwide terrorist network succeeds in carrying out a campaign of high-profile attacks on the West.
The Kansas City Star. March 2, 1999, Tuesday.. bin Laden is said to be cultivating a new alliance with Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, who has biological and chemical weapons bin Laden would not hesitate to use. An alliance between bin Laden and Saddam Hussein could be deadly. Both men are united in their hatred for the United States and any country friendly to the United States.
National Public Radio- According to Vincent Cannistraro, a former chief of CIA counterterrorism operations, a senior Iraqi intelligence official, Farouk Hijazi, sought out bin Laden in December and invited him to come to Iraq. Members of Osama’s entourage let it be known that the meeting had taken place. According to Cannistraro, Iraq invited bin Laden to live in Baghdad to be nearer to potential targets of terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. There is a wide gap between bin Laden’s fundamentalism and Saddam Hussein’s secular dictatorship. But some experts believe bin Laden might be tempted to live in Iraq because of his reported desire to obtain chemical or biological weapons.
2001:
“Dear Mr. President:
The events of September 11 have highlighted the vulnerability of the United States to determined terrorists. As we work to clean up Afghanistan and destroy al Qaeda, it is imperative that we plan to eliminate the threat from Iraq.
This December will mark three years since United Nations inspectors last visited Iraq. There is no doubt that since that time, Saddam Hussein has reinvigorated his weapons programs.
The threat from Iraq is real, and it cannot be permanently contained. For as long as Saddam Hussein is in power in Baghdad, he will seek to acquire weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them. We have no doubt that these deadly weapons are intended for use against the United States and its allies. Consequently, we believe we must directly confront Saddam, sooner rather than later.
Mr. President, all indications are that in the interest of our own national security, Saddam Hussein must be removed from power.”
Sincerely,
Congressman Harold Ford (Democrat, Tennessee)
Senator Bob Graham (Democrat, Florida)
Congressman Tom Lantos (Democrat, California)
Senator Joseph Lieberman (Democrat, Connecticut)
Senator Sam Brownback (Republican, Kansas)
Senator Jesse Helms (Republican, North Carolina)
Congressman Henry Hyde (Republican, Illinois)
Senator Trent Lott (Republican, Mississippi)
Senator John McCain (Republican, Arizona)
Senator Richard Shelby (Republican, Alabama)
Letter to President Bush
December 5, 2001
http://www.house.gov/ford/12_06_01a.htm
“Every nation has to either be with us, or against us. Those who harbor terrorists, or who finance them, are going to pay a price.”
Senator Hillary Clinton (Democrat, New York)
September 13, 2001
http://www.wavsource.com/news/20010911a.htm
Fritz Hollings mentioned on the floor of the Senate that Iraq’s state run newspaper knew exactly what was coming to the United States — in July 2001 they published an article about it.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1472699/posts?page=1
Before 9/11 (August 2001?), Saddam put his military on the highest state of readiness since the first Gulf War, goes into a bunker with his two wives (who hated each other and had never before been housed together) and does not emerge until well after 9/11.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1520824/posts?page=17#17
From the book: Saddam - King of Terror
The Iraqis, who for several years paid smaller groups to do their dirty work, were quick to discover the advantages of Al-Qaeda.
September 19, 2001. Jane’s.
http://www.janes.com/security/international_security/news/fr/fr010919_1_n.shtml
Iraq was in contact with Al Qaeda in the days preceeding 9/11 and thought to have sponsored the 911 attacks.
September 21, 2001. The Washington Times. Bill Gertz
http://www.papillonsartpalace.com/iraqS.htm
Bin Laden met Iraqi Agent.
September 28, 2001. The Miami Herald.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/534617/posts
9/11 Hijacker sought treatment for red hands (anthrax).
October 11, 2001. Palm Beach Post.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/546116/posts
Tabloid Editor rented apartment to two 9/11 hijackers. The tabloid lost a worker to anthrax.
October 15, 2001. Miami Herald.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/548061/posts
Hijackers linked to anthrax.
October 15, 2001. St. Petersburg Times.
http://www.sptimes.com/News/101501/Worldandnation/Hijackers_linked_to_t.shtml
CNN: How did Hussein intend to use the weapon, once it was completed?
HAMZA: Saddam has a whole range of weapons of mass destruction, nuclear, biological and chemical. According to German intelligence estimates, we expect him to have three nuclear weapons by 2005. So, the window will close by 2005, and we expect him then to be a lot more aggressive with his neighbors and encouraging terrorism, and using biological weapons. Now he’s using them through surrogates like al Qaeda, but we expect he’ll use them more aggressively then.
Dr. Khidhir Hamza, former Iraqi Nuclear Scientist for 20 years
Interviewed on CNN
October 22, 2001
http://www.cnn.com/2001/COMMUNITY/10/22/hamza.cnna/
German investigators link Iraq to anthrax attack.
October 26, 2001. Anova.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/780782/posts
Saddam behind first WTC attack.
October 18, 2001. Laurie Mylroie, Clinton anti-terrorism czar. PBS.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/gunning/interviews/mylroie.html
Hijacker given anthrax by Iraq
October 27, 2001. The Times.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/557446/posts
The media certainly were pushing Iraq as being connected to AQ and possibly behind 9/11 shortly after September 11, 2001. A compilation of media comments and articles:
November 17, 2003
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/984758/posts
2002:
Salman Pak. Satellite discussion about the terror camps in Iraq.
January 7, 2002. Aviation Weekly.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/865435/posts
Intercepted call links Saddam to AQ.
February 7, 2002. The Telegraph
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/837605/posts
Al Gore said last night that the time had come for a “final reckoning” with Iraq, describing the country as a “virulent threat in a class by itself” and suggesting that the United States should consider ways to oust Saddam Hussein.
