thedrifter
06-21-04, 08:19 AM
06-17-2004
“Uncooked” Intelligence
By William F. Sauerwein
The release of David Kay’s report of no “substantial stockpiles” of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) has generated charges of “cooked” intelligence. However, those making the charge overlook the entirety of Kay’s report, which includes overwhelming evidence concerning the presence of WMD’s. Kay also states that, based on his findings, the war in Iraq was totally justified, which is also ignored. The most overlooked, and unreported, evidence is Saddam Hussein’s extensive links to terrorist groups, including al Qaeda.
Con Coughlin, in his book Saddam: King of Terror, provides detailed information regarding Saddam’s lifetime interactions with terrorists. He began his political career organizing street violence in his hometown of Tikrit, including a murder. Following a six-month imprisonment, Saddam enjoyed certain notoriety among Iraq’s young revolutionaries.
Wounded in the failed 1959 assassination attempt on Iraqi dictator Abdul Karim Qassem, Saddam spent the next three years in exile. In Cairo, the then capital of Arab nationalism, Saddam was educated by the most prominent of Arab political theorists. He rose through the ranks of the Ba’ath Party, including an appointment to the party’s intelligence committee.
He focused on establishing the party’s security apparatus and consolidated his control of internal security. Saddam attached himself to the rising star of Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr, an Iraqi general and fellow Tikriti. Once Bakr became the head of a new Ba’ath government in 1968, Saddam quickly became his right-hand man.
Given Saddam’s background with terrorism and assassination attempts he understood how to thwart them. He began eradicating potential enemies of the party, and his potential political rivals as well. Using Josef Stalin’s example in the Soviet Union, Saddam brutally imposed his will on the Iraqi people.
Saddam blamed the country’s problems on Israel and “fifth columnists,” and eliminated his rivals as “Zionist spies.” Those too powerful to arrest were given meaningless foreign assignments where they died under “mysterious circumstances.” Saddam’s reach extended to London, Paris and Islamabad, and Iraqi exiles lived in constant fear.
By the 1970’s Saddam viewed himself as the heir to Gamal Abdul Nasser’s pan-Arab nationalism. Subsequently, he became involved in the intrigues of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the many Palestinian factions. His shaky relationship with Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) forced him to support other Palestinian groups.
Saddam’s first involvement with international terrorism was with Abu Nidal, and his sophisticated network of fanatics. Nidal moved to Baghdad in 1970 and worked closely with Iraqi intelligence, mainly with assassinating Nidal’s opponents within the PLO. Eventually Saddam coordinated with non-Muslim terrorist groups, such as Germany’s Baader-Meinhof gang and the Japanese “Red Army.” Subsequently, the U.S. State Department added Iraq to the list of countries sponsoring terrorism.
Coughlin interviewed a “former CIA officer,” who stated that Saddam supported these terrorist groups because they provided “flexibility.” In other words Saddam could use them as executioners while maintaining sufficient deniability. A terrorist training camp was established at the Salman Pak military base south of Baghdad for training “Islamic fighters” This included training them to hijack aircraft using the fuselage of a Boeing 707.
This training camp was captured by our troops during Operation Iraqi Freedom, including the aircraft fuselage. However, it received only cursory coverage in the media, and has been successfully buried.
In 1979 Saddam eased the sixty-five year old Bakr from power, citing “ill health.” This removed all pretenses, allowing him to fully purge his rivals, and pursue his dream of Arab leadership. His security forces were all-powerful, and that power possessed a worldwide reach.
Those who disavow Saddam’s links to Muslim terrorists because of his “secular regime” overlook the deeper facts. Saddam’s 1980 war with the Islamic regime in Iran was partially a religious war. Saddam’s home region is the Sunni Triangle, based on their Sunni Muslim beliefs. Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini was of the Shi’a sect, as are the majority of the Iraqi population.
The Iran-Iraq War put Saddam in contact with dissident Sunnis living in Baluchistan, a region divided between Iran and Pakistan. When Khomeini began his brutal reign in Iran the Baluchs resisted, and came in contact with Iraqi intelligence. Laurie Mylroie in her book Bush vs. the Beltway explains this connection, and its possible ties with the 1993 World Trade Center (WTC) bombing.
