Posted on 07/14/2003 9:57:21 PM PDT by Dont Mention the War
Last September 24th, as Congress prepared to vote on the resolution authorizing President George W. Bush to wage war in Iraq, a group of senior intelligence officials, including George Tenet, the Director of Central Intelligence, briefed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Iraq's weapons capability. It was an important presentation for the Bush Administration. Some Democrats were publicly questioning the President's claim that Iraq still possessed weapons of mass destruction which posed an immediate threat to the United States. Just the day before, former Vice-President Al Gore had sharply criticized the Administration's advocacy of preëmptive war, calling it a doctrine that would replace "a world in which states consider themselves subject to law" with "the notion that there is no law but the discretion of the President of the United States." A few Democrats were also considering putting an alternative resolution before Congress.
According to two of those present at the briefing, which was highly classified and took place in the committee's secure hearing room, Tenet declared, as he had done before, that a shipment of high-strength aluminum tubes that was intercepted on its way to Iraq had been meant for the construction of centrifuges that could be used to produce enriched uranium. The suitability of the tubes for that purpose had been disputed, but this time the argument that Iraq had a nuclear program under way was buttressed by a new and striking fact: the C.I.A. had recently received intelligence showing that, between 1999 and 2001, Iraq had attempted to buy five hundred tons of uranium oxide from Niger, one of the world's largest producers. The uranium, known as "yellow cake," can be used to make fuel for nuclear reactors; if processed differently, it can also be enriched to make weapons. Five tons can produce enough weapon-grade uranium for a bomb. (When the C.I.A. spokesman William Harlow was asked for comment, he denied that Tenet had briefed the senators on Niger.)
On the same day, in London, Tony Blair's government made public a dossier containing much of the information that the Senate committee was being given in secret - that Iraq had sought to buy "significant quantities of uranium" from an unnamed African country, "despite having no active civil nuclear power programme that could require it." The allegation attracted immediate attention; a headline in the London Guardian declared, "african gangs offer route to uranium."
Two days later, Secretary of State Colin Powell, appearing before a closed hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also cited Iraq's attempt to obtain uranium from Niger as evidence of its persistent nuclear ambitions. The testimony from Tenet and Powell helped to mollify the Democrats, and two weeks later the resolution passed overwhelmingly, giving the President a congressional mandate for a military assault on Iraq.
On December 19th, Washington, for the first time, publicly identified Niger as the alleged seller of the nuclear materials, in a State Department position paper that rhetorically asked, "Why is the Iraqi regime hiding their uranium procurement?" (The charge was denied by both Iraq and Niger.) A former high-level intelligence official told me that the information on Niger was judged serious enough to include in the President's Daily Brief, known as the P.D.B., one of the most sensitive intelligence documents in the American system. Its information is supposed to be carefully analyzed, or "scrubbed." Distribution of the two- or three-page early-morning report, which is prepared by the C.I.A., is limited to the President and a few other senior officials. The P.D.B. is not made available, for example, to any members of the Senate or House Intelligence Committees. "I don't think anybody here sees that thing," a State Department analyst told me. "You only know what's in the P.D.B. because it echoes - people talk about it."
President Bush cited the uranium deal, along with the aluminum tubes, in his State of the Union Message, on January 28th, while crediting Britain as the source of the information: "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." He commented, "Saddam Hussein has not credibly explained these activities. He clearly has much to hide."
Then the story fell apart. On March 7th, Mohamed ElBaradei, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in Vienna, told the U.N. Security Council that the documents involving the Niger-Iraq uranium sale were fakes. "The I.A.E.A. has concluded, with the concurrence of outside experts, that these documents . . . are in fact not authentic," ElBaradei said.
One senior I.A.E.A. official went further. He told me, "These documents are so bad that I cannot imagine that they came from a serious intelligence agency. It depresses me, given the low quality of the documents, that it was not stopped. At the level it reached, I would have expected more checking."
The I.A.E.A. had first sought the documents last fall, shortly after the British government released its dossier. After months of pleading by the I.A.E.A., the United States turned them over to Jacques Baute, who is the director of the agency's Iraq Nuclear Verification Office.
It took Baute's team only a few hours to determine that the documents were fake. The agency had been given about a half-dozen letters and other communications between officials in Niger and Iraq, many of them written on letterheads of the Niger government. The problems were glaring. One letter, dated October 10, 2000, was signed with the name of Allele Habibou, a Niger Minister of Foreign Affairs and Coöperation, who had been out of office since 1989. Another letter, allegedly from Tandja Mamadou, the President of Niger, had a signature that had obviously been faked and a text with inaccuracies so egregious, the senior I.A.E.A. official said, that "they could be spotted by someone using Google on the Internet."
The large quantity of uranium involved should have been another warning sign. Niger's "yellow cake" comes from two uranium mines controlled by a French company, with its entire output presold to nuclear power companies in France, Japan, and Spain. "Five hundred tons can't be siphoned off without anyone noticing," another I.A.E.A. official told me.
This official told me that the I.A.E.A. has not been able to determine who actually prepared the documents. "It could be someone who intercepted faxes in Israel, or someone at the headquarters of the Niger Foreign Ministry, in Niamey. We just don't know," the official said. "Somebody got old letterheads and signatures, and cut and pasted." Some I.A.E.A. investigators suspected that the inspiration for the documents was a trip that the Iraqi Ambassador to Italy took to several African countries, including Niger, in February, 1999. They also speculated that MI6 - the branch of British intelligence responsible for foreign operations - had become involved, perhaps through contacts in Italy, after the Ambassador's return to Rome.
Baute, according to the I.A.E.A. official, "confronted the United States with the forgery: 'What do you have to say?' They had nothing to say."
ElBaradei's disclosure has not been disputed by any government or intelligence official in Washington or London. Colin Powell, asked about the forgery during a television interview two days after ElBaradei's report, dismissed the subject by saying, "If that issue is resolved, that issue is resolved." A few days later, at a House hearing, he denied that anyone in the United States government had anything to do with the forgery. "It came from other sources," Powell testified. "It was provided in good faith to the inspectors."
The forgery became the object of widespread, and bitter, questions in Europe about the credibility of the United States. But it initially provoked only a few news stories in America, and little sustained questioning about how the White House could endorse such an obvious fake. On March 8th, an American official who had reviewed the documents was quoted in the Washington Post as explaining, simply, "We fell for it."
The Bush Administration's reliance on the Niger documents may, however, have stemmed from more than bureaucratic carelessness or political overreaching. Forged documents and false accusations have been an element in U.S. and British policy toward Iraq at least since the fall of 1997, after an impasse over U.N. inspections. Then as now, the Security Council was divided, with the French, the Russians, and the Chinese telling the United States and the United Kingdom that they were being too tough on the Iraqis. President Bill Clinton, weakened by the impeachment proceedings, hinted of renewed bombing, but, then as now, the British and the Americans were losing the battle for international public opinion. A former Clinton Administration official told me that London had resorted to, among other things, spreading false information about Iraq. The British propaganda program - part of its Information Operations, or I/Ops - was known to a few senior officials in Washington. "I knew that was going on," the former Clinton Administration official said of the British efforts. "We were getting ready for action in Iraq, and we wanted the Brits to prepare."
Over the next year, a former American intelligence officer told me, at least one member of the U.N. inspection team who supported the American and British position arranged for dozens of unverified and unverifiable intelligence reports and tips - data known as inactionable intelligence - to be funnelled to MI6 operatives and quietly passed along to newspapers in London and elsewhere. "It was intelligence that was crap, and that we couldn't move on, but the Brits wanted to plant stories in England and around the world," the former officer said. There was a series of clandestine meetings with MI6, at which documents were provided, as well as quiet meetings, usually at safe houses in the Washington area. The British propaganda scheme eventually became known to some members of the U.N. inspection team. "I knew a bit," one official still on duty at U.N. headquarters acknowledged last week, "but I was never officially told about it."
None of the past and present officials I spoke with were able to categorically state that the fake Niger documents were created or instigated by the same propaganda office in MI6 that had been part of the anti-Iraq propaganda wars in the late nineteen-nineties. (An MI6 intelligence source declined to comment.) Press reports in the United States and elsewhere have suggested other possible sources: the Iraqi exile community, the Italians, the French. What is generally agreed upon, a congressional intelligence-committee staff member told me, is that the Niger documents were initially circulated by the British - President Bush said as much in his State of the Union speech - and that "the Brits placed more stock in them than we did." It is also clear, as the former high-level intelligence official told me, that "something as bizarre as Niger raises suspicions everywhere."