The New York Times
Gore, Championing Bush, Calls For a ‘Final Reckoning’ With Iraq
February 13, 2002
http://query.nytimes.com/search/abstract?res=F10B1FFF3D5B0C708DDDAB0894DA404482
Senator John Edwards, when asked about “Axis of Evil” countries Iran, Iraq, and North Korea:
“I mean, we have three different countries that, while they all present serious problems for the United States — they’re dictatorships, they’re involved in the development and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction — you know, the most imminent, clear and present threat to our country is not the same from those three countries. I think Iraq is the most serious and imminent threat to our country.”
Senator John Edwards (Democrat, North Carolina)
During an interview on CNN’s “Late Edition”
February 24, 2002
http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0202/24/le.00.html
Report linking anthrax and 9/11 hijackers is probed.
March 23, 2002. The New York Times.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/652000/posts
Osama met with Saddam in Iraq.
March 23, 2002. The Times of India
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/746741/posts
9/11 Hijackers treated for anthrax.
March 23, 2002. The New York Times.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/652000/posts
Remember Anthrax?
April 20, 2002. The Weekly Standard.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/669487/posts
9/24/01. ABC.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/531023/posts
Hijacker treated for anthrax.
May 9, 2002. The Wall Street Journal.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/682921/posts
Atta tried to buy a cropduster.
June 6, 2002. ABC.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/695924/posts
Analysis of anthrax letters.
June 19, 2002. Instapundit.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/703075/posts?page=44#44
Freeper My Identity research on anthrax letters. Post #44.
6/20/02.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/703075/posts?page=44#44
Did Atta meet in Prague with an Iraqi government official?
June 19, 2002.
http://www.computerbytesman.com/911/praguefaq.htm
“We have not reached parity with them. We have the right to kill 4 million Americans — 2 million of them children — and to exile twice as many and wound and cripple hundreds of thousands. Furthermore, it is our right to fight them with chemical and biological weapons, so as to afflict them with the fatal maladies that have afflicted the Muslims because of the [Americans’] chemical and biological weapons.”
Islamic terrorist group “Al Qaeda”
June 12, 2002
http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP38802
“Ten years after the Gulf War and Saddam is still there and still continues to stockpile weapons of mass destruction. Now there are suggestions he is working with al Qaeda, which means the very terrorists who attacked the United States last September may now have access to chemical and biological weapons.”
James P. Rubin, President Clinton’s State Department spokesman
In a PBS documentary titled “Saddam’s Ultimate Solution”
July 11, 2002
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/saddam/
“Mr. bin Laden used to live in Sudan. He was expelled from Saudi Arabia in ‘91 and he went to the Sudan.
We’d been hearing that the Sudanese wanted America to start dealing with them again. They released him [bin Laden].
At the time, ‘96, he had committed no crime against America, so I did not bring him here because we had no basis on which to hold him, though we knew he wanted to commit crimes against America.
So I pleaded with the Saudis to take him, ‘cause they could have; but they thought it was a hot potato. They didn’t and that’s how he wound up in Afghanistan.”
Bill clinton
http://members.aol.com/n0clint0ns3/binladenoffer2xT.swf
Sunday, Aug. 11, 2002
Clinton Reveals on Secret Audio:
I Nixed Bin Laden Extradition Offer
http://www.newsmax.com/showinside.shtml?a=2002/8/12/24124
Militia Defector says Baghdad trained Al Qaeda fighters in chemical weapons.
July 14, 2002. The Sunday Times.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/743892/posts
September 11 Victims Sue Iraq.
September 4, 2002. BBC.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2237332.stm
Families sue Iraq over 9/11. Thousands of 9/11 victims and family members sue Iraq based on evidence that Iraq knew the attacks were coming, approved the attacks, and supported Al Qaeda for a decade. The lawsuit also notes Iraq’s involvement in the first WTC attack.
September 5, 2002. CBS.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/09/05/september11/main520874.shtml
“As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I firmly believe that the issue of Iraq is not about politics. It’s about national security. We know that for at least 20 years, Saddam Hussein has obsessively sought weapons of mass destruction through every means available. We know that he has chemical and biological weapons today. He has used them in the past, and he is doing everything he can to build more. Each day he inches closer to his longtime goal of nuclear capability — a capability that could be less than a year away.
I believe that Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi regime represents a clear threat to the United States, to our allies, to our interests around the world, and to the values of freedom and democracy we hold dear.
What’s more, the terrorist threat against America is all too clear. Thousands of terrorist operatives around the world would pay anything to get their hands on Saddam’s arsenal, and there is every possibility that he could turn his weapons over to these terrorists. No one can doubt that if the terrorists of September 11th had weapons of mass destruction, they would have used them. On September 12, 2002, we can hardly ignore the terrorist threat, and the serious danger that Saddam would allow his arsenal to be used in aid of terror.
The time has come for decisive action. With our allies, we must do whatever is necessary to guard against the threat posed by an Iraq armed with weapons of mass destruction, and under the thumb of Saddam Hussein.
The United States must lead an international effort to remove the regime of Saddam Hussein — and to assure that Iraq fulfills its obligations to the international community.
This is not an easy decision, and it carries many risks. It will also carry costs, certainly in resources, and almost certainly in lives. After careful consideration, I believe that the risk of inaction is far greater than the risk of action.
We must address the most insidious threat posed by weapons of mass destruction — the threat that comes from the ability of terrorists to obtain them.
The path of confronting Saddam is full of hazards. But the path of inaction is far more dangerous. This week, a week where we remember the sacrifice of thousands of innocent Americans made on 9-11, the choice could not be starker. Had we known that such attacks were imminent, we surely would have used every means at our disposal to prevent them and take out the plotters. We cannot wait for such a terrible event — or, if weapons of mass destruction are used, one far worse — to address the clear and present danger posed by Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.”
