[CLUE-Talk] More Evidence for a Hussein - AlQaeda Link

[Timothy C. Klein]

* Randy Arabie (randy at arabie.org) wrote:
> Quoting "Timothy C. Klein" <teece at silverklein.net>:
> 
> > * Jed S. Baer (thag at frii.com) wrote:
> > > Well, here's an interesting article:
> > > http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/42706.htm
> > > 
> > > <quote>
> > > Their deadly collaboration - which may have included the bombing of the
> > > USS Cole and the 9/11 attacks - is revealed in a 16-page memo to the
> > > Senate Intelligence Committee that cites reports from a variety of
> > > domestic and foreign spy agencies compiled by multiple sources, The Weekly
> > > Standard reports.
> > 
> > Here is another one that is a must read, especially if you felt
> > compelled by the leaked Feith memo.
> > 
> > http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2003/0311.ackerman.html
> > 
> 
> Or this one, especially if you felt compelled by the Washington Monthly:
> 
> http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/378fmxyz.asp
> 
> <quote>
> An analysis that follows No. 18 provides additional context and an explanation 
> of these reports: 
> 
> Reporting entries #4, #11, #15, #16, #17, and #18, from different sources, 
> corroborate each other and provide confirmation of meetings between al Qaeda 
> operatives and Iraqi intelligence in Afghanistan and Pakistan. None of the 
> reports have information on operational details or the purpose of such 
> meetings. The covert nature of the relationship would indicate strict 
> compartmentation [sic] of operations.
> Information about connections between al Qaeda and Iraq was so widespread by 
> early 1999 that it made its way into the mainstream press. A January 11, 1999, 
> Newsweek story ran under this headline: "Saddam + Bin Laden?" The story cited 
> an "Arab intelligence source" with knowledge of contacts between Iraq and al 
> Qaeda. "According to this source, Saddam expected last month's American and 
> British bombing campaign to go on much longer than it did. The dictator 
> believed that as the attacks continued, indignation would grow in the Muslim 
> world, making his terrorism offensive both harder to trace and more effective. 
> With acts of terror contributing to chaos in the region, Turkey, Jordan, Saudi 
> Arabia, and Kuwait might feel less inclined to support Washington. Saddam's 
> long-term strategy, according to several sources, is to bully or cajole Muslim 
> countries into breaking the embargo against Iraq, without waiting for the 
> United Nations to lift if formally." 
> </quote>
> 
> That sounds like some compelling analysis (ie. not simply unrelated "raw" 
> intelligence) to me.

The key sentence above is "None of the reports have information on
operational details or purpose of such meetings."

The US had extensive 'contacts' with Soviet intelligence officials
during the Cold War. Were we obvisously in cahoots? Bin Laden had
publicly stated he hated Hussein; it is also entirely possible that
Hussein was trying to get people to defect from bin Laden's organization
so that he would have intelligence about their operation. We don't have
any idea. But there is zero evidence of any of these 'contacts' having
gone anywhere. And we now occupy the Iraqi Information Ministry. This
hearsay nonsese is the best we can do?

More importantly, the majority of the meetings were in the mid 90's, and
by 2000 had completely stopped.

Color me completely unimpressed.

Tim
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== Timothy Klein || teece at silver_NO-UCE_klein.net   ==
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