Free Republic

The commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks has been told "a very prominent member" of al Qaeda served as an officer in Saddam Hussein's militia, a panel member said on Sunday. Republican commissioner John Lehman told NBC's "Meet the Press" program that the new intelligence, if proven true, buttresses claims by the Bush administration of ties between Iraq and the militant network believed responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America. "We are now in the process of getting this latest intelligence," Lehman said. Commission Chairman Thomas Kean urged the administration to make any such information available to the...

TIKRIT, Iraq (AP) - U.S. troops identified Saddam Hussein loyalists in custody Wednesday as two key members of the ousted dictator's Republican Guard and a paymaster for his Fedayeen Saddam militia. Officials at the 4th Infantry Division said they released 10 other men taken in a sweep through the outskirts of Saddam's hometown, Tikrit, on Tuesday, keeping four in custody. The military still had not released names but said the four included a Republican Guard corps-level chief of staff, a guard division commander and a paymaster for the militia. A fourth man kept in custody was not identified at all....