Senator John Edwards (Democrat, North Carolina)
Addressing the US Senate
September 12, 2002
http://edwards.senate.gov/statements/20020912_iraq.html
“There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein’s regime is a serious danger, that he is a tyrant, and that his pursuit of lethal weapons of mass destruction cannot be tolerated. He must be disarmed.”
Senator Edward Kennedy (Democrat, Massachusetts)
Speech at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies
September 27, 2002
http://kennedy.senate.gov/~kennedy/statements/02/09/2002927718.html
Democrats insisted on a separate war resolution as it pertains to Iraq.
Their language that they inserted into the Iraqi war resolution mentions specifically that it is known that AQ is in Iraq.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1513660/posts?page=2
“[W]e have evidence of meetings between Iraqi officials and leaders of al Qaeda, and testimony that Iraqi agents helped train al Qaeda operatives to use chemical and biological weapons. We also know that al Qaeda leaders have been, and are now, harbored in Iraq.
Having reached the conclusion I have about the clear and present danger Saddam represents to the U.S., I want to give the president a limited but strong mandate to act against Saddam.”
Senator Joseph Lieberman (Democrat, Connecticut)
In a Wall Street Journal editorial Lieberman authored titled: “Why Democrats Should Support the President on Iraq”
October 7, 2002
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110002391
“The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retained some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capability. Intelligence reports also indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons, but has not yet achieved nuclear capability.”
Robert C. Byrd
Former Ku Klux Klan recruiter, currently a US Senator (Democrat, West Virginia)
Addressing the US Senate
October 3, 2002
http://byrd.senate.gov/byrd_newsroom/byrd_news_oct2002/rls_oct2002/rls_oct2002_2.html
http://australianpolitics.com/news/2002/10/02-10-03a.shtml
http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/archive/2002/byrd100302.htm
Gephardt says lots of intelligence links OBL and Saddam.
October 6, 2002. Newsmax.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/764011/posts
Iraq War Resolution Demanded and Written and Signed by Democrats. Mentions how AQ is ALREADY IN IRAQ (despite the left trying to say the war drew AQ to Iraq)
October 2002.
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=107_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ243.107
John Kerry, while voting YES to the Resolution authorizing US military force against Iraq:
“I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force - if necessary - to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security.”
Senator John Kerry (Democrat, Massachusetts)
Addressing the US Senate
October 9, 2002
http://www.johnkerry.com/news/speeches/spc_2002_1009.html
“The global community — in the form of the United Nations — has declared repeatedly, through multiple resolutions, that the frightening prospect of a nuclear-armed Saddam cannot come to pass. But the U.N. has been unable to enforce those resolutions. We must eliminate that threat now, before it is too late.
But this isn’t just a future threat. Saddam’s existing biological and chemical weapons capabilities pose a very real threat to America, now. Saddam has used chemical weapons before, both against Iraq’s enemies and against his own people. He is working to develop delivery systems like missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles that could bring these deadly weapons against U.S. forces and U.S. facilities in the Middle East.
As the attacks of September 11 demonstrated, the immense destructiveness of modern technology means we can no longer afford to wait around for a smoking gun. September 11 demonstrated that the fact that an attack on our homeland has not yet occurred cannot give us any false sense of security that one will not occur in the future. We no longer have that luxury.
September 11 changed America. It made us realize we must deal differently with the very real threat of terrorism, whether it comes from shadowy groups operating in the mountains of Afghanistan or in 70 other countries around the world, including our own.
There has been some debate over how “imminent” a threat Iraq poses. I do believe that Iraq poses an imminent threat, but I also believe that after September 11, that question is increasingly outdated. It is in the nature of these weapons, and the way they are targeted against civilian populations, that documented capability and demonstrated intent may be the only warning we get. To insist on further evidence could put some of our fellow Americans at risk. Can we afford to take that chance? We cannot!
The President has rightly called Saddam Hussein’s efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction a grave and gathering threat to Americans. The global community has tried but failed to address that threat over the past decade. I have come to the inescapable conclusion that the threat posed to America by Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction is so serious that despite the risks — and we should not minimize the risks — we must authorize the President to take the necessary steps to deal with that threat.”
Senator John D. Rockefeller (Democrat, West Virginia)
Also a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee
Addressing the US Senate
October 10, 2002
http://www.senate.gov/~rockefeller/news/2002/flrstmt0102002.html
John Edwards, while voting YES to the Resolution authorizing US military force against Iraq:
“Others argue that if even our allies support us, we should not support this resolution because confronting Iraq now would undermine the long-term fight against terrorist groups like Al Qaeda. Yet, I believe that this is not an either-or choice. Our national security requires us to do both, and we can.”
Senator John Edwards (Democrat, North Carolina)
US Senate floor statement: “Authorization of the Use of
United States Armed Forces Against Iraq”
October 10, 2002
http://edwards.senate.gov/statements/20021010_iraq.html
“He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This he has refused to do. He lies and cheats; he snubs the mandate and authority of international weapons inspectors; and he games the system to keep buying time against enforcement of the just and legitimate demands of the United Nations, the Security Council, the United States and our allies. Those are simply the facts.”
Congressman Henry Waxman (Democrat, California)
Addressing the US Congress
October 10, 2002
http://www.house.gov/waxman/news_files/news_statements_res_iraq_10_10_02.htm
http://www.house.gov/waxman/news_files/pdfs/news_statements_res_iraq_10_10_02.pdf
“In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including Al Qaeda members...
It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons.”
Senator Hillary Clinton (Democrat, New York)
Addressing the US Senate
October 10, 2002
http://clinton.senate.gov/speeches/iraq_101002.html
CNN
October 10, 2002
House gives Bush authority for war with Iraq
The House voted 296-133 to give Bush the authority to use U.S. military force to make Iraq comply with U.N. resolutions requiring it to give up weapons of mass destruction.
http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/10/10/iraq.us
CNN
October 11, 2002
Senate approves Iraq war resolution
In a major victory for the White House, the Senate early Friday voted 77-23 to authorize President Bush to attack Iraq if Saddam Hussein refuses to give up weapons of mass destruction as required by U.N. resolutions.
http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/10/11/iraq.us
“Iraq’s search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to completely deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power.