It seems the first WTC bombing was the work of Baluchs, all born and raised in Kuwait. All the implicated terrorists are members of a single family, which is without precedence in other terrorist organizations. The identities of these individuals are based on Kuwaiti files, which predate the 1991 liberation of Kuwait.
Mylroie explains that it is standard practice for Soviet-style intelligence agencies to develop false identities for agents. The purpose is to cover for agents involved in illegal operations for preventing the operation being traced back to the sponsor. It would have been easy for Iraqi intelligence to develop such ‘legends” using individuals who died during the occupation of Kuwait.
Saddam’s use of terrorism to attack American interests is not new, as evidenced by his April, 1993 attempt on former President George H.W. Bush. Then-President Bill Clinton authorized a missile strike on Iraqi intelligence headquarters in Baghdad. However, American intelligence seems convinced this was a one-time affair, and successfully buried evidence to the contrary.
Meetings between al Qaeda operatives and Iraqi intelligence in Sudan were documented by Sudanese intelligence. These meetings are not only mentioned by both Coughlin and Mylroie, but detailed by Richard Miniter in his book Losing Bin Laden. Miniter states that a working relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda began in 1993. This partnership provided each with certain advantages: Saddam, an ally whose actions he could plausibly deny; bin Laden, an ally whose expertise and logistical support he could use.
Czech intelligence documents several meetings in 2000 and 2001 between Iraqi intelligence and 9/11 hijacking leader, Mohammed Atta. Atta lived in Germany at the time and traveled frequently from there to Prague. This is considered bad “tradecraft” because it draws added attention from authorities. On April 8, 2001 he was observed meeting with Iraqi intelligence agent, Ahmed Khalil Ibrahim Samir al-Ani. Receiving no satisfactory answer regarding this meeting, the Czechs expelled al-Ani within two weeks.
Mylroie theorizes that Saddam had advance warning of 9/11 based on an article appearing in the July 21, 2001 issue of Iraq’s Al-Nasriya newspaper. It states that bin Laden “will try to bomb the Pentagon after he destroys the White House.” It further states, “he will strike America on the arm that is already hurting.” In court testimony, former CIA director James Woolsey believes this implied the previously attacked WTC.
Coughlin states that before 9/11 Saddam placed the Iraqi military on the highest level of alert since the Gulf War of 1991. Saddam retreated into one of his heavily fortified bunkers in his hometown of Tikrit. His two wives, who under normal circumstances disliked each other, were moved to another of his secret bunkers. Certainly these events, which were monitored by our intelligence-gathering satellites, raised the early suspicions about Iraqi involvement.
Mylroie suggests the still-unexplained anthrax attacks following 9/11 were the work of Iraq. A variety of anthrax types were used, exhibiting varying degrees of processing, including spores that were fully “weaponized.” Many of the photocopied letters sent with the anthrax spores are dated “09-11-01.”
The Army’s anthrax experts believe the level of sophistication of this anthrax suggests a “sophisticated, ruthless and formidable foe.” Despite over two years of work we have been unable to produce spores in the same form as those sent to Senators Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy. We must never forget that these attacks resulted in five people’s deaths, with many others reported sick. Iraq long possessed the ability for carrying out a biological attack on the U.S. with anthrax. It is possible that al Qaeda, and its interest in crop-dusting aircraft, provided the necessary cover.
At least two other books have recently been published regarding Saddam’s connections with al Qaeda. Neither they, nor the authors I referenced above, received interviews on 60 Minutes, or any other major news network. That does not surprise me since the media shamelessly promotes an anti-war agenda.
However, our national security bureaucracy, who swore oaths to defend our nation, demonstrates the most shameless conduct. With all of this detailed information regarding Saddam’s links with terrorist groups why do our intelligence agencies ignore it? If the information is false, it could be discredited in official circles given the enormity of the claims. Yet none of the authors I referenced have been discredited by intelligence “experts.”
continued..........
