Comments on: Saudi King Blasts U.S. "Occupiers" In Iraq

Remarks Provoke Rare Public Discord With U.S., But Could Build Credibility Of Saud Leadership Among Arabs

[henry6543]

Consider what a top al Qaeda operative, Abu Zubaydah, told his CIA interrogators after his capture in March 2002. According to the Senate Intelligence Report, Zubaydah said "he was not aware of a relationship between Iraq and al-Qaeda." But, he added that "any relationship would be highly compartmented and went on to name al Qaeda members who he thought had good contacts with the Iraqis." Zubaydah "indicated that he heard that an important al-Qaida associate, Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi, and others had good relationships with Iraqi intelligence."

Zubaydah's testimony has since been further corroborated by a known al Qaeda ideologue, Dr. Muhammad al-Masari. Al-Masari operated the Committee for the Defense of Legitimate Rights, a Saudi oppositionist group and al Qaeda front, out of London for more than a decade. He told the editor-in-chief of Al-Quds Al-Arabi that Saddam "established contact with the 'Afghan Arabs' as early as 2001, believing he would be targeted by the US once the Taliban was routed." Furthermore, "Saddam funded Al-Qaeda operatives to move into Iraq with the proviso that they would not undermine his regime."

[henry6543]

Al-Masari claimed that Saddam's regime actively aided Zarqawi and his men prior to the war and fully included them in his plans for a terrorist insurgency. He said Saddam "saw that Islam would be key to a cohesive resistance in the event of invasion." Iraqi officers bought "small plots of land from farmers in Sunni areas" and they buried "arms and money caches for later use by the resistance."
Just as Saddam ordered, many of Iraq's senior military and intelligence personnel joined or aided Zarqawi's jihad. Many of the more prominent supporters and members of Zarqawi's al Qaeda branch, in fact, came from the upper echelon of Saddam's regime. Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri (aka the "King of Clubs") and his sons allied with Zarqawi, as did members of Muhammad Hamza Zubaydi's (aka the "Queen of Spades") family. Zarqawi's allies included Muhammed Hila Hammad Ubaydi, who was an aide to Saddam's chief of staff of intelligence, and some of his more lethal operatives served as officers in Saddam's military, including Abu Ali, "Al-Hajji" Thamer Mubarak (whose sister attempted a martyrdom operation in Jordan), Abu-Ubaidah, and Abdel Fatih Isa.

[henry6543]

Welcome to lib airlines,

Today's movie is Nutcase Al Gore's "An inconvenient stretch beyond the truth".

Today's snack is "Ben&Jerry's lib lies" flavor.

Sit back, relax and get ready to swallow hard.

[andrew_693]

henry you are presenting documents that don't prove anything, they are not worth anything. Did you know, that George Tennant the head of the CIA, received these documentas you are showing? have you heard that he has been fired for not confirming none of them before approving the invasion?. Even Bush admits that there is no connection between al kaida and saddam, why do you insist?

[henry6543]

The truth, the whole truth, God's honest truth.

There's TONS more proof, If anyone decides to actually look for it.

[andrew_693]

if you want to fight terrorism why not start at home fighting the kkk, they are a terrorist organization also, they killed over 20 thousand americans in their over 100 year existence and hardly any of them were ever convicted. Since we are at war with terrorism why not start at home, dissarm all the militias that are a threat to our government, we have an army we don't need people armed to the their teeth, what's wrong? you don't trust your government with your security? did you know that our terrorists bombed the olympic games? the only 2 terrorist attacks ever on the olympics were done by palestinians (1974) and americans (1996). If italy is so concerned with terrorism why not invest the iraq money and fight the maffia that runs the entire south of italy or if the colombians so care, why don't they use the money invested in the iraq operation to fight against the FARC and the druglords that send drugs into US streets? our presence in iraq has nothing to do with our security, our troops would be better employed guarding our border with mexico, since over 500 illegals get thought every day because we have no manpower to guard it. Instead of guarding the waters of iran, why not use our navy to guard our thousands of miles that represent our coasts?.