What went wrong? Did a poorly conceived propaganda effort by British intelligence, whose practices had been known for years to senior American officials, manage to move, without significant challenge, through the top layers of the American intelligence community and into the most sacrosanct of Presidential briefings? Who permitted it to go into the President's State of the Union speech? Was the message - the threat posed by Iraq - more important than the integrity of the intelligence-vetting process? Was the Administration lying to itself? Or did it deliberately give Congress and the public what it knew to be bad information?
Asked to respond, Harlow, the C.I.A. spokesman, said that the agency had not obtained the actual documents until early this year, after the President's State of the Union speech and after the congressional briefings, and therefore had been unable to evaluate them in a timely manner. Harlow refused to respond to questions about the role of Britain's MI6. Harlow's statement does not, of course, explain why the agency left the job of exposing the embarrassing forgery to the I.A.E.A. It puts the C.I.A. in an unfortunate position: it is, essentially, copping a plea of incompetence.
The chance for American intelligence to challenge the documents came as the Administration debated whether to pass them on to ElBaradei. The former high-level intelligence official told me that some senior C.I.A. officials were aware that the documents weren't trustworthy. "It's not a question as to whether they were marginal. They can't be 'sort of' bad, or 'sort of' ambiguous. They knew it was a fraud - it was useless. Everybody bit their tongue and said, 'Wouldn't it be great if the Secretary of State said this?' The Secretary of State never saw the documents." He added, "He's absolutely apoplectic about it." (A State Department spokesman was unable to comment.) A former intelligence officer told me that some questions about the authenticity of the Niger documents were raised inside the government by analysts at the Department of Energy and the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research. However, these warnings were not heeded.
"Somebody deliberately let something false get in there," the former high-level intelligence official added. "It could not have gotten into the system without the agency being involved. Therefore it was an internal intention. Someone set someone up." (The White House declined to comment.)
Washington's case that the Iraqi regime had failed to meet its obligation to give up weapons of mass destruction was, of course, based on much more than a few documents of questionable provenance from a small African nation. But George W. Bush's war against Iraq has created enormous anxiety throughout the world - in part because one side is a superpower and the other is not. It can't help the President's case, or his international standing, when his advisers brief him with falsehoods, whether by design or by mistake.
On March 14th, Senator Jay Rockefeller, of West Virginia, the senior Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, formally asked Robert Mueller, the F.B.I. director, to investigate the forged documents. Rockefeller had voted for the resolution authorizing force last fall. Now he wrote to Mueller, "There is a possibility that the fabrication of these documents may be part of a larger deception campaign aimed at manipulating public opinion and foreign policy regarding Iraq." He urged the F.B.I. to ascertain the source of the documents, the skill-level of the forgery, the motives of those responsible, and "why the intelligence community did not recognize the documents were fabricated." A Rockefeller aide told me that the F.B.I. had promised to look into it. 
Seymour Hersh was also the author of the article that told of heavy American casualties on the airborne raid of a Taliban headquarters on the opening say of the war in Afghanistan, remember?
He is such a piece of Hillary. If I saw him I'd tell him to go Clinton himself. You can insert the proper words for Hillaty and Clinton, this forum wouldn't like what I had in mind.
If the note was in English and had a serial number it could have been a shipping manifest from a South African Uranium mine.
Explains it all.
Think I will bump it up on the Bush doctrine list and ping every one!
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No, but I've always wondered how he is financed and by whom.
The countries which pushed this change in regs were mainly China, Russia and France.
The US and UK knew they were losing the PR war badly, and Iraq was smelling proverbial blood in the water, so when UNSCOM established that Iraq had indeed filled shells with VX nerve gas before the Gulf War for use against coaltiion troops, thus proving Iraq was still in denial, Iraq pushed its boundaries harder and blocked inspections inside Iraq, buckling down for a possible attack.
Some aggressive talk from the US congress on regime change, Ritter's testimony, increasing talk in Washington about preemption and US and UK threats to strike made Iraq back down temporarily.
At this time bin Laden was indicted for the Africa embassy bombings, and also, Atta and the Hamburg cell began plotting in Germany, and Iraq sent its agent Hijazi to Afghanistan to talk with bin Laden.
DECEMBER 1998 : (IRAQI HIJAZI TRAVELS TO AFGHANISTAN) Iraqi Farouk Hijazi to travel to bin Laden's Afghanistan hideouts in December 1998. - "The Clinton Intel Record Deeper failures revealed. ," by Mansoor Ijaz, National Review Online, 4-29-2003
And what was Hijazi allegedly doing?
DECEMBER 1998 : (IRAQI OFFICIALS MEET WITH BIN LADEN IN AFGHANISTAN) Vince Cannistraro, the CIA's former counter-terrorism chief, said Baghdad made an overture to Mr bin Laden in December 1998. Saddam was apparently so impressed by the bombings that year of the two US embassies in East Africa that he sent Iraq's ambassador to Turkey, Farouk Hijazi, to Afghanistan to meet Mr bin Laden. The CIA believed Mr Hijazi offered Mr bin Laden and al-Qa'ida, then being pursued by the Americans, a permanent refuge in Iraq but the offer was refused - "The suicide bomber and the Baghdad conspiracy," By Chris Blackhurst, Independent.co.uk , 14 October 2001
DECEMBER 1998 : (AFGHANISTAN : IRAQI INTELLIGENCE CHIEF FAROUK HIJAZI MEETS BIN LADEN) "The [March 1998 al Qaeda envoy & Iraqi intelligence] meetings [in Baghdad] also laid the groundwork for Iraq's former intelligence chief, Farouk Hijazi, arrested last Friday [just before 4-29-2003] in Iraq, to meet with bin Laden in December 1998 in Afghanistan. Press reports also chronicled an earlier meeting between Hijazi and bin Laden in Sudan in 1994. " "The Clinton Intel Record Deeper failures revealed. ," by Mansoor Ijaz, National Review Online, 4-29-2003
DECEMBER 1998 : (IRAQI OFFICIAL AL-HIJAZI MEETS WITH BIN LADEN IN AFGHANISTAN) Following the December 1998 air strikes on Iraq, Saddam Hussein dispatched Faruq al-Hijazi to Kandahar, Afghanistan in order to meet with bin Laden and plot their revenge. To demonstrate Iraq’s commitment to bin Laden and al Qaeda, Hijazi presented bin Laden with a pack of blank, official Yemeni passports, supplied to Iraqi Intelligence from their Yemeni contacts. Hijazi’s visit to Kandahar was followed by a contingent of Iraqi intelligence officials who provided additional training and instruction to bin Laden and al Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan. These Iraqi officials included members of “Unit 999,” a group of elite Iraqi intelligence officials who provided advanced sabotage and infiltration training and instruction to al Qaeda operatives. At that meeting, upon information and belief, bin Laden, al Qaeda and Iraq agreed to join efforts in a detailed, coordinated plan for a protracted terrorist war against the United States. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda
Did somebody say "Yemeni passports?" :
DECEMBER 10, 1998 : (MOHDAR MOHAMED ABDOULAH ENTERS THE US) Mohdar Mohamed Abdoulah, 24, a former San Diego State University student, also helped the men obtain California drivers' licenses and Social Security cards, federal prosecutors said. Prosecutors said Abdoulah assisted Khalid Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi, who are suspected of hijacking American Airlines Flight 77 and crashing it into the Pentagon. The men lived in San Diego for several months in 2000. Prosecutors also describe a third Flight 77 hijacker, Hani Hanjour, as Abdoulah's friend. - "Feds: Hijackers' Helper Hated U.S.," By Seth Hettena, AP via CBS News, May 9, 2002 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/05/09/attack/main508438.shtml8
"Mohdar Mohamed Abdoulah " entered the United States from Canada on Dec. 10, 1998 with a Yemeni passport and a valid visitor's visa.
