More Bad News for Daschle [Info on one of those killed in the air strikes last night]

National Review Online ^ | 3/20/2003 | Michael Ledeen

[ExpandNATO]

The vision-challenged opponents of the war against the terror masters, those who have been saying that you can't fight Saddam and terrorism at the same time, got bad news today from Baghdad. It turns out that our surgical strike on Wednesday night — the one aimed at the "top leadership" of Saddam's little hell-between-two-rivers — got an unexpected bonus: a terrorist from the Palestine Liberation Front. And the good news comes not from the Pentagon but from the PLF itself.

According to UPI, the Palestine Liberation Front said Thursday one of its guerrillas was killed during the U.S. missile strikes on Iraq. A PFL statement released in the southern city of Sidon (Syrian-occupied Lebanon) identified the slain guerrilla as 1st Lieutenant Ahmed Walid Raguib al-Baz who was killed early Thursday "while confronting the treacherous U.S. air bombardment on Iraq."

I don't know anything about the late Mr. Al-Baz, but I know all too much about the PLF and its evil leader, Abu Abbas. This was the group that organized the hijacking of the Italian cruise ship, the Achille Lauro back in the mid-1980s. They segregated the American passengers from the rest, and then courageously pushed an American Jewish paraplegic in his wheelchair, Leon Klinghoffer, into the Mediterranean. We tried to have Abu Abbas arrested in Italy, but he escaped through Yugoslavia to Yemen.

The PLF has long been one of the most lethal Palestinian terrorist groups, and achieved notoriety for its high-tech killings. Recently, Abu Abbas had come to live in the Palestinian Authority, but when Israel moved against the terrorists there he ran away — to Baghdad. The PLF has been one of the main conduits for Iraqi money to Palestinian suicide bombers.

So, in a single stroke, we have demonstrated the rightness of our cause and the wisdom of President Bush. It makes no sense to distinguish between the terrorists and the regimes that support them, for they are one and the same. We targeted a high-level meeting of top Iraqi officials, and willy-nilly eliminated a member of the terror network. Time will tell just how good and how lucky we were in the opening salvo of the Second Gulf War. But there is already cause for satisfaction.

Somebody should tell Daschle and Byrd.

— Michael Ledeen, an NRO contributing editor, is most recently the author of The War Against the Terror Masters. Ledeen, Resident Scholar in the Freedom Chair at the American Enterprise Institute, can be reached through Benador Associates.

[stands2reason]

LOL!!!

[bvw]

I would like to see Byrd dressed up in some trumpy penny opera Gilbert and Sullivan gee-gaw poobah outfit with plumed napoleanic hat with his head to small to fit it and drool coming down his mouth spouting bits of nonsense and puffery spun out of a grifter's dotage.

[LayoutGuru2]

[Dimensio]

I don't want to toss a downer on anyone, but that's somewhat flawed logic. At one time there were at least 19 Al Qaida terrorists in the US, but I don't know of anyone with any credibility who has claimed a link between the Bush administration and organized terror.

Not that I trust Saddam...

[MeekOneGOP]

LOL ! Will this do? . . .

Byrd said in part, "I think we try to have good will. My old mom told me, `Robert, you can't go to heaven if you hate anybody.' We practice that. There are white ni**ers. I've seen a lot of white ni**ers in my time. I'm going to use that word."

See this Michelle Malkin article about Robert Byrd from March 7, 2001

Former KKK Clansman,
Senator Robert Byrd……

[Mr. K]

Little Tommy: "Weeee represent - the Lollipop guild..."

[Klein-Bottle]

The obvious question is whom was he meeting with, because they are probably gone also.

[4Freedom]

But this terrorist was in the same room with Irag's military leadership when they were all turned to ash.

He would have had to have been invited, no? Therefore, a connection.

[jackbill]

"while confronting the treacherous U.S. air bombardment on Iraq."

My mother always told me "Never confront a Tomahawk with nothing but a towel on your head."

[RummyChick]

Do you think Saddam would have been meeting with him? It seems it would have been underlings.

[ExpandNATO]

Now add one more fact...

If those 19 Al Qaeda terrorists (or their leader) were in the same limousine/SUV with Bush (or other top administration officials, generals), what then?

[agrace]

Very cool.

[Shaka]

Dasshole is such a dik.

[Darksheare]

Umm... Haven't you been paying attention?
Saddam gives several thousand dollars to families of the so called palestinians who have a relative murder Israelis.

Saddam has had meetings and dealings with Taliban leaders and Al-Qeada.
He also has stated that he wants Al-Qeada suicide brigades.
Why don't you look around this nice little site called FreeRepublic? It's called site navigation, you know, those little blue links to the right hand side of the screen?
You can also search keywords, like Iraq, Saddam. Terrorism. Terrorist. and such.

[Dimensio]

I'm not disputing that Saddam has links to terror. I should have phrased my statement better, I was merely commenting that a known terrorist being killed in Iraq is not proof of Saddam's terror links. There is quite a bit of evidence that Saddam supports terrorist groups and actions -- his own words are only part of that collection -- but the PLF member being killed in Iraq is not amongst that evidence.

[El Gato]

I hope to one day see Daschle sleeping under a bridge and advertising that he will work for food.

In South Dakota in the winter, of course. I'd prefer North Dakota, but I doubt they would allow him in.

[Dimensio]

That'll teach me not to read the articles properly.

Mind you, there are other possible explanations (not the least of which is that the PLF is lying, since I'm not sure how much credibility that they have).

Mind you, I'm not amongst the "Saddam doesn't support terrorists" crowd. Certainly not when Saddam has openly offered money to the families of suicied bombers.

[weegee]

So far we have learned through the day's attacks that Saddam has fired Scud missles that he didn't have (the inspectors could not find them) and that he was associating with known terrorists even though there has been no connection between Iraq and terrorism established.

[El Gato]

no, but you can be sure the french will cook and eat it.

Well, they may cook it. :)

[GretchenEE]

bump