This item comes from the list
of Bruce Tefft, a retired CIA officer, prefaced with the following
remark:
Funny, I thought Saddam Hussein had no contact with
terrorists - nor were any terrorists in Iraq prior to the US
"invasion"....
Jordan
king:Iraq refused to deport
Zarqawi
BEIRUT,
Lebanon, May 19 (UPI) --
Jordan's King Abdullah
revealed Thursday that Iraq's
former Baath regime had refused to deport Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, blamed for
ongoing terrorism in Iraq.
Speaking in an interview with Saudi daily al-Hayat,
Abdullah said Zarqawi, a Jordanian, is well entrenched in Iraq and that
"he and terrorists like him thrive in such places where security and stability
are non-existent."
Abdullah said Jordan was the first target for Zarqawi before he
found safe haven in Iraq.
"Since Zarqawi entered Iraq before the fall of the former regime we have
been trying to have him deported back to Jordan for
trial, but our efforts were in vain," Abdullah
added.
Zarqawi, the purported leader of al-Qaida in
Iraq, is accused of terrorist
bombings targeting U.S.-led multinational troops and Iraqi forces as well as
civilians.
Abdullah also pointed out that "real reforms are
forthcoming in all countries of the Middle East," stressing, however, that "true
change should come from within and not be imposed from
outside."
Copyright 2005 by United Press International.
All
rights reserved.