In spite of Iraq's efforts to block inspectors from reaching sites, the inspectors kept trying more agreesively to get in to them:
DECEMBER 10, 1998 : (UNSCOM) Inspectors vow to press on with surprise inspections despite a dispute with Baghdad over access. Inspectors in new row - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998
And Iraq was getting more desperate, because the inpectors were finding things which proved Iraq had not given up on its intention to develop nuclear weapons and had not destroyed its equipment even after years and years of inspections and sanctions :
DECEMBER 1998 : (IRAQ, UNSCOM DISMANTLES GERMAN CENTRIFUGE INSTALLATION) The Times of London interview with Hamza notes another possible clue tog the nature of Brazil-Iraq relations in the early 1980s. Before leaving Iraq in 1998 -- just days before U.S.-led air strikes -- U.N. weapons inspectors had dismantled an illegally imported German centrifuge installation that had been used to refine progressively natural or low-enriched uranium until it became suitable for weapons, the Times reported. - "Brazil uranium sales to Iraq stir debate ," by Carmen Gentile, United Press International 9/25/02
At this time there were warnings that al Qaeda was planning to strike Washington and NY :
DECEMBER 13, 1998 : (BIN LADEN MAY BE PLANNING STRIKES ON NY OR WASHINGTON) "Suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden may be planning strikes on Washington or New York to avenge a U.S. missile strike on his Afghan headquarters in August, Time magazine reported Sunday. "We've hit his headquarters, now he hits ours," the magazine quotes a State Department aide as saying. U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno organized an exercise at FBI headquarters in Washington on Oct. 14 to plan for a possible terror attack by bin Laden, the weekly said.." Nando Times 12/13/98, via Alamo-Girl *
And there were threats overseas too:
DECEMBER 13, 1998 : (TERROR ALERTS) ".U.S. embassies in four Gulf nations said Sunday they have information indicating the "strong possibility'' of a terrorist attack at one or more American targets in the region over the next 30 days. A statement distributed to American citizens in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain asked them to be on alert to "any suspicious activity and take precautionary steps to reduce the profile and vulnerability of any U.S. facilities.'' The statement did not give details beyond saying there is "a strong possibility that terrorist elements are planning an attack against U.S. targets in the Gulf, possibly in the next 30 days.''." FOX; AP 12/13/98 via Alamo-Girl
DECEMBER 15, 1998 : (UNSCOM WITHDRAWS DUE TO IRAQI NONCOMPLIANCE) UNSCOM weapons inspectors withdraw from Iraq, saying Saddam has not delivered the unfettered access he promised, rendering the team unable to perform their mission.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor
DECEMBER 16, 1998 : (IRAQ : UNSCOM : RITTER CRITICIZES OPERATION DESERT FOX) Former UNSCOM inspector Ritter's public turnabout came just a few months after his Senate testimony, when on Dec. 16, 1998, he unexpectedly criticized Operation Desert Fox, a four-day U.S.-British bombing operation, for not having the approval of the U.N. Security Council. - "Baghdad pressuring Ritter? Wolfowitz says Baghdad has history of blackmailing weapons inspectors ," By Art Moore, WorldNetDaily.com, Friday, January 24, 2003
DECEMBER 16, 1998 : (IRAQ : UN INSPECTORS WITHDRAWN) UN inspection team is withdrawn, after concluding that Iraq is not cooperating fully. - http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/page/0,12438,793802,00.html
DECEMBER 16 - 20, 1998 : (IRAQ : OPERATION DESERT FOX) Operation 'Desert Fox' begins: four days of US-British air strikes against Iraqi weapons programmes. - "Missile blitz on Iraq," http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/page/0,12438,793802,00.html
And, while Clinton and McAuliffe and Torricelli were hobnobbing with the mysterious Korean businessman Chang, who they even took advice from on Iraq:
DECEMBER 18, 1998 : (NORTH KOREAN SPY SUB IS SUNK BY SOUTH KOREAN NAVY) The South Korean navy sinks submersible North Korean spy vessel, with one frogman found dead in the Sea of Japan east of the Korean peninsula. http://asia.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/06/29/korea.navy.timeline.reut/
DECEMBER 20, 1998 : (OPERATION DESERT FOX ENDS; IT REVEALED THAT IRAQ HAD FITTED AIRCRAFT WITH CROP-DUSTING EQUIPMENT) End of Desert Fox, a 72-hour operation. Clinton says more may follow.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor It was during Desert Fox, when a corner of a building's roof was blown off, that the CIA discovered Iraq had fitted aircraft with crop-dusting equipment.
DECEMBER 20, 1998 : (BIN LADEN HAS REBILT TRAINING CAMPS) ".THE world's most wanted terrorist, Osama Bin Laden, is preparing for war. Four months after the United States launched cruise missile attacks on his camps in Afghanistan, Bin Laden has rebuilt his "terrorist universities" and is constructing bomb-proof headquarters in a cave beyond the reach of spy satellites in the Pamir mountains in the north of the country.." - by Adrian Levy, Cathy Scott-Clark , Peshawar, The Sunday Times - London 12/20/98 via Alamo-Girl
This one's from an Italian paper and has a date :
DECEMBER 21, 1998 : (HIJAZI & BIN LADEN AGREE ON TARGET LIST) "Terrorist cells belonging to the network organized by Osama bin Laden...are ready go into action in the countries of the Persian Gulf and Europe...The list of targets is ready. It was agreed in Kandahar 21 December by Osama himself and Farouk Hijazi... The new recruits, together with the veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Bosnia, form the secret army that is expected to use its weapons against all those who oppose the rais of Baghdad. In order to make them even more dangerous, traditional training has been supplemented with training in the use of chemical weapons, toxins and viruses." [Corriere della Sera, February 1, 1999 (Italia)] see http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/743697/posts?page=51#51
And I'll add some other details to give it color.
DECEMBER 23, 1998 : (CUBAN SPIES AT UN SHOWN THE DOOR) Three Cuban diplomats at the UN were ordered to leave the US. "The three men were linked to espionage after an investigation by the FBI that led to the arrest and indictment of 10 suspected Cuban agents in Miami (the WASP network) three months ago. The three men in NY have diplomatic passports, which give them immunity from prosecution as spies."
(Note that the Cuban Spy Elena Belen Montes, the Defense Intelligence Agency's senior Cuba analyst, who had written a much touted report downplaying the threat from Cuba which were used to justify dropping sanctions there, was apparently revealed by info from the WASP case. She was arrested a few days after 911 while calling her Cuban handlers.)
DECEMBER 23?, 1998 : (BIN LADEN TIME INTERVIEW, FATWA, SOMALIA) Usama Bin Laden was asked by Time magazine whether he was responsible fo rthe August 1998 attacks. He replied:
"...any thief or criminal who enters another country to steal should expect to be exposed to murder at any time... The US knows that I have attacked it, by the grace of God, for more than ten years now... God knows that we have been pleased by the killing of American soldiers (in Somalia in 1993.) This was achieved by the grace of God and the efforts of the mujahadeen... Hostility towards America is a religious duty and we hope to be rewarded for it by God. I am confident that Muslims will be able to end the legend of the so-called superpower that is America. "
DECEMBER 25, 1998 : (BIN LADEN COMMENTS ON AMERICAN PEOPLE SUPPORTING IRAQ, SAYING IT JUSTIFIES MUSLIMS KILLING AMERICANS AND BRITS) ". Osama Bin Laden, the Saudi exile accused of masterminding the U.S. Embassy bombings in Africa, is calling on Muslims to kill Americans and Britons for the airstrikes their countries carried out against Iraq. ``The British and the American people loudly declared their support for their leaders' decision to attack Iraq,'' Bin Laden said in Friday's edition of the Arabic newspaper Asharq Al- Awsat. This made it ``the duty of Muslims to confront, fight and kill'' Britons and Americans, he said. ``And anything that can be taken from them by force is the rightful prize of Muslims,'' Bin Laden said..." - AP, 12/25/98
JANUARY 1999 : (COX REPORT RELEASED) The Hazel O'Leary "willing to share" national security policy ended in January 1999, with the release of the Cox Report, asserting: "The PRC thefts from our National Laboratories began at least as early as the late 1970s. Significant secrets are known to have been stolen, from the laboratories or elsewhere, as recently as the mid-1990s. Such thefts almost certainly continue to the present."
JANUARY 1999 : (IRAQI AGENT ISMAIL BECOMES LIASON BETWEEN AL QAEDA, TALIBAN & IRAQ) In January 1999, Iraq began reorganizing and mobilizing Iraqi intelligence front operations throughout Europe in support of bin Laden and al Qaeda. Haqi Ismail, believed to be a member of the Iraq's Mukhabarat Secret Service, left Iraq to train in an Afghanistan al Qaeda camp. Ismail was believed to be a liason between Iraq, the Taliban and al Qaeda and was rewarded with a position in the Taliban Foreign Ministry. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda
JANUARY 3, 1999 : (SADDAM OFFERS BOUNTY FOR DOWNING AN ALLIED JET) Saddam declares no-fly zones as “illegal” and says his people will resist them with “bravery and courage”. Offers $15,000 bounty to any unit that succeeds in downing an Allied jet.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor
JANUARY 12, 1999 : (PAKISTAN, ABDUL HAQ) In Peshawar, Pakistan, intruders entered the house of Afghan political moderate Abdul Haq, who was not at home, and killed his wife and 11-year-old son
Abdul Haq would himself be captured by the Taliban or al Qaeda and hung just before US strikes on Afghanistan in late 2001. Just prior to 9/11/01's al Qaeda attacks on the US, the Northern Alliance leader Masood would also be assassinated by al Qaeda terrorists posing as reporters and cameramen.