[henry6543]

SADDAM HUSSEIN'S REGIME PROVIDED FINANCIAL support to Abu Sayyaf, the al Qaeda-linked jihadist group founded by Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law in the Philippines in the late 1990s, according to documents captured in postwar Iraq. An eight-page fax dated June 6, 2001, and sent from the Iraqi ambassador in Manila to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Baghdad, provides an update on Abu Sayyaf kidnappings and indicates that the Iraqi regime was providing the group with money to purchase weapons. The Iraqi regime suspended its support--temporarily, it seems--after high-profile kidnappings, including of Americans, focused international attention on the terrorist group.

[...]These documents add to the growing body of evidence confirming the Iraqi regime's longtime support for terrorism abroad. The first of them, a series of memos from the spring of 2001, shows that the Iraqi Intelligence Service funded Abu Sayyaf, despite the reservations of some IIS officials. The second, an internal Iraqi Intelligence memo on the relationships between the IIS and Saudi opposition groups, records that Osama bin Laden requested Iraqi cooperation on terrorism and propaganda and that in January 1997 the Iraqi regime was eager to continue its relationship with bin Laden. The third, a September 15, 2001, report from an Iraqi Intelligence source in Afghanistan, contains speculation about the relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda and the likely U.S. response to it.

[henry6543]

Text of the document in English translated from Arabic:

In the Name of God the Merciful

Presidency of the Republic
Intelligence Apparatus

To the respectful Mr. M.A.M

Subject: Information

Our source in Afghanistan No 11002 (for information about him see attachment 1) provided us with information that that Afghani Consul Ahmad Dahestani (for information about him see attachment 2) told him the following:

1. That Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban in Afghanistan are in contact with Iraq and it that previously a group from Taliban and Osama Bin Laden group visited Iraq.

2. That America has proof that the government of Iraq and Osama Bin Laden group have shown cooperation to hit target within America.

3. That in case it is proven the involvement of Osama Bin Laden group and the Taliban in these destructive operations it is possible that American will conduct strikes in Iraq and Afghanistan.

4. That the Afghani Consul heard about the subject of Iraq relation with Osama Bin Laden group during his stay in Iran.

5. In light of this we suggest to write to the Commission of the above information.

Please view? Yours? With regards
Signature:??, Initials : A.M.M, 15/9/2001
Foot note: Immediately send to the Chairman of Commission
Signature:????.

[henry6543]

Speaking of Ansar al Islam, the al Qaeda-linked terrorist group that operated in northern Iraq, the former high-ranking military intelligence officer says: "There is no question about the fact that AI had reach into Baghdad. There was an intelligence connection between that group and the regime, a financial connection between that group and the regime, and there was an equipment connection. It may have been the case that the IIS [Iraqi Intelligence Service] support for AI was meant to operate against the [anti-Saddam] Kurds. But there is no question IIS was supporting AI."

[andrew_693]

The iraqi who came up with the information that saddam had weapons of mass destruction, was unreliable, since he was a defector and wanted out of iraq before saddam got a chance to get rid of him. He worked in the nuclear programm for iraq. The german secret service advised the americans on the information that saddam had weapons of mass destruction and your guys, foolishly believed it. Now it's known that the supplier of the information was someone who just wanted money and out of iraq. The whle circus was also supported by another crook called Chalabi, who escaped Jordan and still is wanted for shady deals, a convicted fraud criminal. He also convinced the americans to invade iraq and they heard him.

[henry6543]

"As much as we overestimated WMD, it appears we underestimated [Saddam Hussein's] support for transregional terrorists," says one intelligence official.

The official continued: "[Saddam] used these groups because he was interested in extending his influence and extending the influence of Iraq. There are definite and absolute ties to terrorism. The evidence is there, especially at the network level. How high up in the government was it sanctioned? I can't tell you. I don't know whether it was run by Qusay [Hussein] or [Izzat Ibrahim] al-Duri or someone else. I'm just not sure. But to say Iraq wasn't involved in terrorism is flat wrong.

