Iraqi Who Might Have Met With 9/11 Hijacker Is Captured

[ze_dscherman]

The U.S. military has captured an Iraqi intelligence officer who may have met in Prague with a key al Qaeda hijacker five months before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, U.S. officials confirmed last night.

The military captured the intelligence officer, Ahmed Khalil Ibrahim Samir al- Ani, last week in Iraq, the officials said. Czech authorities said in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks that al-Ani had met in Prague with hijacker Mohamed Atta in April 2001, but the FBI and the CIA later determined there was no evidence that Atta left the United States and traveled to or from the Czech Republic during the time he supposedly met with al-Ani.


SNIP

Richard Perle, a member of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board who has contended al Qaeda and Iraq are linked, said he is hopeful al-Ani's capture will lead to a corroboration of his stance.

"If he chose to, he could confirm the meeting with Atta," Perle said. "It would be nice to see that laid to rest. There's a lot he could tell us."

"Of course, a lot depends on who is doing the interrogating," said Perle, adding he fears that if it were the CIA, it could skew the interrogation so as to play down evidence that the alleged meeting with Atta occurred.


More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30323-2003Jul9.html?nav=hptop_ts

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Hey, they play that old song again!

[proud patriot]

1. Yay they included the FBI CIA debunking

:-)Tis a good sign

[xxqqqzme]

2. gee-zus - I need a score card

"...Czech officials determined last year that they could no longer confirm that a meeting took place, telling the Bush administration that al-Ani might have met with someone other than Atta..."

Every one XCEPT perle says this meeting didn't happen...so the corporate media skews the entire article w/ the absurd headline giving perle's fantasies credence. I stopped watching TV news - do I stop reading also?

[bpilgrim]

3. yeah... we can't trust the CIA anymore according to perl

"Of course, a lot depends on who is doing the interrogating," said Perle, adding he fears that if it were the CIA, it could skew the interrogation so as to play down evidence that the alleged meeting with Atta occurred.

so who do you call when you can't trust your own intel agencies? :crazy:

these neo-cons are goin down and i salute our intel agents who haven't forgotton thier OATH, still have honor and are our true PATRIOTS! :bounce:

looks like the media is FINALLY startin to wake up as well.

shaping up to be a what could be a very bumby election season... will see :evilgrin:

peace

[NYC]

4. Might have, may have, seems, appears, could be...

Those are the words we hear so often.

[ibegurpard]

5. Oh so now it's not just the "liberal" media, it's the "liberal" CIA

as well?!!
Who believes this shit?

[NJCher]

6. Hey guys....

I think the article does a pretty good job of showing him for the lunatic he is by stating in unequivocal terms what the CIA thinks of Perle's malarkey:


CIA spokesman Bill Harlow described Perle's charge as "absurd."



and:

"His comments do a disservice to all the men and women of the CIA who every day call it as they see it, not as some wish it to be," Harlow said.



and:

"We're open to the possibility that they met, but we need to be presented with something more than Mr. Perle's suspicions," the official said. "Rather than us being predisposed, it sounds like he is. He's just shopping around for an interrogator who will cook the books to his liking."

The headline is horribly misleading, however. Kind of reminds me of the Election 2000 vote count headlines.



Cher

[Paschall]

7. Thanks, cher

Sounds like it's gonna be a hot day in Washington. :evilgrin:

[SoCalDem]

8. SpinSpinSpinSpin

..."may have met:...U.S. officials ... Czech authorities ... was no evidence that Atta left the United States and traveled to or from the Czech Republic during the time he supposedly met with al-Ani....

...Richard Perle, a member of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board who has contended al Qaeda and Iraq are linked, said he is hopeful al-Ani's capture will lead to a corroboration of his stance.

"If he chose to, he could confirm the meeting with Atta," Perle said. "It would be nice to see that laid to rest. There's a lot he could tell us." ....

[Capt_Nemo]

9. So this is their way out of the non-existent WMD fiasco...

It'll be fun to see Blair jumping into this bandwagon in the next
hours/days. He is the most desperate of the lot, although I think
this will not do it for him, for the british public may be too wise
to fall for such scheeme.

OTOH, things are easier for bush since he just has to manipulate
a public that is largely brainwashed...

[MaineDem]

10. Even CNN said it never happened

A few minutes ago the CNN reporter said it was highly unlikely - he may have even used stronger words, I forget - that any meeting ever took place.

The headline is VERY misleading - but so is this whole government. We can't let them get away with this.

[enough]

11. Current thread on this story has lots of info

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=3556&mesg_id=3556&listing_type=search

includes links and documentation debunking the bogus Atta Prague meeting.

Incredible how they just keep doing the same thing over and over, using totally discredited allegations as if they were brand new red meat. Niger uranium all over again.

[VolcanoJen]

12. Dupe... locking

Please continue discussion by posting in the original, earliest thread on this topic, which can be found here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=3556&mesg_id=3556&listing_type=search

Thanks!
VolcanoJen
DU Moderator