We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country.”
Al Gore, Former Clinton Vice-President
Speech to San Francisco Commonwealth Club
September 23, 2002
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002-09-23-gore-text_x.htm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,797999,00.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/09/24/1032734161501.html
The silica used in the anthrax attacks traced to Iraq.
October 28, 2002. The Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A28334-2002Oct27¬Found=true
[
2003:
“Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime. We all know the litany of his offenses. He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation. He miscalculated an eight-year war with Iran. He miscalculated the invasion of Kuwait. He miscalculated America’s response to that act of naked aggression. He miscalculated the result of setting oil rigs on fire. He miscalculated the impact of sending scuds into Israel and trying to assassinate an American President. He miscalculated his own military strength. He miscalculated the Arab world’s response to his misconduct. And now he is miscalculating America’s response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction. That is why the world, through the United Nations Security Council, has spoken with one voice, demanding that Iraq disclose its weapons programs and disarm.
So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real, but it is not new. It has been with us since the end of the Persian Gulf War.
In U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441, the United Nations has now affirmed that Saddam Hussein must disarm or face the most serious consequences. Let me make it clear that the burden is resoundingly on Saddam Hussein to live up to the ceasefire agreement he signed and make clear to the world how he disposed of weapons he previously admitted to possessing.”
Senator John Kerry (Democrat, Massachusetts)
Speech at Georgetown University
January 23, 2003
http://kerry.senate.gov/bandwidth/cfm/record.cfm?id=189831
“I have mentioned the issue of anthrax to the Council on previous occasions and I come back to it as it is an important one.
Iraq has declared that it produced about 8,500 litres of this biological warfare agent, which it states it unilaterally destroyed in the summer of 1991. Iraq has provided little evidence for this production and no convincing evidence for its destruction.
There are strong indications that Iraq produced more anthrax than it declared, and that at least some of this was retained after the declared destruction date. It might still exist. Either it should be found and be destroyed under UNMOVIC supervision or else convincing evidence should be produced to show that it was, indeed, destroyed in 1991.”
Dr. Hans Blix, Chief UN Weapons Inspector
Addressing the UN Security Council
January 27, 2003
http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusnewsiraq.asp?NewsID=354&sID=6
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/01/27/sprj.irq.transcript.blix
“The recent inspection find in the private home of a scientist of a box of some 3,000 pages of documents, much of it relating to the laser enrichment of uranium support a concern that has long existed that documents might be distributed to the homes of private individuals. ...we cannot help but think that the case might not be isolated and that such placements of documents is deliberate to make discovery difficult and to seek to shield documents by placing them in private homes.”
Dr. Hans Blix, Chief UN Weapons Inspector
Addressing the UN Security Council
January 27, 2003
http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusnewsiraq.asp?NewsID=354&sID=6
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/01/27/sprj.irq.transcript.blix
“Iraq appears not to have come to a genuine acceptance — not even today — of the disarmament, which was demanded of it and which it needs to carry out to win the confidence of the world and to live in peace.”
Dr. Hans Blix, Chief UN Weapons Inspector
Addressing the UN Security Council
January 27, 2003
http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusnewsiraq.asp?NewsID=354&sID=6
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/01/27/sprj.irq.transcript.blix
“The nerve agent VX is one of the most toxic ever developed.
13,000 chemical bombs were dropped by the Iraqi Air Force between 1983 and 1988, while Iraq has declared that 19,500 bombs were consumed during this period. Thus, there is a discrepancy of 6,500 bombs. The amount of chemical agent in these bombs would be in the order of about 1,000 tonnes.”
Dr. Hans Blix, Chief UN Weapons Inspector
Addressing the UN Security Council
January 27, 2003
http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusnewsiraq.asp?NewsID=354&sID=6
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/01/27/sprj.irq.transcript.blix
“Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice before they strike? If this threat is permitted to fully and suddenly emerge, all actions, all words, and all recriminations would come too late. Trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not a strategy, and it is not an option.”
President Bush
State of the Union address
January 28, 2003
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030128-19.html
Freeper Backhoe’s list of links.
February 2, 2003
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/838309/posts
Colin Powell: Iraq and Al Qaeda were partners for years.
February 5, 2003. Colin Powell interview on CNN.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/05/sprj.irq.alqaeda.links/
Freeper Republic Strategist’s list of links between AQ and Iraq.
February 7, 2003
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/850346/post
Saddam and OBL Make a Pact.
February 10, 2003. The New Yorker.
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?030210fa_fact
Freeper Republican Strategist list of links.
February 24, 2003.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/850346/posts
Australia PM has lots of information regarding Iraq/AQ connections.
March 14, 2003
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/864277/posts
Spain links 9/11 suspect to Baghdad.
March 16, 2003. The Observer.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,915142,00.html
“It is the duty of any president, in the final analysis, to defend this nation and dispel the security threat. Saddam Hussein has brought military action upon himself by refusing for 12 years to comply with the mandates of the United Nations. The brave and capable men and women of our armed forces and those who are with us will quickly, I know, remove him once and for all as a threat to his neighbors, to the world, and to his own people, and I support their doing so.”
Senator John Kerry (Democrat, Massachusetts)
Statement on eve of military strikes against Iraq
March 17, 2003
http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030331&s=lizza033103
“It appears that with the deadline for exile come and gone, Saddam Hussein has chosen to make military force the ultimate weapons inspections enforcement mechanism. If so, the only exit strategy is victory, this is our common mission and the world’s cause.”
Senator John Kerry (Democrat, Massachusetts)
Statement on commencement of military strikes against Iraq
March 20, 2003
http://kerry.senate.gov/high/record.cfm?id=191582
The AQ connection to Iraq
April 12, 2003. The Weekly Standard http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/944617/posts?page=2
Saddam’s regime linked to several religious extremist groups (including AQ).
