Still no Link Between Saddam and Al Qaeda

A number of conservative writers have tried to prove (or strongly suggest) a link between Saddam and Al Qaeda on 9-11. (See links at bottom.)

I would say the evidence of US support of Saddam in the 1980s is far greater than any evidence of Saddam supporting Osama in the 1990s. The galling thing is how US support of a tyrant is ignored by The Press while extremely weak evidence is amplified to make a false connection between Saddam and 9-11.

It's obvious why the connection is being pushed: to justify invading and occupying Iraq.

There are many days when it feels like we've fallen down the rabbit hole, and all logic is upside-down.

Here's what the 9-11 Commission has to say about this:

Let's hope their final report holds up and doesn't lead to a new cottage industry of conspiracy theories on 9-11. There are enough already...

U.

Panel Says No Signs of Iraq, Qaeda Link
Wed June 16, 2004 11:22 AM ET
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=5438743
[]
By Deborah Charles

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Investigators have found no evidence Iraq aided al Qaeda attempts to attack the United States, a commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001 hijackings said on Wednesday, undermining Bush administration arguments for war.

The report by commission staff said al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had met with a senior Iraqi intelligence officer in 1994 and had explored the possibility of cooperation, but the plans apparently never came to fruition.

President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney this week reiterated pre-war arguments that an Iraqi connection to al Qaeda, which is blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks, represented an unacceptable threat to the United States.

However, the commission said in a staff report, "We have no credible evidence that Iraq and al Qaeda cooperated on attacks against the United States."

"There is no convincing evidence that any government financially supported al Qaeda before 9/11 -- other than limited support provided by the Taliban after bin Laden first arrived in Afghanistan," it added.

The staff report was issued at the start of the commission's final two days of public hearings into the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people. The hearings were called to find out how the United States failed to prevent the attacks and what it can do now to improve security.

The report stood in contrast to comments this week by Vice President Dick Cheney, who said that ousted Iraqi leader Saddam had "long-established ties" to al Qaeda.

Bush, asked on Tuesday about Cheney's comments, cited the presence in Iraq of Islamist militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as "the best evidence of (a) connection to al Qaeda affiliates and al Qaeda."

Bush said Saddam had also supported militants such as Palestinian guerrilla leader Abu Nidal was "no doubt a destabilizing force."

Although Cheney and other officials had suggested Iraq might have played a direct role in the Sept. 11 attacks, Bush acknowledged after the war that there was no evidence of such cooperation.

A separate draft report by the commission also describes confusion in the Pentagon on the day of the attacks, the New York Times reported. It said Pentagon procedures were "unsuited in every respect" for the attacks, and unprepared officials responded with a "hurried attempt to create an improvised defense." Continued ...

Furthermore, the newspaper quoted commission chairman Thomas Kean as saying "there was a lot of chaos" in the White House response. It said commission members wanted to know why Bush was allowed to continue meeting with Florida schoolchildren after the attacks were known, and why Bush hopscotched around the country on Air Force One before returning to Washington.

AL QAEDA TRYING TO STRIKE U.S.

In a report entitled "Overview of the Enemy," the commission also said al Qaeda has changed drastically and become decentralized since the Sept. 11 attacks, but it still helps regional networks and will keep trying to strike the United States to inflict mass casualties.

"Al Qaeda remains extremely interested in conducting chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear attacks," said the report.

The commission said al Qaeda's ability to conduct an anthrax attack is one of the most immediate threats. Al Qaeda may also try a chemical attack using industrial chemicals, or by attacking a chemical plant or shipment of hazardous materials.

The report said al Qaeda may modify "traditional tactics" to prevent detection.

The CIA estimates al Qaeda spent $30 million a year before Sept. 11 for terror operations, to run the training camps and contribute to Afghanistan's Taliban militia. While it found no convincing evidence of government support, the panel said Saudi Arabia provided "fertile fund-raising ground" for al Qaeda.

FBI and CIA experts are due to testify about the militant Muslim network and give a detailed timeline of the events leading up to the deadly attacks.

Amazon.com links to book trying to prove a Saddam - Al Qaeda connection:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060746734/qid=1087403142/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/102-5608669-6370504?v=glance&s=books

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/006009771X/qid=1087402702/sr=1-19/ref=sr_1_19/102-5608669-6370504?v=glance&s=books