For what it’s worth:
Iraqi intelligence documents, confiscated by U.S. forces and obtained by CNSNews.com, show numerous efforts by Saddam Hussein’s regime to work with some of the world’s most notorious terror organizations, including al Qaeda, to target Americans. They demonstrate that Saddam’s government possessed mustard gas and anthrax, both considered weapons of mass destruction, in the summer of 2000, during the period in which United Nations weapons inspectors were not present in Iraq. And the papers show that Iraq trained dozens of terrorists inside its borders.
One of the Iraqi memos contains an order from Saddam for his intelligence service to support terrorist attacks against Americans in Somalia. The memo was written nine months before U.S. Army Rangers were ambushed in Mogadishu by forces loyal to a warlord with alleged ties to al Qaeda.
Other memos provide a list of terrorist groups with whom Iraq had relationships and considered available for terror operations against the United States.
Among the organizations mentioned are those affiliated with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Ayman al-Zawahiri, two of the world’s most wanted terrorists. Zarqawi is believed responsible for the kidnapping and beheading of several American civilians in Iraq and claimed responsibility for a series of deadly bombings in Iraq Sept. 30. Al-Zawahiri is the top lieutenant of al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, allegedly helped plan the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist strikes on the U.S., and is believed to be the voice on an audio tape broadcast by Al-Jazeera television Oct. 1, calling for attacks on U.S. and British interests everywhere.
The source of the documents
A senior government official who is not a political appointee provided CNSNews.com with copies of the 42 pages of Iraqi Intelligence Service documents. The originals, some of which were hand-written and others typed, are in Arabic. CNSNews.com had the papers translated into English by two individuals separately and independent of each other.
There are no hand-writing samples to which the documents can be compared for forensic analysis and authentication. However, three other experts – a former weapons inspector with the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), a retired CIA counter-terrorism official with vast experience dealing with Iraq, and a former advisor to then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton on Iraq – were asked to analyze the documents. All said they comport with the format, style and content of other Iraqi documents from that era known to be genuine.
Of course, none of this proves beyond a reasonable doubt that Iraq would have used these weapons against American school children — which is where the goal posts are situated these days for those considering a preemptive action they hope might pass “the global test.”
I question the timing of this news release.
John Edwards was ‘quoted’ today as saying:
“John Kerry and I will be quick to retaliate to any attack inside the U.S. Especially if they attack bunnies. That will really tick us off. If they harm one hare on their heads. Hare! Get it? See, we have good hare and we’re funny! Really funny! Fafblog! funny!”
Ah, hell, Jeff… You know as well as I do that to the Dems it will not even be enough if schoolkids are attacked. Look at what happened in Beslan. Didn’t raise a liberal eyebrow. No, if such a thing happened here, it would be entirely the fault of the kids, for inciting those nice freedom fighters to violence.
Well, I’m not suggest the goal posts can’t be moved even further…just that that’s where they stand now.
Uh oh. SOmebody needs to make me a goal-post watch icon. Please? I’ll provide the updates, I swear.
You’re completely wrong, Jim. The freedom fighters know that our schools are run by the (mostly Democrat) teacher’s unions, and so they certainly wouldn’t attack the wrong people – they know teachers didn’t vote for Bush !
No, if such a thing happened here, it would be entirely the fault of the kids, for inciting those nice freedom fighters to violence.
And video games. Don’t forget video games.
And Charlton Heston too. Evil Cartman said so.
I don’t understand the commotion here. It’s not news until it is in the New York Times or the Washington Post. Otherwise, it is merely right-wing rumor, no doubt soon to be discredited. Now if the story appeared in one of those two papers, perhaps with the headline, “No photo found of Saddam and Osama shaking hands in front of nuclear weapons stockpile”, then we could start talking about moving the goalposts. I mean, its not like Saddam actually launched a nuclear armed missle at the US, so he wasn’t really a threat.
Goldstein, clueless and proud of it or is this just another case of yet another of a liberal with a delusional world view trying to lie to bolster his delusional world view?
Hmmm, where and when were these alledged goal posts set or is this just another example of liberal nuance?
Oh yeah, one other small item Goldstein either doesn’t know (which is my guess) or didn’t bother to consider (in an attempt to bolster his delusional world view) was the peace treaty after the Gulf war and the what, 14 or U.N. resolutions regarding Iraq and proscribing WMDs…
Ahhh, those ugly little details…
Is it any wonder that supporters of that seditious swine Kerry are looked at as either dangerous fools or worse, treasonous clowns pandering to homicidal towel heads….
Are you some sort of simpleton? You looked at my blog and decided I was a liberal? You couldn’t recognize that this: “Of course, none of this proves beyond a reasonable doubt that Iraq would have used these weapons against American school children — which is where the goal posts are situated these days for those considering a preemptive action they hope might pass ‘the global test’”—was actually making fun of the idea of a global test?
No offense, then, Russ, but we conservatives hardly need you speaking for us… And if I were you, I’d take a good long look in a convenient reflective surface of your choosing before I ever called someone “clueless and proud of it” again.
You’re joking, right, Russ? Right? Jeff’s a liberal?
Here’s a tip, pal. Next time you attempt some drive-by flamer you may want to slow down a tad and actually try to comprehend the post first. Maybe even kick back a while and spelunk about on the site to get the overall tone before commenting on a thread.
Of course, feel free to disregard this advice. Especially if you want to come off like a moron.
That gave me a chuckle, that did.
Jeff Goldstein’s a liberal?
And I hear Jeff secretly loves bunnies as well.
Really, Russ. Read the site before going off half-cocked. Jeff is one of the good guys, and be thankful that he is. Here and there he might lose a battle of wits to an apple, but he’s never going to lose one with you. And if you don’t believe me, there’s a guy named Willis you need to talk to.
Russ, next time you come out of the men’s room, check to make sure you’re not trailing TP from your shoe.
I for one won’t believe these documents are real until they’ve been throughly vetted by Michael Moore’s special three step process.
Here’s what I want to know. The following was cut from Jeff’s post:
Bush administration likely unaware of documents’ existence
The senior government official and source of the Iraqi intelligence memos, explained that the reason the documents have not been made public before now is that the government has “thousands and thousands of documents waiting to be translated.
“It is unlikely they even know this exists,” the source added.
The government official also explained that the motivation for leaking the documents, “is strictly national security and helping with the war on terrorism by focusing this country’s attention on facts and away from political posturing.
“This is too important to let it get caught up in the political process,” the source told CNSNews.com.
Doesn’t this sound phony to you?
So I think I’m being put on.