JANUARY 16, 1999 : (US, BIN LADEN INDICTMENT) US DOJ indicted bin Laden and 11 other members of al Qaeda for killing and conspiring to kill US citizens internatiionally. FBI placed bin Laden in its Most Wanted list, with a reward of $5 million for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
FEBRUARY 22, 1999 : (RATS, BONIOR, AL NAJJAR, PALESTINIAN ISLAMIC JIHAD) Democratic House Whip Rep. David Bonior (D-MI) visited Mazen Al-Najjar in jail, Rep. Bonior is the first Congressman to visit Mazen. Rep. Bonior said he will ask Janet Reno to do away with the use of "Secret Evidence", he also promised to hand deliver a letter to President Clinton from Yara, Mazen Al-Najjar's ten year old daughter, calling for the release of her father.(This update from Mazen's Family & the AMC (American Muslim Council)
And a little insight into Liberia's importance today :
MARCH 1999 : (AL QAEDA IN AFRICA : LIBERIA & SIERRA LEONE : MOHAMMED TOURS DIAMOND FIELDS) Fazul Abdullah Mohammed went on to Liberia and Sierra Leone, touring the Sierra Leone diamond fields in March 1999 as part of a plan to funnel diamonds through West Africa, according to a European investigation into al-Qaida financing. - "U.S. and British troops comb borders in nervous Kenya : Fears of terror attacks heightened ," By EMILY WAX, Washington Post via The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/16/03
And what was that about 16 words?
MARCH 19, 1999 : (CLINTON LIES ABOUT SECURITY BREACHES DURING HIS ADMINISTRATION; WHITE HOUSE AIDS OFFER CONFLICTING INFORMATION ABOUT CLINTON BRIEFINGS) On March 19, 10 days after the Wen Ho Lee firing and two months after the Cox Report, President Clinton was asked at a news conference whether any of these Los Alamos security breaches took place on his watch. The President replied: "To the best of my knowledge, no one has said anything to me about any espionage which occurred by the Chinese against the labs during my presidency." This is almost certainly a false statement. A New York Times story the next day notes "different accounts" of when Mr. Clinton was informed of China's espionage. A House committee was told Mr. Clinton was briefed in 1998. But in the weeks prior to the March 19 news conference, White House aides said National Security Adviser Sandy Berger had briefed the President in July 1997. According to the Times, NSC spokesman David Leavy "said that since the completion of [the Cox] report, Berger and other aides had refreshed their recollections. 'After the Cox committee process, we've remembered more,' Leavy said." Also at his March 19 news conference, Mr. Clinton hotly denied that his administration suppressed reports of Chinese spying to avoid association with reports of laundered Chinese contributions to the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign. "That is not true," the President asserted. - "The Wen Ho Lee Diversion," OpinionJournal - September 19, 2000
So, did the administration clean up its act?
2001 - 2002 early : (LAWRENCE LIVERMORE LABORATORY, US) Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham is said to be stunned by the possibilities raised by the allegations (that the Nuclear Weapons Information Program (NWIP)) was compromised) and furious that sloppy security may have compromised the nation's most sensitive project. That is, the assembly of virtually every single U.S. nuclear secret into one computer system. The suspect, who may even have become a U.S. citizen, only recently popped up as a security threat following discovery of potentially compromising family ties. "The Paki had been under surveillance for an unspecified period of time," a source tells Insight. "The FBI counterintelligence didn't want to make the same kind of mistake it had made with [Felix Bloch] who was caught in the mid-1990s spying at the State Department." Bloch was nabbed before the FBI could confirm the identity of his suspected handlers and contacts. Nor did it want to risk the sort of investigative gaffes committed at the Los Alamos nuclear facility when it targeted Chinese-American scientist Wen Ho Lee.
Investigators in the Livermore case conducting routine security sweeps are said to have discovered that their Pakistani suspect had engaged in suspicious activities that were registered by classified computer logs. This portion of the investigation was confirmed by a civilian source familiar both with the U.S. nuclear-weapons program and the incident.
"It is being treated as a high-level security investigation," one of the sources says, asking like some others not to be publicly named. Of apparent concern is that the Pakistani scientist had not revealed - or not revealed sufficiently - family ties in Pakistan, where some family members allegedly work for that country's intelligence agency, the ISI. "When we found out about this it set off alarm bells everywhere" because of U.S. intelligence suspicions that elements within the ISI actively supported and protected the Taliban in Afghanistan and helped to train al-Qaeda terrorists and other supporters of Osama bin Laden. Indeed, rogue ISI factions are suspected of helping terrorist groups after the Sept. 11 carnage. The ISI also is reported to be in close communications with Chinese counterparts. In recent years Pakistan has been a major ally of the People's Republic of China which, according to U.S. intelligence and security chieftains, has helped Pakistan develop modern nuclear weapons. Hence the alarm about alleged linkage between the Livermore scientist and family ties to ISI. ....Word about the arrest is being closely guarded both in Washington and California.- "U.S. Nuclear Security May Be Compromised," by Martin Edwin Andersen and Paul M. Rodriguez, Insight Magazine, March 11, 2002
What an interesting time period...
Oh well, I've wandered far enough from the topic now and need a compass to get back.
FEBRUARY 1999 was the period even Iraq admits it had an agent visiting several African countries including Niger.
Soros Backs Anti-Bush Campaign With $10 Mln
Bloomberg no url | 8/8/3
Posted on 08/08/2003 7:46 AM EDT by NativeNewYorker
| Multibillionaire Soros commits $10 million to new Democratic-leaning group SHARON THEIMER, Associated Press Writer |
Thanks for the ping to this new info, piasa!
Check this thread out
SEPTEMBER 22, 1979 : (SOUTH AFRICA) "On 22 September 1979, a U.S. Vela surveillance satellite detected a "brief, intense, double flash of light near the southern tip of Africa." Due to its characteristics, U.S. officials estimated that the flash could have resulted from the test of a nuclear device with a yield of 2 to 4 kilotons. South Africa emerged as the prime suspect, but the South African government denied that it had conducted a nuclear test. Subsequently, noting that South Africa did not supply a complete nuclear device with HEU until November 1979, AEC head Waldo Stumpf said that "this should put to rest speculations as to whether South Africa was responsible for the 'double flash' over the South Atlantic Ocean." Other speculation alleged that Israel had conducted a nuclear test, either alone or in conjunction with South Africa.[7] ------- source?
1980 : (FORMER D-SD SENATOR JAMES ABOUREZK FOUNDS THE ADC -- see also NICK RAHALL, TARIQ AZIZ, NELSON MANDELA, MOHAMMED ALAMOUDI, DELTA SERVICES) [James] Abourezk left the Senate and later founded the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. He recently called on Arabs to "intensify their move to explain their points of view to the American public which is dominated by the Israeli media machine." ---- "20-Year-Old Republican Website Owner Sued by Former Democrat Senator, " By Jeff Gannon, Talon News, July 31, 2003
1983 : (MARC RICH FLEES TO EUROPE -- See MAUGEIN, CHIRAC, IRAQI OFFICIAL TARIQ AZIZ, OIL FOR FOOD, GLENCOR, SOCO INTERNATIONAL ) Mr. Maugein, a billionaire with close ties to Jacques Chirac, is a longtime associate of the trader and former fugitive Marc Rich, who fled to Europe in 1983 to avoid answering charges of racketeering, illegal trading and dodging a tax-bill of $48 million. (Mr. Rich was pardoned by Bill Clinton in his final hours in the White House). Mr. Maugein was also a close contact of Tariq Aziz, with whom he met regularly. He is the non-executive chairman of Soco International Plc., a publicly listed London-based petroleum exploration/production company, which goes into markets the majors tend to skip -- Mongolia, Vietnam, North Korea, Libya and Yemen. ... 362 posted on 03/11/2004 9:48:11 AM PST by Dog
1991 : (SOUTH AFRICA : NELSON MANDELA BECOMES PRESIDENT OF ANC)
[remember, Falcon Trading is Scott Ritter financier Shakir Al Khafaji's South African based company]
1991 post Gulf War : (IRAQ : TARIQ AZIZ BECOMES DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER IN IRAQ) Tariq Aziz, the seasoned diplomat, became the chief spokesman for Iraq during the Gulf War. In the cabinet shuffle that followed the war, Aziz was appointed deputy prime minister, although he still supervises Iraqi foreign affairs. - http://cbc.ca/news/features/iraq/keyfigures.html.