April 17, 2003. The Daily Telegraph.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/894721/posts
More evidence. Newspaper finds documents in Baghdad which directly prove the links between OBL and Saddam. The paperwork details meetings and when and where they occurred. Also found documents that Russia passed on to Iraq detailing private conversations between Blair and Italy’s Berlusconi.
April 27, 2003. The Telegraph.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2003%2F04%2F27%2Fwalq27.xml
“I think it was the right decision to disarm Saddam Hussein. And when the president made the decision, I supported him, and I support the fact that we did disarm him.”
Senator John Kerry (Democrat, Massachusetts)
During a Democratic Primary Debate at the University of South Carolina
May 3, 2003
http://www.vote-smart.org/debate_transcripts/trans_1.pdf
Wolfowitz Says Saddam behind 9/11 Attacks:
June 1, 2003. Newsweek.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/921398/posts
Oil for Food Scandal Ties Iraq and Al Qaeda.
June 20, 2003. Forward Magazine.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1125899/posts
A judge sees the documents linking OBL and Saddam.
June 25, 2003. The Tennessean.
http://tennessean.com/nation-world/archives/03/06/34908297.shtml?Element_ID=34908297
The Al Qaeda Connection with Iraq.
July 11, 2003. The Weekly Standard.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/944617/posts?page=2
List of newspaper articles written in the 90’s which mention the world’s concern regarding the growing relationship between OBL and Saddam.
July 14, 2003. FrontPage Magazine.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/946809/posts?page=1
Growing Evidence of Saddam and Al Qaeda Link.
July 16, 2003. FrontPage Magazine.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/946997/posts
What the administration said. And what they didn’t use, but could have regarding the relationship between OBL and Saddam. The Iraqi regime paid Zawahiri $300,000 in ‘98 when his Islamic jihad merged with Al Qaeda.
September 1, 2003. The Weekly Standard.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/969032/posts
Free Republic Thread that mentions books on this topic. Former CIA Director James Woolsey and other notables recommend these books as well.
September 6, 2003.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/977221/posts?page=8
Memo shows Iraq contacted OBL.
September 12, 2003. The Washington Times.
http://www.washtimes.com/world/20030912-012437-3992r.htm
Vice President Cheney lectures Russert on Iraq/911 Link
Al Qaeda sent personnel to Baghdad to get training for terrorist activities. He mentions Iraq’s involvement in the first WTC bombing in 1993.
September 15, 2003. Interview.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/982713/posts
Iraq and terrorism - no doubt about it. Specific names of Al Qaeda terrorists working in and with Iraq
September 19, 2003. National Review.
http://www.nationalreview.com/robbins/robbins091903.asp
Iraq and AQ: A Federal Judge’s Point of View
September 20, 2003
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/986293/posts
Mohammed’s Account links Iraq to 9/11 and first WTC attack:
September 22, 2003. Newsweek.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/987075/posts
Richard Miniter details the names and specific connections including the Iraqi who was involved in the first WTC bombing and lived in Iraq.
September 25, 2003. Richard Minister
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/989201/posts
The connection between Iraq and 9/11
Fox News. September 2003.
http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,97063,00.html
Saddam’s Terror Ties that Critics Ignore.
October 21, 2003. The National Review.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1005579/posts
Congressman Gephardt links Saddam with the threat of terrorists nuking US cities:
BOB SCHIEFFER, Chief Washington Correspondent:
And with us now is the Democratic presidential candidate Dick Gephardt. Congressman, you supported taking military action in Iraq. Do you think now it was the right thing to do?
REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT, D-MO, Democratic Presidential Candidate:
I do. I base my determination on what I heard from the CIA. I went out there a couple of times and talked to everybody, including George Tenet. I talked to people in the Clinton administration.
SCHIEFFER:
Well, let me just ask you, do you feel, Congressman, that you were misled?
GEPHARDT:
I don’t. I asked very direct questions of the top people in the CIA and people who’d served in the Clinton administration. And they said they believed that Saddam Hussein either had weapons or had the components of weapons or the ability to quickly make weapons of mass destruction. What we’re worried about is an A-bomb in a Ryder truck in New York, in Washington and St. Louis. It cannot happen. We have to prevent it from happening. And it was on that basis that I voted to do this.
Congressman Richard Gephardt (Democrat, Montana)
Interviewed on CBS News “Face the Nation”
November 2, 2003
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/11/03/ftn/printable581509.shtml
Osama’s Best Friend: The Further Connections Between Al Qaeda and Saddam.
November 3, 2003. The Weekly Standard
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1007969/posts
Stephen Hayes book, The Intel Links OBL and Saddam.
November 15, 2003. The Weekly Standard.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,103176,00.html
The media certainly were pushing Iraq as being connected to AQ and possibly behind 9/11 shortly after September 11, 2001. A compilation of media comments and articles:
November 17, 2003
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/984758/posts
Article with many links. How Saddam paid AQ to commit attacks against America.
November 17, 2003. FrontPage magazine.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=10848
Case Closed.
November 24, 2003. The Weekly Standard
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/378fmxyz.asp
The Terrorist behind 9/11 was trained by Saddam
December 14, 2003. The Telegraph.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1146356/posts?page=1
“Those who doubted whether Iraq or the world would be better off without Saddam Hussein, and those who believe today that we are not safer with his capture, don’t have the judgment to be President, or the credibility to be elected President.
No one can doubt or should doubt that we are safer — and Iraq is better — because Saddam Hussein is now behind bars.”
Senator John Kerry (Democrat, Massachusetts)
Speech at Drake University in Iowa
December 16, 2003
http://www.jsonline.com/news/gen/dec03/193182.asp?format=print
The Clinton View of Iraq/AQ Ties.