[andrew_693]

yeah, and I ve been told bin laden was a friend of the bush family and even dined together in his ranch. The difference is that what I'm saying is true and proven, while what you are saying is from a report that has no value anymore and even bush said there was no connection. It's been on the news , that Saddam sat down and dined with rumsfeld orrin hatch and bob dole 2 weeks before invading kuwait, this actually did take place. How come all the massacres of those that opposed saddam all the sudden seem important, a lot of them happened in the 80's and after the first gulf war, and yet we didn't care. Now he is a mass murderer, as if he was the only one. Most of our allies are regimes that hardly have any human rights and yet the war now is about making the iraquis like democracy and freedom. Ridiculous.

[andrew_693]

oh ok henry, now hillary clinton planned the invasion of iraq? hahhahahahaha. Yeah she went to iraq and took the pictures so collin buckwheat powell can make his presentation in front of the UN and convince a nation of people who don't read the news because they are busy with the playstation till age 50 and trust their government blindly. Wake up!!!

[henry6543]

We have been told by Hudayfa Azzam, the son of bin Laden's longtime mentor Abdullah Azzam, that Saddam Hussein welcomed young al Qaeda members "with open arms" before the war, that they "entered Iraq in large numbers, setting up an organization to confront the occupation," and that the regime "strictly and directly" controlled their activities. We have been told by Jordan's King Abdullah that his government knew Abu Musab al Zarqawi was in Iraq before the war and requested that the former Iraqi regime deport him. We have been told by Time magazine that confidential documents from Zarqawi's group, recovered in recent raids, indicate other jihadists had joined him in Baghdad before the Hussein regime fell. We have been told by one of those jihadists that he was with Zarqawi in Baghdad before the war. We have been told by Ayad Allawi, former Iraqi prime minister and a longtime CIA source, that other Iraqi Intelligence documents indicate bin Laden's top deputy was in Iraq for a jihadist conference in September 1999.

[henry6543]

Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS) documents recovered in Iraq after the war state that the former Iraqi regime provided safe haven and financial support to an Iraqi who has admitted to mixing the chemicals for the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center. We know from IIS documents that Saddam Hussein agreed to Osama bin Laden's request to broadcast anti-Saudi propaganda on Iraqi state-run television. We know from IIS documents that a "trusted confidante" of bin Laden stayed for more than two weeks at a posh Baghdad hotel as the guest of the Iraqi Intelligence Service.

[andrew_693]

henry 5643, even Bush has said there is no evidence of saddam and al kaida working together, why do you people not read the news? you are making a connection based on already admitted made up evidence. It's the same as saying that the earth is flat after the pope has already stated it's not.

[henry6543]

Hillary Clinton (Oct 19th, 2002) - "Saddam Hussein has given aid, comfort and sanctuary to terrorists, including al-Qaeda members"

[andrew_693]

I have an idea, why not let the US armed forces in Iraq function based on donations from the iraqui people, since they are so liked like some Republicans want us to believe and since the iraqis appreciatte the effort, I imagine they will be happy to fund the US armed forces presence there. Let the iraquis decide whether the will throw flowers or suicide bombers. I think the american tax payer money should be used for the US, not for rebuilding iraq and afghanistan. If they attack simply destroyed them, none of this rebuilding stupidity.

[henry6543]

The strong ties between Al Qaeda and the Taliban, and their joint responsibility for terrorism, are clear and well documented. This translated notebook segment provides possible evidence that the Saddam regime and the Taliban were planning diplomatic and possibly operational ties with each other. Independent research indicates Maulana Fazlur Rahman and Fazlur Rahman Khalil were both close to the Taliban and Al Qaeda. The Maulana asked the Saddam regime to mediate with the Taliban's enemies to take off some of the pressure. A fair question is what would Saddam have wanted in return? One possible answer is the only thing the Taliban had left to offer: Islamic Jihad and extremists operating for his interests from outside Iraq. Other translations from this notebook appear to expose a commitment between the Saddam regime and the Taliban that goes beyond mediation in order to increase support among Islamic Jihad groups for Iraq via a secret intelligence relationship with the Taliban.

[sero5]

O' King Abdullah! How can you forget 9/11? How can you forget how we help you in target Al Qaeda thugs in your own country? How can you forget your friends? Don't you remember taking a stroll with Bush, hand in hand, at the old Crawford ranch? I still remember the photos! O' King Abdullah! How can you forget who buys your most of your freakin' oil? We Americans do! Don't you ever forget!