1993 - 1994 : (SUDAN : AL QAEDA ATTEMPTS TO PURCHASE URANIUM; THE VIEW A CYLINDER WITH ENGRAVING ON IT AND THE AL QAEDA OPERATIVE AL FADL RECEIVES A NOTE TO DELIVER TO ANOTHER CONTACT ON WHICH IS WRITTEN "SOUTH AFRICA" AND A SERIAL NUMBER) (snip) The 1993-1994 attempted uranium purchase in Sudan During the third day of the trial, February 7, 2001, Al-Fadl testified that he was directly involved in an attempt to purchase uranium for Usama Bin Laden at the end of 1993 or the beginning of 1994.
According to his testimony, Al-Fadl was telephoned by a senior Al-Qa’ida official, Abu Fadhl [most probably Fadl or Fazl] al-Makkee, and was instructed to meet with a contact in Khartoum, Sudan, who allegedly possessed uranium. The witness met first with Abu Abd Allah al-Yemeni (aka Abu Dijana) and was given the name of another contact, Moqadem Salah Abd al-Mobruk, a lieutenant colonel in the Sudanese Army who, according to the testimony, had been a former minister during the Numeiri presidency (1969-83).(5)
Al-Fadl was charged with evaluating the situation, and after conferring with other associates, including his cousin, he met with al-Mobruk. Al-Mobruk referred Al-Fadl to a man named Basheer, and the two met at an office on Jambouria Street in Khartoum, Sudan. When questioned by Basheer as to whether Al-Qa’ida was serious about acuiring uranium, Al-Fadl claimed, “I know people, they [are] very serious, and they want to buy it.” He noted that l-Qa’ida was concerned primarily with the quality of the material and the country of origin, and secondarily with the cost.
The arranged price was $1.5 million, plus additional commissions for Basheer and al-Mobruk. At this point, the main issue concerned the method of testing the uranium.
After reporting back to al-Makkee, Al-Fadl was sent to speak with a new contact, Abu Rida al-Suri. This meeting took place at the Ikhlak Company in the Baraka building in Khartoum. Al-Suri instructed Al-Fadl to return to Basheer and report that the organization had an “electric machine” capable of testing uranium. Again through an intermediary, Al-Fadl arranged a meeting with Basheer and, in a small house in the town of Bait al-Mal, north of Khartoum, Al-Fadl and al-Suri were shown a cylinder approximately 2-3 feet tall with a lot of words engraved on it. The men were given a note that Al-Fadl was told to deliver to another contact, Abu Hajer, and then await further instructions. Al-Fadl did not recollect exactly what was written on the paper, only that it was written in English, said “South Africa” on it, and contained a serial number.
- "WMD TERRORISM AND USAMA BIN LADEN," by Kimberly McCloud and Matthew Osborne , CNS Reports, http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/reports/binladen.htm
1994? or earlier : (SOUTH AFRICA : NELSON MANDELA'S ANC FUNDED BY ISLAMIC COUNTRIES INCLUDING IRAQ - See JAMES ABOUREZK, NICK RAHALL, IRAQ TRIP) In the run-up to the 1994 election in South Africa, Mandela raised prodigious sums of money for his African National Congress -- including from such undemocratic regimes as Libya, Saudi Arabia, Suharto's Indonesia -- and Saddam's Iraq.... (/snip)------------Mandela picks Iraq over U.S. National Post ^ | October 11 2002 | R.W. Johnson via 8 posted on 12/26/2004 12:50:28 AM PST by piasa | To 6 |
AUGUST 26-29, 1994 : (SOUTH AFRICA : ANC WINS ELECTIONS)
AUGUST 30, 1995 : (LIBYAN OFFICIAL VISITS BAGHDAD) Ra'ad Id Aldafi, from Libyan military industries, allegedly visits Baghdad and begins an era of Iraq-Libya military cooperation. Supposedly, Iraq hopes to shift its nuclear program to Libyan territory.— Tom O'Dwyer, "Libya Helps Iraq Dodge Weapons Supervision," Jerusalem Post, 1 November 1995.
OCTOBER 1995 : (IRAQI NUCLEAR SCIENTIST JAFAR ARRIVES IN LIBYA) Meanwhile, a high-level MIO delegation headed by Dr. Jafar Diya Jafar, one of Iraq's leading nuclear scientists, arrived in Libya in mid October 1995 to oversee the installation of the small nuclear furnaces. The Iraqi nuclear program would be located at Sidi Abu Zurayq in the desert 380 km southwest of Tripoli. - Yossef Bodansky, "The Iraqi WMD Challenge - Myths and Reality," TASK FORCE ON TERRORISM & UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 20515 , February 10, 1998
1995 end : (IN LIBYA, IRAQI NUCLEAR ENRICHMENT PROGRAM BEGINS, SIDU ABU ZURAYQ) By the end of 1995, the Iraqi Military Industrialization Organization (MIO) experts began enriching the Iraqi nuclear material having successfully installed the small- and medium-sized kilns/furnaces at Sidi Abu Zurayq in the desert 380 km southwest of Tripoli, Libya. - Yossef Bodansky, "The Iraqi WMD Challenge - Myths and Reality," TASK FORCE ON TERRORISM & UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 20515 , February 10, 1998
1996 : (UGANDA : ADF IS FORMED - See IRAQ, ALQAEDA, TALIBAN, AFGHANISTAN) The formation of the Allied Democratic Forces in 1996 gave the al-Qaeda a better ally.
Several ADF commanders were taken for training in the Sudan and Afghanistan, while several junior ones were trained in the Nairobi cell. This group included Jamil Mukulu, the de facto leader of ADF and one Rashid Kawaawa, currently on remand. "We have information that most of the bombers were trained in al-Qaeda cells in Afghanistan, the Sudan and even Iraq. We have information that these people planned to kill as many people as possible and try and create a cell here in Uganda," Mayombo says. Documents recovered from Iraq and Afghanistan after both wars qualify Mayombo's statements.
The "martyrs", as they are known, were supposed to come back and cause serious havoc in the country. They were supposed to organise and develop the local al-Quaeda. But because they lacked the zeal of their Arab mentors and trainers, Rashid Kawaawa and his group turned to using small time bombs, rather than blow themselves up in suicide attacks. None of them was willing to commit "martyrdom" as their Arab mentors do.
Worthy noting however is that the funding of the operations was guaranteed from al-Quaeda and supporting nations like Iraq and the Taliban of Afghanistan. To them, the ADF was an organisation fighting for the right to Islam.
------- "Can Uganda Handle Terrorism?," New Vision (Kampala), OPINION, May 22, 2003 , Posted to the web May 23, 2003 , by Joshua Kato in Kampala , AllAfrica.com
1997 : (JOE WILSON MEETS MOHAMMED ALAMOUDI AT A RECEPTION ORGANIZED FOR THE WORLD BANK BY WESTAR GROUP - See ROCK CREEK CORP, DELTA SERVICES, DELTA OIL, NICK RAHALL) Mohammed Alamoudi, whom Wilson had met in 1997 at a reception organized for the World Bank by Westar Group.
MAY 16, 1997 : (REPORT : ZAIRE GOVERNMENT LED BY MOBUTU SESE SEKO IN DANGER OF FALLING TO MAOIST REBEL LEADER LAURENT KABILA - See ARKANSAS, AMERICAN MINERAL FIELDS, GEMSTONE TRADE, COBALT, URANIUM, ZINC) NEW YORK - American Mineral Fields, a small Arkansas mining company headquartered in Bill Clinton's hometown of Hope, is the first major beneficiary of the imminent fall of the Zaire government headed by Mobutu Sese Seko. With rebel troops closing in on Kinshasa, Zaire's capital city, huge international companies such as South Africa's Anglo-America, DeBeers, BHP and Phelps Dodge have been scrambling to gain favor with the insurgents headed by Laurent Kabila. Kabila's forces have seized two-thirds of Zaire, including the mineral-rich and diamond-producing areas. But America Mineral Fields has already beat the major companies to the finish line, snagging large contracts for mineral development and diamond trading from the rebel Zairian government.
The obscure AMF was created just two years ago [1995?], according to its prospectus, for "the acquisition and development of world-class mineral deposits."
