Newly released document
links Saddam to al-Qaida
Indicates regime was cooperating with bin Laden group to strike U.S.
---------------------------------
Posted: March 17, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
Saddam Hussein on Iraqi TV prior to the warAmong the pre-war documents posted
online yesterday by the Pentagon is a letter from a member of Saddam's
intelligence apparatus indicating al-Qaida and the Taliban had a relationship
with the regime prior to the 9-11 attacks. The letter by the member of
Saddam's Al Mukabarat to a superior, dated Sept. 15, 2001, reports a pre-9/11
conversation between an Iraqi intelligence source and a Taliban Afghani consul.
The documents were released yesterday at the direction of
National Intelligence Director John Negroponte. Among the first batch of the
thousands expected to be declassified over the next several months, the Al
Mukabarat document was translated from the original Arabic by a contributor to
the online forum Free Republic. Laura Mansfield, an independent Middle East
analyst, examined the translation for WorldNetDaily and said it appears to be
accurate. The letter indicated Osama bin Laden and the Taliban in Afghanistan
were in contact with Iraq noting a specific visit to Baghdad and said the
U.S. had proof Saddam's regime and al-Qaida were cooperating to hit a target in
the U.S. The document said the U.S. was aware of such a relationship and
could strike Iraq and Afghanistan if the attacks proved to be tied to bin Laden
and the Taliban. The translated text is as follows:. 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:
.
Zarqawi a pre-war presence? Mansfield pointed to another document showing
that less than a year after the 9-11 attacks, Saddam's government had
identified at least one active al-Qaida cell in his country.
Photos of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in pre-war Iraqi document recovered by U.S. The
document, released only in Arabic, is described by the U.S. government as
follows: 2002 Iraqi Intelligence Correspondence concerning the presence of
al-Qaida Members in Iraq. Correspondence between IRS members on a suspicion,
later confirmed, of the presence of an Al-Qaeda terrorist group. Moreover, it
includes photos and names. Mansfield said a translation of the document shows
the al-Qaida terrorist Saddam's government had identified was Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi, who emerged as one of the leading terrorists in post-Saddam Hussein
Iraq. The document, dated Aug. 17, 2002, identifies the al-Qaida member as
Ahmed Fadil Nizal Al Khalaylah, the real name of Zarqawi, and includes a series
of photos. A memo within the document shows that as early Aug. 8, 2002,
Zarqawi was identified as a member of "Tanzeem al-Qaida," or the "Al-Qaida
Organization. "This document provides startling documentation that at
the very least that Saddam Hussein's government knew that al-Qaida was active
and functioning in Iraq," Mansfield said. She pointed out that although the
document goes on to outline activities of the group, there is no indication the
Iraqi government took any steps to stop al-Qaida from operating within Iraq, in
clear defiance of international law. Caveat Weekly Standard reporter
Stephen Hayes, whose reporting has helped move members of Congress to call for
release of the documents, nevertheless, has cautioned that they are published
with a caveat. The Pentagon website says: "The U.S. Government has made no
determination regarding the authenticity of the documents, validity or factual
accuracy of the information contained therein, or the quality of any
translations, when available." The administration's intent is to allow
lawmakers and the public to investigate the documents' claims about
controversial issues such as weapons of mass destruction and al-Qaida's
relationship to
the regime prior to the March 2003 invasion. House Intelligence Chairman
Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., requested the release, and last weekend Negroponte
agreed to set up the website. Hoekstra said in a statement he welcomed the
opportunity to answer questions critical to the debate over the war. "Whether
Saddam Hussein destroyed Iraq's weapons of mass destruction or hid or
transferred them, the most important thing is we discover the truth of what was
happening in the country prior to the war," he said. ==
contentVersion; if ( Playable ) { document.write(''); document.write('
'); document.write(' '); document.write(' '); document.write('
'); } else { document.write(''); } //--> In 2003, a 16-page top secret
government memo to the Senate Intelligence Committee said bin Laden and Saddam
had an operational relationship from the early 1990s to 2003 that involved
training in explosives and weapons of mass destruction, as well as financial
and logistical support, and may have included the bombing of the USS Cole and
the Sept. 11 attacks. "The memo, dated Oct. 27, 2003, was sent from
Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas J. Feith to Senators Pat Roberts
and Jay Rockefeller, the chairman and vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence
Committee," reported the Weekly Standard. It was written in response to a
request from the committee as part of its investigation into prewar
intelligence claims made by the administration. According to the Weekly
Standard, the memo reports Saddam's willingness to help bin Laden plot against
Americans
began in 1990, shortly before the first Gulf War, and continued until the eve
of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. It says bin Laden sent ''emissaries
to Jordan in 1990 to meet with Iraqi government officials.'' At some
unspecified point in 1991, according to a CIA analysis, ''Iraq sought Sudan's
assistance to establish links to al-Qaida.''
---------------------------------
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