December 29, 2003. The Weekly Standard.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/527uwabl.asp
2004:
Saddam behind anthrax attacks?
January 1, 2004. Accuracy in Media.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1052221/posts?page=33
4:
The support of the Iraqi regime for Abdul Rahman Yasin, an Iraqi native who mixed the chemicals for the 1993 World Trade Center building. Coalition forces found a document in Tikrit several months ago that indicates the former Iraqi regime has provided Yasin housing and a monthly stipend for nearly a decade.
January 2004. FrontPage magazine.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=11946
Tape Shows General Wesley Clark linking Iraq and AQ
January 12, 2004. The New York Times.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1056113/posts
Saddam’s Ambassador to Al Qaeda.
February 23, 2004, The Weekly Standard.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1083778/posts
Article details the number of terrorists who have attacked America in the past and taken refuge in Iraq. Loaded with interesting bullet points.
March 14, 2004. Scripps Howard News Service via NewsMax.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1097521/posts?page=1
James Woolsey, former CIA Director, links Iraq and AQ. See also Posts #34 and #35.
March 23, 2004. CNN Interview
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1104121/posts
Less than two months before 9/11/01, the state-controlled Iraqi newspaper Al-Nasiriya carried a column headlined, American, an Obsession called Osama Bin Ladin. (July 21, 2001)
In the piece, Baath Party writer Naeem Abd Muhalhal predicted that bin Laden would attack the US with the seriousness of the Bedouin of the desert about the way he will try to bomb the Pentagon after he destroys the White House.
The same state-approved column also insisted that bin Laden will strike America on the arm that is already hurting, and that the US will curse the memory of Frank Sinatra every time he hears his songs an apparent reference to the Sinatra classic, New York, New York.
March 28, 2004, NewsMax
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1106657/posts?page=1
Al Qaeda’s Poison Gas
April 29,2 004. The Wall Street Journal
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110005016
Saddam Linked to 9/11.
May 11, 2004. FrontPage Magazine. Laurie Mylroie, Clinton’s anti-terrorism czar.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1133317/posts
Bush says Zarqawi killed Berg. Cites Saddam ties.
May 15, 2004. Reuters.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1136076/posts
More on Shakir. Did he meet with 9/11 planners?
May 27, 2004. The Wall Street Journal.
http://opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110005133
The Connections. Detailed.
May 28, 2004. The Weekly Standard.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1144123/posts?page=11
Saddam’s role in 9/11.
May 29, 2004. A Freeper book.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1144699/posts?page=5
Clinton mentioned how AQ was developing a relationship with Iraq. Also see Post #5.
June 1, 2004. The Miami Herald.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1145787/posts
Read into the Congressional Record regarding the ties between OBL and Saddam. (Part 1)
June 1, 2004
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?r108:42:./temp/~r1082srpxN:e0:
More read into the Congressional Record (Part 2).
June 1, 2004
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?r108:42:./temp/~r1082srpxN:e2357:
More read into the Congressional Record (Part 3).
June 1, 2004
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?r108:42:./temp/~r1082srpxN:e12612:
More read into the Congressional Record (Part 4).
June 1, 2004
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?r108:42:./temp/~r1082srpxN:e23985:
Exploring the links between 9/11 and Iraq.
June 2, 2004. CBN.com
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1146319/posts?page=1
New Iraqi Chief Links 9/11 to Saddam.
June 2, 2004. NewsMax.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1146579/posts?page=1
Pre-Bush Timeline of Saddam/OBL Ties
June 12, 2004. Freeper Blackrain4xmas research
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1152923/posts?page=1
Cheney claims Iraq/AQ connections
June 14, 2004. Associated Press
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1153781/posts?page=20
Britain insists that AQ was in Iraq pre war.
June 17, 2004. MiddleEast Online.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1155369/posts
Cheney says definite ties between Iraq/AQ and outraged at NYT Misleading Headline.
June 17, 2004. CNBC Capitol Report via Drudge
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1155520/posts?page=1
How the Networks Pretend to Ignore their own Reporting from the 1990’s.
June 17, 2004. Media Research Center
http://www.mediaresearch.org/cyberalerts/2004/cyb20040617.asp
There was a link between OBL and Saddam.
June 20, 2004. The Sunday Telegraph.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1156634/posts
9/11 Commission says prominent member of AQ served in Iraq’s militia.
June 20, 2004. Reuters.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1156957/posts
9/11 Commission reaffirms Bush administration view of Iraq/AQ ties.
June 21, 2004. RNC.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1157478/posts
How Saddam collaborated with Osama bin Laden. Interview with Stephen Hayes with excellent information.
June 23, 2004. FrontPage Magazine.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1158493/posts
The Clinton Administration first linked Saddam and OBL.
June 25, 2004. The Washington Times.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20040624-112921-3401r.htm
Documents Shows Iraq Intel Agents Met with OBL.
June 25, 2004. Associated Press.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1160146/posts
FLASHBACK: Clinton first linked al Qaeda to Saddam ^
Washington Times ^ | June 25, 2004 | Rowan Scarborough
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20040624-112921-3401r.htm
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. 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. The other pronouncement is contained in a Justice Department indictment on Nov. 4, 1998, charging bin Laden with murder in the bombings of...
More evidence of Iraq/AQ relationship.
June 25, 2004. New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/25/politics/25TERR.html?ei=5070&en=441dbd2a3bae663c&ex=1089259200&pagewanted=print&position=
Putin warned President Bush after 9/11 that Saddam Hussein planned to attack America.
June 28, 2004. Media Research Center.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1161677/posts
Freeper blog (Windsofchange) and links to 9/11 Commission report with specific references to the ways in which Iraq/AQ were connected and worked together.
July 11, 2004.
http://windsofchange.net/archives/005191.php#al-qaeda
Long List of Clinton Administration Officials who Believed There was an AQ/Iraq connection.