In mid-April [1997], Zairian rebel leader and one-time Maoist guerrilla [Laurent] Kabila signed a $1 billion agreement with AMF,
giving the firm exclusive rights to explore and develop an area the size of Switzerland in southeastern Zaire. As part of the agreement, AMF has promised to invest $885 million to develop two mining operations. Nearly $600 million will be spent at Kupishi to restore a zinc mining operation there and another $305 million will be allocated to a Kolwezi cobalt mining project.
Not bad for an Arkansas company still not listed in the local phone directory and headquartered in a small community whose main employer is a local chicken-processing plant.
"It's going to take a billion dollars ... to bring the Kupishi mine and Kolwezi tailings and our exploration area into proper production," Earl Young, a spokesman for AMF, told the Tribune-Review. The expenditures are judicious, Young explained, because AMF estimates that the Kupishi mine has $4.5 billion in mineral deposits, dwarfed by Kolwezi with a $16 billion worth. These figures don't include the untold wealth under the chunk of Zaire over which AMF has exclusive exploration rights.
------ "US suspects terror African diamond link : Firm From Clinton's Home Town Has Deal With Zaire Rebel Chief Christopher Ruddy, May 16, 1997, http://www.newsmax.com/articles/?a=1997/05/16/151128 via 8 posted on 07/01/2004 7:55:17 AM PDT by hoot2
AUGUST 1997 : (SOUTH AFRICA SELLS ZIRCONIUM TUBING PLANT TO CHINA, NEWSPAPER REPORT OF ILLEGAL CHINESE WORKERS DISMANTLING PLANT ALERTS PEOPLE TO THE SALE RIGHT AROUND THE TIME CHINA HAD CONCLUDED AN AGREEMENT WITH IRAN TO BUILD A ZIRCONIUM TUBING PLANT THERE) Abstract : In August 1997, South Africa and China concluded a contract for the sale of a plant used to manufacture zirconium tubing at Pelindaba. The deal was not made public until a South African newspaper revealed the presence of "illegal" Chinese technicians dismantling the plant and packing equipment for export to China. The Chinese workers had entered South Africa with business visas, and had been working without the proper employment visas. According to an unidentified member of the South African government, had it not been for the newspaper report, "there might have been nothing to stop this sensitive equipment leaving the country." The South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) stated that there are three pieces of equipment, described as CNC [computer numerically controlled] machine tools used to make complex molds, require authorization for export under the Nuclear Suppliers Group dual-use guidelines. The South African government requires an end-user certificate from China before it will authorize the export of the equipment. US officials are concerned that China might ship the South African plant to Iran, because China has signed a contract to build a zirconium tube factory in Iran. - "Is Iran In RSA-China Zirconium Deal?," Jane's Pointer, February 1998, p.1 , 1 February 1998 via - "CNS Nuclear and Missile Developments Database: Sample Abstracts on South Africa's Nuclear Doctrine," These abstracts were selected from the over 30,000 entries in the CNS Nuclear and Missile Developments Database., http://www.nti.org/e_research/e1_safrica_nuclear.html.
FEBRUARY 1999 : (IRAQI DELEGATIONS VISITING AFRICA) was the period even Iraq admits it had an agent visiting several African countries including Niger.
1999 : (GABON HALTS EXPORT OF URANIUM) Gabon ceased exports of [unprocessed uranium oxide] after 1999 - reserves at the largest mine, Mounana, had been depleted. - "Iraq 'sought African uranium' Britain says Iraq wanted African uranium, "BBC News World Edition, Tuesday, 24 September, 2002, 10:59 GMT 11:59 UK
1999 : (IRAQ & NIGER) …that after 1998 Iraq had only two contacts with Niamey [capital of Niger] – neither of which involved uranium. Ja'far acknowledged that Iraq's Ambassador to the Holy See traveled to Niamey to invite the President of Niger to visit Iraq. He indicated that Baghdad hoped that the Nigerian President would agree to the visit as he had visited Libya despite sanctions being levied on Tripoli. Former Iraqi Ambassador to the Holy See Wissam Zahawie has publicly provided a similar account. -------Covering up Iraq's quest for uranium in Africa American Thinker ^ | 10-26-05 | Douglas Hanson - Commentary and Analysis
1999 - 2000 : (JOE WILSON SERVES AS FOREIGN POLICY ADVISOR TO AL GORE - See OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM, NICK RAHALL, MOHAMMED ALAMOUDI) While [Joe] Wilson was pursuing his foreign investment ventures, he also served as a foreign policy advisor to the 2000 Presidential campaign of Al Gore. A company the Gore family had a long-term relationship with, Occidental Petroleum, shared business interests with Alamoudi-affiliated companies in Africa and the Middle East, and employed as Vice President for Middle East business Odeh Aburdene,24 who shared a complex network of relationships with Rock Creek’s Elias Aburdene and Joseph Wilson--notably, all three contributed to Arab-American Congressional Caucus leader Nick Rahall,25 who supported Muslim lobbying groups linked to terrorists and opposed military action in Iraq.26 Abdurahman Alamoudi also contributed to Rahall, and sat on the steering committee of Arab Americans for Clinton/Gore '96 along with his associate James Zogby, who later advised Gore’s 2000 Presidential campaign.27 Wilson had worked as an aide to Gore from 1985 to 1986 and had developed a friendly relationship with him. Wilson says Gore was the first person outside the State Department to contact him expressing support when he was caught in Iraq in the middle of the diplomatic crisis leading up to the Gulf War.------ "What Wilson Didn’t Say About Africa: Joseph Wilson's Silent Partners ," via 112 posted on 04/24/2006 2:25:40 PM PDT by Fedora | To 111
1990s late : (LIBYA BEGINS PURCHASING PARTS FOR ITS ALUMINUM ROTOR CENTRIFUGES) U.S., British and U.N. inspectors reportedly reveal that Libya procured parts for 100 aluminum-rotor centrifuge machines beginning in the late 1990s, then adopted a more advanced maraging steel design, for which it ordered 10,000 machines, plus production equipment.
The Libyan biological weapons program is part of the "General Health Laboratories" (codenamed "Ibn Hayan"), a medical facility located in the Tripoli area. It reportedly was built with Iraqi assistance and for a time employed the services of former South African scientists to develop biological weapons agents.
Although the biological weapons program is in the early research and development stages, it may be able to produce laboratory quantities of biological weapons agents after the year 2000, according to a U.S. Defense Department report.- "THE FUTURE OF LIBYA'S WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION PROGRAM, " By Joshua Sinai, April 27, 1999 http://cdiss.org/col99apr27.htm
2000 : (SADDAM HUSSEIN'S INTELLIGENCE ARCHIVES INDICATE A MIDDLEMAN IN KENYA OFFERED TO SUPPLY IRAQ WITH URANIUM BACK IN 2000) Saddam Hussein's intelligence archives show a middleman in Nairobi, Kenya, offered to supply Iraq with Congo uranium in 2000, Newsweek reported in its May 17 issue. A note in the intelligence service's file suggested Iraq was then under too much international scrutiny to pursue the deal but recommended Iraq "maintain contact" with the middleman. -------- "AP: Miners Drawn to Illegal Congo Uranium," TODD PITMAN, The Las Vegas Sun, May 31, 2004 at 14:31:41 PDT
2000 & 2001 : (DELTA SERVICES HANDLES IRAQI OIL EXPORT CONTRACTS - See MOHAMMED ALAMOUDI) The Alamoudi-affiliated company Delta Services--a Swiss subsidiary of the Saudi company Delta Oil--handled Iraqi oil export contracts in 2000 and 2001 and was revealed in 2003 as a recipient of Iraqi Oil-for-Food vouchers channeled through Abu Abbas, a Palestinian terrorist with Iraqi connections. ....13 posted on 10/25/2004 1:18:53 PM PDT by BushisTheMan
2001 : (IRAQ & NIGER CONTACT) Ja'far claims a second contact between Iraq and Niger occurred when a Nigerian minister visited Baghdad around 2001 to request assistance in obtaining petroleum products to alleviate Niger's economic problems. During the negotiations for this contract, the Nigerians did not offer any kind of payment or other quid pro quo, including offering to provide Iraq with uranium ore, other than cash in exchange for petroleum.
