Saturday, March 18, 2006
New Saddam Docs Hint at 9/11 Link
Captured Iraqi intelligence documents ordered released last week by President Bush hint at a link between Saddam Hussein's regime and the 9/11 attacks.
The most intriguing document, dated four days after the 9/11 attacks, is titled "Osama bin Laden and the Taliban."
According to an ABC News translation, an Afghani informant told Saddam's Mukhabarrat intelligence service that Afghani Consul Ahmed Dahastani claimed the following in front of him:
That OBL and the Taliban are in contact with Iraq and that a group of Taliban and bin Laden group members visited Iraq.
That the U.S. has proof the Iraqi government and "bin Laden's group" agreed to cooperate to attack targets inside America.
That in case the Taliban and bin Laden's group turn out to be involved in "these destructive operations," the U.S. may strike Iraq and Afghanistan.
That the Afghani consul heard about the issue of Iraq's relationship with "bin Laden's group" while he was in Iran.
ABC considered the document so potentially explosive that it issued the following disclaimer in it's own report:
"The controversial claim that Osama bin Laden was cooperating with Saddam Hussein is an ongoing matter of intense debate. While the assertions contained in this document clearly support the claim, the sourcing is questionable -- i.e. an unnamed
Afghan "informant" reporting on a conversation with another Afghan 'consul.' The date of the document -- four days after 9/11 -- is worth noting but without further corroboration, this document is of limited evidentiary value."
While the 9/11 Commission insisted that any relationship between Saddam and al Qaeda was not "operational," others aren't so sure.
In May 2003, U.S. District Judge Harold Baer - a Carter appointee - awarded two 9/11 victim families $104 million based on their claim that Iraq played a material role in the attacks.
Evidence introduced at the trial included testimony from former CIA director James Woolsey, along with accounts from Iraqi defectors who claimed they were trained to hijack U.S. airliners at Saddam's terrorist training camp, Salman Pak.
Among those who believe that Iraq had a hand in 9/11: Saddam Hussein's replacement, former interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.
Reacting to a document uncovered by the London Telegraph in Dec. 2003 detailing a link between the Mukhabarrat and lead hijacker Mohamed Atta, Allawi said: "We are uncovering evidence all the time of Saddam's involvement with al-Qaeda.
"This is the most compelling piece of evidence that we have found so far. It shows that not only did Saddam have contacts with al-Qaeda, he had contact with those responsible for the September 11 attacks," he added.
Captured Iraqi intelligence documents ordered released last week by President Bush hint at a link between Saddam Hussein's regime and the 9/11 attacks.
The most intriguing document, dated four days after the 9/11 attacks, is titled "Osama bin Laden and the Taliban."
According to an ABC News translation, an Afghani informant told Saddam's Mukhabarrat intelligence service that Afghani Consul Ahmed Dahastani claimed the following in front of him:
That OBL and the Taliban are in contact with Iraq and that a group of Taliban and bin Laden group members visited Iraq.
That the U.S. has proof the Iraqi government and "bin Laden's group" agreed to cooperate to attack targets inside America.
That in case the Taliban and bin Laden's group turn out to be involved in "these destructive operations," the U.S. may strike Iraq and Afghanistan.
That the Afghani consul heard about the issue of Iraq's relationship with "bin Laden's group" while he was in Iran.
ABC considered the document so potentially explosive that it issued the following disclaimer in it's own report:
"The controversial claim that Osama bin Laden was cooperating with Saddam Hussein is an ongoing matter of intense debate. While the assertions contained in this document clearly support the claim, the sourcing is questionable -- i.e. an unnamed
Afghan "informant" reporting on a conversation with another Afghan 'consul.' The date of the document -- four days after 9/11 -- is worth noting but without further corroboration, this document is of limited evidentiary value."
While the 9/11 Commission insisted that any relationship between Saddam and al Qaeda was not "operational," others aren't so sure.
In May 2003, U.S. District Judge Harold Baer - a Carter appointee - awarded two 9/11 victim families $104 million based on their claim that Iraq played a material role in the attacks.
Evidence introduced at the trial included testimony from former CIA director James Woolsey, along with accounts from Iraqi defectors who claimed they were trained to hijack U.S. airliners at Saddam's terrorist training camp, Salman Pak.
Among those who believe that Iraq had a hand in 9/11: Saddam Hussein's replacement, former interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.
Reacting to a document uncovered by the London Telegraph in Dec. 2003 detailing a link between the Mukhabarrat and lead hijacker Mohamed Atta, Allawi said: "We are uncovering evidence all the time of Saddam's involvement with al-Qaeda.
"This is the most compelling piece of evidence that we have found so far. It shows that not only did Saddam have contacts with al-Qaeda, he had contact with those responsible for the September 11 attacks," he added.