July 12, 2004. NewsMax.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1169397/posts
Gore, Cohen, Clinton linked AQ and Saddam.
July 15, 2004. The Daily Texan.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1165515/posts
Gore, Cohen, Clinton linked AQ and Saddam.
July 15, 2004. The Daily Texan.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1165515/posts
What the Senate Intelligence Report REALLY said about the connections between Iraq and Al Qaeda.
July 22, 2004. The Weekly Standard.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1173423/posts
The 9/11 Commission found specific connections between Iraq and AQ. Specific names and dates are given from the report.
July 22, 2004. The Daily Standard.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/354tdeij.asp
The 9/11 Commission and Iraq/AQ Connections.
July 26, 2004. The Weekly Standard.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1173008/posts
Clinton feared Iraq gave AQ chemical weapons in Sudan under a cooperative agreement they had.
July 2004. 9/11 Commission
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1087373948467
Information about Shakir, the Iraqi who met with AQ at a pre-9/11 planning meeting. Also information about the Iraqi who mixed the chemicals for the bomb of the first WTC bombing.
August 2, 2004. The Weekly Standard.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/357lnryy.asp?pg=2
Specific quotes from 9/11 Commission Report regarding links between AQ and Iraq.
July 30, 2004.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1182042/posts
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1193821/posts
Contact between OBL and Saddam are beyond dispute.
August 18, 2004. The Washington Times.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1193821/posts
List of CIA and various Reports regarding Iraq’s support for terrorists, terrorism and AQ.
September 16, 2004. The Weekly Standard.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/631slkle.asp
Kerry disputing 9/11 Commission and Senate Intelligence Reports. Actual page numbers and quotes within article of what the Reports DID say regarding the connections.
September 20, 2004. The Weekly Standard.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1214954/posts
Fox News reports that Saddam may have used Oil for Food money to fund Al Qaeda.
September 20, 2004. Fox News Channel.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,132682,00.html
Excellent resource. Pictures. Charts.
Bomber from ‘93 WTC bombing received salary from Iraq.
Salmon Pak - terrorists trained on how to use forks and knives to hijack a plane.
Iraq was Islamic terror central.
September 22, 2004. Deroy Murdock, Hoover Institute.
http://www.husseinandterror.com/
Freeper Christie’s list of links. Great chart.
September 26, 2004.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1227437/posts?page=1
Both the Senate Intelligence Committee Report and the 9/11 Commission documented the links and relationship between AQ and Iraq.
October 5, 2005. The Weekly Standard.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/731hezhy.asp?pg=2
CNSNews.com Publishes Iraqi Intelligence Docs
CNSNews ^ | October 11, 2004 | David Thibault
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1241500/posts
Osama bin Laden was considered an Iraqi Intelligence asset.
October 14, 2004. National Review.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1246505/posts
Saddam - The Terrorist’s Banker
October 15, 2004. The Scotsman
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1245719/posts
Senate Intelligence Report says Zarqawi operated out of Saddam controlled territory - Baghdad.
October 20, 2004. The Weekly Standard.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/803czhfn.asp
It looks like the 9/11 Commission got an important detail wrong. Shakir probably DID work the Iraqi Fedayeen and he had documents on him when arrested that linked him to the 1993 WTC bombing. And he drove the 9/11 hijackers to a planning meeting.
October 23, 2004. The Hoover Institute. http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1254304/posts?page=1
Saddam was the ATM to Al Qaeda.
November 16, 2004. The Weekly Standard.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=15919
CIA Agent Scheuer USED to believe there was an Iraq/AQ link. Now he just wants face time on television and is pretending there was never a link.
November 23, 2004. The Weekly Standard.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1286540/posts
Oil for Food Scandal may have funded 9/11.
December 4, 2004. NewsMax quotes The Weekly Standard.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1294424/posts?page=35
Iraqi Intelligence officers planted a sleeper cell (at least one) in the United States. The man is now under arrest and Iraqi agents are cooperating.
December 22, 2004. CBS.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1306842/posts
2005
New list by Richard Minister of the Connections Between OBL and Saddam.
February 4, 2005.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1335971/posts?page=7
Freeper book, Saddam’s Ties to Osama, great review at Amazon.
February 2005.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1335596/posts
Symposium; Experts gather to discuss relationship between Iraq/AQ
February 11, 2005. FrontPage Magazine.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=16985
It’s all about 9/11 (Iraq and OBL connections)
National Review. June 2005.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1433221/posts
The Clinton Administration’s Case Against WMD in Iraq
April 2005
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1513669/posts?page=1
The Saddam-Osama Link Confirmed.
June 20, 2005. FrontPage magazine.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1426816/posts?page=20
GOP Lawmaker Says Saddam Linked to 9/11
CNN. June 2005
http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/06/29/hayes.911/index.html
Saddam was Motel 6 to terrorist. Whole article and Post #6 complete with a picture.
NewsMax. June 2005
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1433908/posts
Thwarted Jordan WMD attack; jihadists got money and weapons from Iraq
June 30, 2005. AP
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1434136/posts?page=3#3
THESE CONNECTIONS MUST BE USED TO COUNTER THE LEFTIST SPING THAT SADDAM DIDN’T SUPPORT AL QAEDA. AN ABSOLUTE MUST READ
July 2005. The Weekly Standard.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1440001/posts
A blog with great links regarding the relationship.
July 2005.
http://www.newspundit.net/saddamalqaedawmd.html
The Pope of Terrorism
July 2005. The Weekly Standard
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/880qqeoh.asp
The Pope of Terrorism, Part II
July 2005. The Weekly Standard
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/884ygeya.asp
Saddam financially supported an AQ affiliate in Algeria
August 2005. The Weekly Standard
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1456433/posts
9/11 Commission did NOT include information they now admit they knew. In 2000, some of the 9/11 hijackers were on the radar, but Clinton did nothing.