ISG recovered a copy of a crude oil contract dated 26 June 2001 that, although unsigned, appears to support this arrangement. -------Covering up Iraq's quest for uranium in Africa American Thinker ^ | 10-26-05 | Douglas Hanson - Commentary and Analysis
2001 : (A PAN AFRICAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROJECT IS LAUCHED BY PACONET WITH FINANCING BY FORMER SOUTH AFRICAN PREIDENT NELSON MANDELA & AIG [See EL PASO ENERGY CORP]) [Mohammed] Alamoudi investments in African telecommunications included a Pan-African telecommunications project launched in 2001 by Pan African Communications Network (PACONET) with financing from a fund chaired by former South African President Nelson Mandela and cofinanced by the International Finance Corporation (IFG), the American International Group (AIG, a group including the Houston-based company El Paso Energy Corporation), and the African Development Bank (ADB). -------From Fedora (clipped from the draft of my article)| 11/05/2005 11:44:05 PM PST replied
* My note: Hey, Fedora... did anyone ever explain Joe Wilson's bio's stupid reference to the El Paso Navy or some such thing? did he ever have anything to do with El Paso Energy Co?
FEBRUARY 2001 : (ABU ROUB BECOMES DISAPPOINTED WITH YASIR ARAFAT , GOES TO IRAQ WHERE HE AND HIS FAMILY ARE CONTACTED BY PLF FOUNDER & LEADER ABU ABBAS, WHO ARRANGES FOR HIS TRAINING AT AN IRAQI MILITARY BASE CALLED AL QUDS - See WATER SUPPLY PLOTS, POISON PLOTS, SCHOOL PLOTS ---- See ABU ABBAS & DELTA SERVICES, MOHAMMED ALAMOUDI) Abu Roub began looking toward Baghdad for a kindred spirit after he became disappointed with Yasser Arafat in February 2001, shortly after the Palestinian terror offensive began. "I made a strong commitment to Saddam, just as he made a commitment to the Palestinian people. Our destinies are interlinked," Abi Roub said. Abu Roub left his wife and three young daughters in their West Bank village of Kabatiya and traveled with two other would-be terrorists to Baghdad by way of Amman, Jordan. There they were contacted by Abu Abbas, the head of the Palestine Liberation Front - and best known as the commander of the 1985 seajacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro and for the murder of New Yorker Leon Klinghoffer. Abu Roub and the two other recruits were taken to a secret military base called "al-Quds," a 90-minute drive from Baghdad, where they were trained in sabotage under concealed identities. "There was no problem getting weapons, ammunition, poisonous powders," he said. "Everything was in big quantities. There were no limits."
When Abu Roub had finished training, Abu Abbas told him to prepare for the attack on the Israeli water supply - as well as on kindergartens or school buses that would traumatize Israeli parents. "I want a mega-attack with a lot of casualties that will paralyze the life of Israel," Abu Roub quoted him as saying. Luckily for the Israelis, their Shin Bet secret service caught up with Abu Roub before he was able to carry out any of the schemes.----------- "IRAQ'S THUG BARES EVIL POISON PLOT," by URI DAN, New York Post, February 2, 2003
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
MARCH 2001 : (BBC ALLEGATIONS ARISE THAT IRAQ PURCHASED URANIUM FROM SOUTH AFRICA IN 1988) The BBC television programme Correspondent reported in March 2001 that Iraqi defectors, including a nuclear engineer and an assistant to Saddam Hussain's son Uday, had revealed that Iraq obtained uranium for its nuclear programme from South Africa. The deal had been signed in 1986 and the uranium delivered in 1988 - "Iraq 'sought African uranium' Britain says Iraq wanted African uranium, "BBC News World Edition, Tuesday, 24 September, 2002, 10:59 GMT 11:59 UK
APRIL 2001 : (BEKKAH ABDUL NASSIR OF THE UGANDAN GROUP ADF WRITES LETTER TO THE HEAD OF IRAQ'S SPY AGENCY; REFERS TO A CENTER IN BAGHDAD, IRAQ AS BEING THE "HEADQUARTERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL HOLY WARRIOR NETWORK") Saddam Hussein's regime was linked to an African Islamist terrorist group, according to intelligence papers seen by The Telegraph. The documents provide the first hard evidence of ties between Iraq and religious terrorism.
Secret dossiers detailing the group's discussions with the Iraqi Intelligence Service were found in the spies' Baghdad headquarters, among the detritus of shredding. The papers show how Iraq's charge d'affaires in Nairobi, Fallah Hassan Al Rubdie, was in discussion with the Allied Democratic Forces, a Ugandan guerrilla group with ties to other anti-western Islamist organisations. While the United States has long argued that Saddam's regime was aiding Islamist groups, it has struggled until now to provide compelling evidence.
In a letter to the head of the Iraqi spy agency, a senior ADF operative outlined his group's efforts to set up an "international mujahideen team". Its mission, he said, "will be to smuggle arms on a global scale to holy warriors fighting against US, British and Israeli influences in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Far East". The letter, dated April 2001, was signed: "Your Brother, Bekkah Abdul Nassir, Chief of Diplomacy ADF Forces".
Nassir offered to "vet, recruit and send youth to train for the jihad" at a centre in Baghdad, which he described as a "headquarters for international holy warrior network". It was not clear whether the centre was established. "We should not allow the enemy to focus on Afghanistan and Iraq, but we should attack their international criminal forces inside every base," the letters said. --------- "Saddam link to terror group," By Philip Smucker in Baghdad and Adrian Blomfield in Nairobi (Filed: 17/04/2003) , UK Telegraph
MAY 2001 : (A UGANDAN OFFERS TO SELL CONGOLESE URANIUM TO IRAQ) In mid-May 2003, an ISG team found an Iraqi Embassy document in the Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS) headquarters related to an offer to sell yellowcake to Iraq. The document reveals that a Ugandan businessman approached the Iraqis with an offer to sell uranium, reportedly from the Congo. The Iraqi Embassy in Nairobi—in reporting this matter back to Baghdad on 20 May 2001—indicated it told the Ugandan that Iraq does not deal with these materials, explained the circumstances of sanctions, and said that Baghdad was not concerned about these matters right now.
Duelfer accepts the Iraqi ambassador's refusal of the Congo uranium offer as fact, while his analysis soft pedals the extreme Islamic undertones of the May 2001 letter. The Ugandan "friend" who wanted to arrange the uranium transfer, also said that ...he will do his best to help Iraq and Iraq's regime for Jihad together against our enemy, and he considers supporting the power of Iraq to be his participation which is power for all Muslims, and he feels that his duties are to support and strengthen that power. -------Covering up Iraq's quest for uranium in Africa American Thinker ^ | 10-26-05 | Douglas Hanson - Commentary and Analysis
JUNE 13 - 17, 2001 : (FLIGHT RK731 : SOUTH AFRICANS SANDI MAJALI, MOTLANTHE & MENDI MSIMANG TRAVEL TO KINSHASA, CONGO - Se ANC, IRAQ) The Sunday Times can confirm today that the trio travelled to: ...Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo on flight RK731 on June 13 2001. They spent four days there. -- "Shady Iraq oil deals: The ANC connection: Top brass flew to Baghdad with publicity-shy empowerment businessman, " by Mzilikazi Wa Afrika, Jessica Bezuidenhout and Andre Jurgens, SA Sunday Times
SEPTEMBER 3, 2001 : (SOUTH AFRICA : US PULLS OUT OF UN RACISM CONFERENCE) Israel and the U.S. have pulled out of the U.N. Conference Against Racism after compromise over condemning Israel had failed U.S. pulls out of racism conference
NOVEMBER 9 - 17, 2001 : (SOUTH AFRICAN ANC OFFICIALS TRAVEL TO THE MIDDLE EAST - See IRAQ OIL VOUCHERS, IMVUNE RESOURCES, TARIQ AZIZ, KGALEMA MOTLANTHE, MENDI MSIMANG) [Sandi] Majali accompanied ANC secretary-general Kgalema Motlanthe and the party's treasurer-general, Mendi Msimang, to the Middle East from November 9 to 17 2001. Just two weeks later, on December 1, the Iraqi government allocated [Sandi] Majali's company two million barrels of oil. - "Shady Iraq oil deals: The ANC connection: Top brass flew to Baghdad with publicity-shy empowerment businessman, " by Mzilikazi Wa Afrika, Jessica Bezuidenhout and Andre Jurgens, SA Sunday Times
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
2002 : (ARAPCO IS CREATED TO BUY OIL CONCESSIONS IN AFRICA- See MOHAMMED ALAMOUDI) The Alamoudi oil empire, centered around the Saudi-based company Delta Oil, included African ventures such as Arab-African Petroleum Company (ARAPCO), created in 2002 to buy oil concessions in Africa and develop them with foreign partners. -------From Fedora (clipped from the draft of my article)| 11/05/2005 11:44:05 PM PST replied
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