“Uncooked” Intelligence
By William F. Sauerwein
The release of David Kay’s report of no “substantial stockpiles” of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) has generated charges of “cooked” intelligence. However, those making the charge overlook the entirety of Kay’s report, which includes overwhelming evidence concerning the presence of WMD’s. Kay also states that, based on his findings, the war in Iraq was totally justified, which is also ignored. The most overlooked, and unreported, evidence is Saddam Hussein’s extensive links to terrorist groups, including al Qaeda.
Con Coughlin, in his book Saddam: King of Terror, provides detailed information regarding Saddam’s lifetime interactions with terrorists. He began his political career organizing street violence in his hometown of Tikrit, including a murder. Following a six-month imprisonment, Saddam enjoyed certain notoriety among Iraq’s young revolutionaries.
Wounded in the failed 1959 assassination attempt on Iraqi dictator Abdul Karim Qassem, Saddam spent the next three years in exile. In Cairo, the then capital of Arab nationalism, Saddam was educated by the most prominent of Arab political theorists. He rose through the ranks of the Ba’ath Party, including an appointment to the party’s intelligence committee.
He focused on establishing the party’s security apparatus and consolidated his control of internal security. Saddam attached himself to the rising star of Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr, an Iraqi general and fellow Tikriti. Once Bakr became the head of a new Ba’ath government in 1968, Saddam quickly became his right-hand man.
Given Saddam’s background with terrorism and assassination attempts he understood how to thwart them. He began eradicating potential enemies of the party, and his potential political rivals as well. Using Josef Stalin’s example in the Soviet Union, Saddam brutally imposed his will on the Iraqi people.
Saddam blamed the country’s problems on Israel and “fifth columnists,” and eliminated his rivals as “Zionist spies.” Those too powerful to arrest were given meaningless foreign assignments where they died under “mysterious circumstances.” Saddam’s reach extended to London, Paris and Islamabad, and Iraqi exiles lived in constant fear.
By the 1970’s Saddam viewed himself as the heir to Gamal Abdul Nasser’s pan-Arab nationalism. Subsequently, he became involved in the intrigues of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the many Palestinian factions. His shaky relationship with Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) forced him to support other Palestinian groups.
Saddam’s first involvement with international terrorism was with Abu Nidal, and his sophisticated network of fanatics. Nidal moved to Baghdad in 1970 and worked closely with Iraqi intelligence, mainly with assassinating Nidal’s opponents within the PLO. Eventually Saddam coordinated with non-Muslim terrorist groups, such as Germany’s Baader-Meinhof gang and the Japanese “Red Army.” Subsequently, the U.S. State Department added Iraq to the list of countries sponsoring terrorism.
Coughlin interviewed a “former CIA officer,” who stated that Saddam supported these terrorist groups because they provided “flexibility.” In other words Saddam could use them as executioners while maintaining sufficient deniability. A terrorist training camp was established at the Salman Pak military base south of Baghdad for training “Islamic fighters” This included training them to hijack aircraft using the fuselage of a Boeing 707.
This training camp was captured by our troops during Operation Iraqi Freedom, including the aircraft fuselage. However, it received only cursory coverage in the media, and has been successfully buried.
In 1979 Saddam eased the sixty-five year old Bakr from power, citing “ill health.” This removed all pretenses, allowing him to fully purge his rivals, and pursue his dream of Arab leadership. His security forces were all-powerful, and that power possessed a worldwide reach.
Those who disavow Saddam’s links to Muslim terrorists because of his “secular regime” overlook the deeper facts. Saddam’s 1980 war with the Islamic regime in Iran was partially a religious war. Saddam’s home region is the Sunni Triangle, based on their Sunni Muslim beliefs. Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini was of the Shi’a sect, as are the majority of the Iraqi population.
The Iran-Iraq War put Saddam in contact with dissident Sunnis living in Baluchistan, a region divided between Iran and Pakistan. When Khomeini began his brutal reign in Iran the Baluchs resisted, and came in contact with Iraqi intelligence. Laurie Mylroie in her book Bush vs. the Beltway explains this connection, and its possible ties with the 1993 World Trade Center (WTC) bombing.
