( http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2004-06-17-hadley_x.htm ) No evidence of Saddam link, except for all the evidence
Excerpt:
The staff report concludes that:
Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden "explored possible cooperation with
Iraq during his time in Sudan."
"A senior Iraqi intelligence officer reportedly made three visits to
Sudan, finally meeting bin Laden in 1994."
"Contacts between Iraq and al-Qaeda also occurred after bin Laden had
returned to Afghanistan."
Chairman Thomas Kean has confirmed: "There were contacts between Iraq
and al-Qaeda, a number of them, some of them a little shadowy. They were
definitely there."
Following news stories, Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton said he did not
understand the media flap over this issue and that the commission does
not disagree with the administration's assertion that there were
connections between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein's government.
President Bush and members of his administration have said all along
that there were contacts and that those contacts raised troubling
questions.
For instance, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is the leader of a terrorist group
that is responsible for a number of deadly attacks throughout Iraq. He
and his men trained and fought with al-Qaeda for years. Zarqawi's
network helped establish and operate an explosives and poisons facility
in northeast Iraq. Zarqawi and nearly two-dozen al-Qaeda associates were
in Baghdad before the fall of Saddam's regime. In 2002, one al-Qaeda
associate bragged that the situation in Iraq was "good" and that Baghdad
could be transited quickly.
It may be that all of the contacts between Iraq and al-Qaeda never
resulted in joint terrorist attacks. But considering all that we knew,
no responsible leader could take for granted that such a collaboration
would never happen.
I say:
Oh, and by the way, ( http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040618/D839DV0O1.html ) Putin says Russia gave Dubya some intelligence .
There's a double entendre there. Dubya, intelligence. Go for it.
I know you want to.
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( http://politicsandcurrentaffairs.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?p=31236#31236 ) Comment at P&CA
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