2002 : (FORMER US SENATOR FROM S DAKOTA, JAMES ABOUREZK, PRAISES HEZBOLLAH - See NELSON MANDELA) The second-generation Lebanese-American seemingly has no problem exercising his first amendment rights. In 2002, Abourezk praised the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah and the "positive role it was playing in Lebanon.""[Hezbollah] was like the tool that forced the 'Israelis' to withdraw," Abourezk said.Also last year [2002], Abourezk suggested that the solution to Israel's terrorism problem would be to "get the hell out of the occupied territories." "It's not a wonder there are suicide bombers, it's a wonder there aren't many more," Abourezk said. ---- "20-Year-Old Republican Website Owner Sued by Former Democrat Senator, " By Jeff Gannon, Talon News, July 31, 2003
SEPTEMBER 2002 : (US POLITICIANS NICK RAHALL & ABOUREZK TRIP TO IRAQ COSPONSORED BY FORMER SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT NELSON MANDELA) --Mandela cosponsored [Dem congressmen] Rahall and Abourezk's 9/2002 trip to Iraq -----via FR's Fedora
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Occidental Petroleum's Vice President for Middle East business Odeh Aburdene, shares a complex network of relationships with Rock Creek’s Elias Aburdene and Joseph Wilson--notably, all three contributed to Congressman Nick Rahall ----- "What Wilson Didn’t Say About Africa: Joseph Wilson's Silent Partners ," via 112 posted on 04/24/2006 2:25:40 PM PDT by Fedora | To 111
SEPTEMBER 2002 : (FORMER DEMOCRAT US SENATOR FROM SOUTH DAKOTA JAMES ABOUREZK TRAVELS TO IRAQ TO MEET WITH IRAQI DPTY PM TARIQ AZIZ ----- See CNSS, ADC) The former senator made a trip to Baghdad in September 2002 to meet Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz. Abourezk said that a U.S. attack on Iraq would be "immoral."---- "20-Year-Old Republican Website Owner Sued by Former Democrat Senator, " By Jeff Gannon, Talon News, July 31, 2003
SEPTEMBER 2002 : (IRAQ's "CHEMICAL ALI" ALI HUSSEIN AL MAJID aka ALI HASSAN AL MAJID TOURS SEVERAL NATIONS IN NORTH AFRICA, INCLUDING ALGERIA, LIBYA & TUNISIA - see ANFAL, HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES, CHEMICAL WEAPONS, ETC) ---- 'Chemical Ali' Found Dead in Basra [rumor] AP, Monday, April 7, 2003
SEPTEMBER 2002 : (DENNIS KUCINICH ANNOUNCES THE FORMATION OF A CONGRESSIONAL ANTIWAR DELEGATION - See ABOUREZK, LEE, MCDERMOTT, OIL VOUCHER RECIPIENT SHAKIR AL KHAFAJI) The CPC overlaps with the Iraq antiwar lobby organized in September 2002 by CPC Congressman Dennis Kucinich. Kucinich announced the formation of a Congressional antiwar coalition immediately following the return of a delegation to Baghdad co-led by former MCPL Senator James Abourezk [ ----- See CNSS, ADC].
Kucinich’s coalition initially consisted of 19 Democrats, notably CPC members Barbara Lee, who had cast the lone vote against military action in Afghanistan after 9/11, and Jim McDermott, who had also criticized military action against Afghanistan. McDermott would soon follow up Abourezk’s delegation with another trip to Baghdad.
Accompanying McDermott’s delegation was Iraqi agent Shakir Al-Khafaji, who later paid McDermott a check. Al-Khafaji had also been using Oil-for-Food vouchers to finance a film by antiwar spokesman Scott Ritter, who met Abourezk’s delegation in Baghdad. Since 2002, Kucinich’s coalition has spearheaded the movement to defund the war effort.-------------- "In Fonda’s Footsteps: Murtha, Kucinich, and the Antiwar Movement’s Economic War," Original FReeper research | 1/15/2007 | By Fedora
SEPTEMBER 29, 2002 : (IRAQ "12 WISE MEN" PROPOSAL TO STAVE OFF WAR; See ZAMBIA, SOUTH AFRICA, MANDELA, CARTER, KAUNDA, TARIQ AZIZ) Nelson Mandela has been named as part of a prospective council of 12 international statesmen to intervene in the Iraq crisis.Mandela, along with Jimmy Carter, a former United States president, will be sounded out on flying to Iraq to shadow the weapons inspections process in that country and ensure inspectors are given full access. The proposal is seen as an initiative by the Iraqi administration to stave off US military action, with the 12 "wise men" able to verify that the UN weapons inspectors were able to visit all sites under suspicion of being assembly points for weapons of mass destruction....
Zelda la Grange, a spokesperson for Mandela, said of the "wise men" proposal: "If the invitation from Iraq carries the approval of the UN then Madiba will consider it." As yet no official request had reached Mandela's office. Should Mandela be asked to act as a "juror", he would seek UN approval for this and would most likely send a special representative and make occasional personal visits to Iraq, said La Grange.
But diplomatic sources said the idea first came about during talks between Tariq Aziz, the Iraqi foreign minister, and Mandela at the World Summit on Sustainable Development. "It is still an idea (which exists) in the minds of some people. We will see in the next few days how it progresses," a source said.
Aziz insisted that the issue of neutralising weapons of mass destruction was being used as a pretext by America to overthrow President Saddam Hussein.
Kenneth Kaunda, the former Zambian president, has also been pencilled in as a member of the team of international "guards".
-----"'Wise man' Madiba sought for Iraqi mission," By Beauregard Tromp, Sunday Independent On Line, Zambia, September 29 2002 at 11:01AM , http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=ct20020929110127587I6253756
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(snip) DURBAN [SOUTH AFRICA]- In an extraordinary twist to the current tensions between the United States and Iraq, former South African president (and Nobel Peace Prize winner) Nelson Mandela has not only sided strongly against President George W. Bush, but appears on the point of being recruited to a stratagem by Saddam Hussein to block U.S. military intervention.
Mandela has uttered stronger and stronger statements critical of Bush. Originally he attempted to telephone the U.S. President to communicate his views, but Bush did not take his calls, so Mandela phoned ex-president George Bush Sr. to complain about his son and ask for his criticisms to be passed on. When this failed to move Bush Jr., Mandela declared the U.S. threat of pre-emptive war to bring about regime change in Iraq meant that the United States, not Iraq, was now "a danger to world peace." He followed this up by announcing that "some people" were saying that the United States was flouting the United Nations' authority because Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, was a black man.
Last week Mandela went further still, no longer putting such allegations in the mouths of "some people," but openly charging that the Bush administration was acting out of racist and white supremacist motives in not "obeying" Kofi Annan. "No country, however powerful it may be, is entitled to act outside the UN. When UN secretaries-general were white we never had the question of any country ignoring the United Nations, but now that we have got black secretaries-general like Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Kofi Annan certain countries that believe in white supremacy are ignoring the UN for racist reasons."
At the same time, Mandela has declared himself willing to serve on a panel of "12 wise men" proposed by Saddam Hussein to oversee the UN inspectors, provided this plan finds acceptance with the UN. The panel is quite clearly intended to create a supra-national body that will interpose itself between Iraq and possible Anglo-American intervention. Quite clearly, the idea would be to pack the panel with personalities likely to oppose U.S. action. Already Saddam has mentioned ex-president Jimmy Carter as a possible member, clearly in anticipation that Carter would share Al Gore's critical attitude towards the Bush position.
Moreover, Saddam is hoping to push onto such a panel figures whom he can covertly influence or control. One such is former president Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia. ...
Naturally, Saddam's leverage with Kaunda increased immensely after he fell from power in 1993.
Kaunda, suddenly bereft of the state patronage and funds he had relied on, needed Saddam's subventions all the more. In return he has been a frequent, albeit somewhat gloomy, attendee at state functions in Baghdad. Naturally, in putting forward Kaunda's name as one of the "wise men" Saddam makes much of his role in supporting the cause of African freedom: There is no mention of these ties which would make it extremely hard to imagine Kaunda taking any other side but Saddam's.
Mandela's case is more complex. He shares the general Third World nervousness at the new doctrine of "regime change" -- for if the United States is to start deposing Third World dictators on general principle, many of Mandela's friends and donors would be at risk. In the run-up to the 1994 election in South Africa, Mandela raised prodigious sums of money for his African National Congress -- including from such undemocratic regimes as Libya, Saudi Arabia, Suharto's Indonesia -- and Saddam's Iraq.... (/snip)------------Mandela picks Iraq over U.S. National Post ^ | October 11 2002 | R.W. Johnson
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