It seems the first WTC bombing was the work of Baluchs, all born and raised in Kuwait. All the implicated terrorists are members of a single family, which is without precedence in other terrorist organizations. The identities of these individuals are based on Kuwaiti files, which predate the 1991 liberation of Kuwait.
Mylroie explains that it is standard practice for Soviet-style intelligence agencies to develop false identities for agents. The purpose is to cover for agents involved in illegal operations for preventing the operation being traced back to the sponsor. It would have been easy for Iraqi intelligence to develop such ‘legends” using individuals who died during the occupation of Kuwait.
Saddam’s use of terrorism to attack American interests is not new, as evidenced by his April, 1993 attempt on former President George H.W. Bush. Then-President Bill Clinton authorized a missile strike on Iraqi intelligence headquarters in Baghdad. However, American intelligence seems convinced this was a one-time affair, and successfully buried evidence to the contrary.
Meetings between al Qaeda operatives and Iraqi intelligence in Sudan were documented by Sudanese intelligence. These meetings are not only mentioned by both Coughlin and Mylroie, but detailed by Richard Miniter in his book Losing Bin Laden. Miniter states that a working relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda began in 1993. This partnership provided each with certain advantages: Saddam, an ally whose actions he could plausibly deny; bin Laden, an ally whose expertise and logistical support he could use.
Czech intelligence documents several meetings in 2000 and 2001 between Iraqi intelligence and 9/11 hijacking leader, Mohammed Atta. Atta lived in Germany at the time and traveled frequently from there to Prague. This is considered bad “tradecraft” because it draws added attention from authorities. On April 8, 2001 he was observed meeting with Iraqi intelligence agent, Ahmed Khalil Ibrahim Samir al-Ani. Receiving no satisfactory answer regarding this meeting, the Czechs expelled al-Ani within two weeks.
Mylroie theorizes that Saddam had advance warning of 9/11 based on an article appearing in the July 21, 2001 issue of Iraq’s Al-Nasriya newspaper. It states that bin Laden “will try to bomb the Pentagon after he destroys the White House.” It further states, “he will strike America on the arm that is already hurting.” In court testimony, former CIA director James Woolsey believes this implied the previously attacked WTC.
Coughlin states that before 9/11 Saddam placed the Iraqi military on the highest level of alert since the Gulf War of 1991. Saddam retreated into one of his heavily fortified bunkers in his hometown of Tikrit. His two wives, who under normal circumstances disliked each other, were moved to another of his secret bunkers. Certainly these events, which were monitored by our intelligence-gathering satellites, raised the early suspicions about Iraqi involvement.
Mylroie suggests the still-unexplained anthrax attacks following 9/11 were the work of Iraq. A variety of anthrax types were used, exhibiting varying degrees of processing, including spores that were fully “weaponized.” Many of the photocopied letters sent with the anthrax spores are dated “09-11-01.”
The Army’s anthrax experts believe the level of sophistication of this anthrax suggests a “sophisticated, ruthless and formidable foe.” Despite over two years of work we have been unable to produce spores in the same form as those sent to Senators Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy. We must never forget that these attacks resulted in five people’s deaths, with many others reported sick. Iraq long possessed the ability for carrying out a biological attack on the U.S. with anthrax. It is possible that al Qaeda, and its interest in crop-dusting aircraft, provided the necessary cover.
At least two other books have recently been published regarding Saddam’s connections with al Qaeda. Neither they, nor the authors I referenced above, received interviews on 60 Minutes, or any other major news network. That does not surprise me since the media shamelessly promotes an anti-war agenda.
However, our national security bureaucracy, who swore oaths to defend our nation, demonstrates the most shameless conduct. With all of this detailed information regarding Saddam’s links with terrorist groups why do our intelligence agencies ignore it? If the information is false, it could be discredited in official circles given the enormity of the claims. Yet none of the authors I referenced have been discredited by intelligence “experts.”
continued..........