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

[Jed S. Baer]

On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 18:43:38 -0700
"Timothy C. Klein" <teece at silverklein.net> wrote:

> Suffice it to say that I am operating from the stance that we don't
> know if there was a OBL-Hussein link, and if their was the US must
> prove that beyond a reasonable doubt. You seem to be operating under
> the assumption that there obviously was one, and *solid* evidence is a
> secondary concern. Also note, I am not talking about a tangential
> relationship -- I am talking about Saddam plotting with, funding, and
> knowing in advance about AQ attacking American targets.

In the world of intelligence gathering and analysis, to quote Churchill:
'I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in
a mystery inside an enigma.'

The larger point is that the intelligence community, whether you agree
with their reasons or not, will not, in many cases, prove beyond a
reasonable doubt, to the public of their respective nations, the
conclusions they draw. Politicians, such as members of the Senate
Intelligence Committee, for example, aren't supposed to reveal classified
information, and neither is the President.

I'm making a general case here, BTW. And it's difficult to think of
national security reasons why definitive information one way or the other
would be given a non-public classification. But the point is that solid
evidence might exist, and the administration might believe it's not
beneficial to release it. Maybe because it would cause problems with the
Saudis, or who knows why. Maybe in 50 years it'll be released. Maybe it
doesn't exist. I don't know. And neither does the NY Times, or The
National Review, or Michael Moore.

This phenomenon is also part of what we get with a representative form of
government. I'm not saying that that excuses any particular case, or that
we shouldn't ask for disclosures, but there it is.

jed
-- 
... it is poor civic hygiene to install technologies that could someday
facilitate a police state. -- Bruce Schneier