August 2005. Philadelphia paper
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1459716/posts
Operation Able Danger. What the 9/11 Commission knew and didn’t know. What Clinton did and didn’t do.
August 2005.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1460263/posts
More on Atta in Prague, the Iraqi intel agent arrested in Germany who was linked to AQ and Ramzi Yousef’s Iraq passport (Youseff bombed the WTC in ‘93)
August 12, 2005. Captain’s Quarters
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/005200.php
9/11 Probe could highlight Iraq link to 9/11
August 2005. NewsMax
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1471999/posts
The Iraqis the 9/11 Commission Report forgot to mention as they relate to 9/11.
September 2005. The Weekly Standard.
Must read.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1472411/posts
Who is lying about Iraq (Hint — It’s The democrats)
November 2005. John Podhoritz
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/Production/files/podhoretz1205advance.html
Records found in Iraq dated ten months before 9/11 indicates that Saddam Husseins employees clandestinely met Taliban and al Qaeda agents regarding a decision to operate. That and more.
National Review. 12/21/05
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1545868/posts?page=21
Kuwait sentences Al Qaeda terrorists who have connections to Iraq.
Reuters. December 27, 2005.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1547483/posts
2006
Saddam trained over 8,000 jihadists before the war.
January 12, 2006. The Wall Street Journal.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110007809
New documents found in Iraq confirm that Saddam worked with Al Qaeda.
February 20, 2006. The American Thinker
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1582379/posts
Who’ll let the docs out?
The Weekly Standard. Stephen Hayes
March 10, 2006
The president orders Negroponte to get the Saddam tapes translated and released.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1594192/posts
Atta was in Prague after all. Credit Ravingnutter.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1588003/posts?page=55#55
Document: Iraqi Intelligence met with Bin Laden in 1995 (Re-Post For A Reminder)
Pentagon/FMSO website for Iraq Pre-war documents | September 8 2006 | jveritas
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1697938/posts
MISCELLANEOUS
SALMAN PAK
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/iraq/salman_pak.htm
Iraq told UN inspectors that Salman Pak was an anti-terror training camp for Iraqi special forces. However, two defectors from Iraqi intelligence stated that they had worked for several years at the secret Iraqi government camp, which had trained Islamic terrorists in rotations of five or six months since 1995. Training activities including simulated hijackings carried out in an airplane fuselage [said to be a Boeing 707] at the camp. The camp is divided into distinct sections. On one side of the camp young, Iraqis who were members of Fedayeen Saddam are trained in espionage, assassination techniques and sabotage. The Islamic militants trained on the other side of the camp, in an area separated by a small lake, trees and barbed wire. The militants reportedly spent time training, usually in groups of five or six, around the fuselage of the airplane. There were rarely more than 40 or 50 Islamic radicals in the camp at one time.
Freeper polemikos list of links to investigations regarding anthrax.
December 26, 2003.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1047022/posts
Evidence Iraq behind anthrax attacks.
January 1, 2004. Accuracy in Media
http://www.aim.org/publications/media_monitor/2004/01/01.html
Saddam behind anthrax attacks and 9/11 attacks.
Independent website.
http://www.spiritoftruth.org/iraqlinks.htm
9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta stayed at the same motel as the Oklahoma City Bombers.
http://www.marsearthconnection.com/okc.html
March 20, 2006 Frontpage Interviews guest today is Lt. Gen. Tom McInerney, a retired Air Force Fighter Pilot who has been a Fox News Military Analyst for the last four and a half years and continues to appear regularly on Fox. He just returned from his second visit to Iraq.
General McInerney
“I just reviewed this additional release of documents by the U.S. government. This release continues to confirm that Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda were in contact with Iraq intelligence for sanctuary, training, and plans for acts of terrorism against the US and in the US. This just supports the 12 hours of tapes we heard of Saddam Husseins that discussed using proxies such as Al Qaeda to attack the US with WMD, nuclear or biological.
The latest release has pictures of Zarqawi while he was in Iraq prior to our liberation. It is obvious that he was living there as a sanctuary after he left Afghanistan. Some people are still in denial even with the latest release as it gets in the way of their agenda.
It was a fascinating experience to see the transcripts of Saddams conversations. He discussed hiding WMDs from the UN inspectors and knowing where the inspectors were going to go in advance. He discussed their efforts to develop Plasma Enrichment for nuclear weapons totally unknown to the UN inspectors. But the most telling to me was the conversation between Tariq Aziz his foreign minister and Saddam in which they discussed having proxies implant nuclear and biological weapons in US cities.
Islam needs a reformation, a cultural renaissance to bring them into modernity. This must come from within driven by moderate Muslims. Dr Tawfik Hamid has just written a brilliant book The Roots of Jihad that describes our challenge. He states that Islamic terrorism has the support of the majority of Muslims and must be reformed to become a religion of tolerance. Now it is a religion of intolerance.
Iraq is the central front on the war on terror and that is why the insurgency is so intense. Al Qaeda is indiscriminately killing innocent people and the Iraqi people recognize this and we are seeing them providing much more intelligence to the coalition forces. In the final analysis it will be the Iraqi Security Forces and the Iraqi people who will defeat this insurgency.
Thank you for posting, this is a real treasure-trove of information about the Saddam/Bin Ladin connections.
I like most of us followed this story closely and there is stuff there I didn’t know.
I have always said that the connection between Saddam and Bin Ladin was hiding right out in plain sight: Zawahiri’s group, Egyptian Islamic Jihad, was on Saddam’s payroll. They recruited Bin Ladin and became his inner circle. Everyone has pretended not to notice but its right there for everyone to see.
Not quite right. Yellowcake is the partially processed (but not enriched) ore. It’s the precipitate from various solvents used to concentrate Uranium scattered through the ore, usually uranium oxides, enough to begin serious refining.. The U238/235 part is right though (that’s the enriching part).
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