Friday, June 16, 2006
Saddam's Iraq and the Taliban - Fingerprints?
Well, this is interesting. Documents which have been turned up in Iraq are starting to get significant professional scrutiny.
Heretofore, Saddam and Al Qaeda have been connected primarily via Sudanese intermediaries and Saddam's apparent acceptance of Ansar Al Islam in Iraq. Some evidence has emerged regarding the use of Iraqi Intelligence Services to help train Al Qaeda recruits in terrorism tactics. And there has been speculation that Saddam used Abu Nidal, to whom he had given refuge, as a terror trainer. Those who would prefer to deny a connection cry foul -- though they tend not to have much in the way of a defense, save for questioning document authenticity. Fine.
However, these new documents are especially interesting because they point to a specific relationship between the fledgling Taliban regime and Iraq, introduced courtesy of a Pakistani islamist. The Taliban, generally isolated, asked for Iraq's assistance in reaching out to Russia. That seems reasonable and plausible. And Iraq's VP and intelligence representative acknowledge the US as a common foe, as both were being pressured by the Clinton Administration at the time of the meeting. By the way, the Pakistani fellow is no commoner -- he is a likely signatory of the famed 1998 fatwa by Osama Bin Laden against the US.
I would urge you to read the entire piece, though here is the author's analytical summary:
Such a relationship would be another bit of evidence connecting Saddam's Iraq to Al Qaeda terror, albeit with a more significant set of intermediaries driving the relationship -- Al Qaeda's chief national sponsor and host, the Taliban, and senior Pakistani islamists with close ties to Bin Laden.
Update: Christopher Hitchens comments on the same intelligence.
Heretofore, Saddam and Al Qaeda have been connected primarily via Sudanese intermediaries and Saddam's apparent acceptance of Ansar Al Islam in Iraq. Some evidence has emerged regarding the use of Iraqi Intelligence Services to help train Al Qaeda recruits in terrorism tactics. And there has been speculation that Saddam used Abu Nidal, to whom he had given refuge, as a terror trainer. Those who would prefer to deny a connection cry foul -- though they tend not to have much in the way of a defense, save for questioning document authenticity. Fine.
However, these new documents are especially interesting because they point to a specific relationship between the fledgling Taliban regime and Iraq, introduced courtesy of a Pakistani islamist. The Taliban, generally isolated, asked for Iraq's assistance in reaching out to Russia. That seems reasonable and plausible. And Iraq's VP and intelligence representative acknowledge the US as a common foe, as both were being pressured by the Clinton Administration at the time of the meeting. By the way, the Pakistani fellow is no commoner -- he is a likely signatory of the famed 1998 fatwa by Osama Bin Laden against the US.
I would urge you to read the entire piece, though here is the author's analytical summary:
Due to the information provided in this notebook, we see a possible secret, intelligence based, operational relationship between the Taliban and the Saddam regime via Maulana Fazlur Rahman. We can discern that the Maulana most likely is meeting with Habbush al Tikriti, implicated in documents published by the Telegraph newspaper in reference to the training of Atta in Iraq. We also have an annotation that indicates Pakistani Fazlur Rahman Khalil, a known bin Laden associate, Al Qaeda terrorist and a 1998 fatwa co-signatory, also was traveling to Iraq in 1999. A further translation from this notebook indicates that in another meeting, again with the Maulana, the Taliban proposes joint military training with the Iraqi military.
Such a relationship would be another bit of evidence connecting Saddam's Iraq to Al Qaeda terror, albeit with a more significant set of intermediaries driving the relationship -- Al Qaeda's chief national sponsor and host, the Taliban, and senior Pakistani islamists with close ties to Bin Laden.
Update: Christopher Hitchens comments on the same intelligence.
2 Comments:
By 
Dawnfire82, at
Fri Jun 16, 06:56:00 PM:
You're probably absolutely right. Hence, why I abhor domestic politics.
By Tom the Redhunter, at
Fri Jun 16, 08:28:00 PM:
"Some evidence has emerged regarding the use of Iraqi Intelligence Services to help train Al Qaeda recruits in terrorism tactics..."
What! You mean there's a connection between Saddam and al-Qaeda! Isn't that all the invention of the neocons (funded by Halliburton?
/sarcasm
Unfortunately most liberals are so invested in Bush lied! that nothing will convince them.
