Iraq 'supplied al-Qaeda with WMDs'

[rooboy]

A HIGH-RANKING al-Qaeda operative in custody disclosed that Iraq supplied the Islamist militant group with material to build chemical and biological weapons, the White House said today.

"A senior al-Qaeda terrorist, now detained, who had been responsible for al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan, reports that al-Qaeda was intent on obtaining (weapons of mass destruction) assistance from Iraq," the White House said in a report.

The 25 page document was released as US President George W Bush holidayed at his Texas ranch.

The Bush administration cited links between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein's Baath party regime as justification for attacking Iraq to oust Saddam. The administration also insisted Saddam had chemical and biological weapons and was pursuing nuclear weapons.

The report quoted the unnamed prisoner as saying al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden turned to Iraq after concluding his group could not produce chemical or biological weapons on its own in Afghanistan.

"Iraq agreed to provide chemical and biological weapons training for two al-Qaeda associates starting in December 2000," the report said.

http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,6898651%255E1702,00.html

[MattNC]

1. oh please

where is there any other evidence of a link?

[ping_PONG]

2. I've never even heard of this paper before

But I'm not one bit surprised that there is no name or substantial evidence to prove this claim, other than the already tarnished (I know I'm being charitable to those who don't deserve it.) word of the Bush administration.

[Guaranteed]

30. It's FOX n/t

[GregW]

35. It's my hometown paper ...

From Brisbane, Australia. Whether it's 'Fox' or not, I ave never seen any impartiality. You on the other hand, I have never heard of before ;)

[Itascapark]

3. Who owns

this cyber rag?

[indictrichardperle]

5. anonymous confession from Gitmo ?

after how many days of sleep deprivation ?

So why Did Paul Wolfowitz say in no uncertain terms that there were zero links between Iraq and al-quaeda or Iraq and terra ? Documented here :

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=56236&mesg_id=56236


LIARS

[Itascapark]

6. Yup, agreed...

these shoty put-up pieces are getting too easy to spot...

[BelgianMadCow]

51. it's good to see how they entangle themselves in a web of lies

I would also not be surprised if the source of this is later found to have died from natural causes in Guantanamo Bay Concentration Camps...

[rooboy]

15. It's one of the major Australian papers.

You should do your research before saying things like that.

[GregW]

36. Amen, brother!

Another ignorant American.

[Melinda]

4. of course his "admission" had nothing to do with....

Cattle prods
Electrocution
A Catherine Wheel
Water torture
Pliers,
or
having his fingernails ripped out
did it?

Why, the US would never torture prisoners, that's why we detain em all in mainland USA prisons! Sheese!!

[killbotfactory]

7. If you can't trust anonymous Al-Qaeda agents, who can you trust?

:shrug:

[tomp]

19. that's funny! nt

[cantwealljustgetalong]

24. an anonymous Al-Qaeda agent...

with impeccable timing no less...

[htuttle]

8. This comes from the same guys...

...who were supposedly the source of all those bogus terror alerts.

[arcane1]

9. is this "good solid intelligence" too?

funny how nobody was named in this...

imagine, a Whitehouse report that parrots the Whitehouise line!

[wtmusic]

10. Uh huh

how many cattle prods does it take to make a Gitmodweller say anything you want?

[LiberalFighter]

31. Experiment on *bush

Insert until done

[berry]

11. Hmmm. It says that AFP is the source, but also that it comes from

a correspondent in Crawford (working for whom? no name). Also, the report itself is not named, only described. Very sketchy. Maybe the report is on the WH website--easier to find if it had a name and/or provenance.

I don't believe this for a minute, but I really want to follow all the lines of the lies to their source.Maybe it's pointless to worry though. If ALL of it is lies, why worry about any one lie? Still, it is a known Rove tactic to overwhelm the opposition with outrageous acts or statements, in such rapid succession that heads spin, and people lose heart. This IS deeply disheartening--because they don't get that their lies are known, that their cover is blown. They blithely continue to lie.

:puke:

[whirlygigspin]

12. I'll buy that for a $1

Pravda says so, it must be true!

[democrat in Tallahassee]

13. they why did they use box cutters? uh?

just wondering

[Ouabache]

34. Oh excellent dem in Tallahassee---

then why did they use box-cutters?

[Rose Siding]

14. The WH put this out?

Why isn't it all over? Why now? Maybe Gore's slings and arrows? But it seems so desperate. Won't the CIA be *all over* debunking this?

[Dover]

16. Interesting. This story the day after Wolfowitz admits no connection

between Al Qaida and Iraq....

Typical duel conflicting messages.

[Rose Siding]

17. I can't find anything else on it.

Is Aussie time before ours?

An Israeli paper has something on David Kay, SAID :-( and his 7 miles of papers but nothing like this.

[Neutrino]

18. Here's a guy--in a cage--on his knees--with a bag on his head,

his hands tied behind his back--terrified, hungry, scared. How much
food, how many cigarettes would it take a person losing his mind
from confinement--to say whatever? After all this time, "suddenly"
this gem of "intelligence" is forthcoming.

Pulllllll---eeeee--zzzzzz!!!!

[MuseRider]

20. BS

as you all said, you can spot it a mile away. This just stinks of another way to keep us all scared and compliant.

[StandWatie]

21. of course...

People devoted to the Ummah to the point of sacrificing their own lives and Saddam Hussein have similar goals and liason with each other.

I wish I could even start to describe how stupid this whole idea is but the more insane thing is that it makes sense to a majority position of the supposedly thinking US electorate.

[gbwarming]

22. Released today in response to Gore speech, I bet.

Cruise over the 'six deadly sins' thread. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=57978&mesg_id=57978

The first 3 of Al's charges are addressed by the alleged WH report. It smells mightily, but is perfectly timed to fill the weekend gap in the Kobe trial.

Or the actual Mirror.uk story
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/content_objectid=13267439_method=full_siteid=50143_headline=-BUSH%2DS%2DSIX%2DDEADLY%2DSINS%2DBY%2DAL%2DGORE-name_page.html

[Rose Siding]

25. If this report exists, true or not, it will dominate

any further public discourse on Iraq, until the agents come out, one by one, with far more powerful evidence to debunk it that the writing of it ever had.

Maybe it's to diminish the Feith/Iran/contra meeting, considering one report also has Feith refusing members of al qaeda in a trade from Iran.

[TankLV]

23. Before even reading this - it will be prooven to be another lie.

& in very short order.

Just like all the rest.

[robbedvoter]

26. Funny, cuz a high ranking aide to Saddam - also in custody

said saddam destroyed all his WMD's and just kept everyone guessing so he wouldn't look defenseless. Now, which high ranking aide in custody are you going to believe?


Aide: Saddam Did Get Rid of Iraq WMD
Fri Aug 1, 8:24 PM ET
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030802/ap_on_re_mi_ea/saddam_s_bluff_4

By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A close aide to Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) says
the Iraqi dictator did in fact get rid of his weapons of mass
destruction but deliberately kept the world guessing about it in an
effort to divide the international community and stave off a U.S.
invasion.

[sandnsea]

27. oh it's just more lather, rinse, repeat

"Senior al-Qaeda associate Abu Musab al-Zarqawi came to Baghdad in May 2002 for medical treatment, along with approximately two dozen al-Qaeda terrorist associates."

"provided material assistance to Palestinian terrorist groups, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, Hamas and the Palestine Islamic Jihad".


Yes we know, we heard, this is nothing new for crying out loud. How do they get away with this crap?????? AAAGGHAHGHGH!!!!!!!!

[indictrichardperle]

28. and Hamas has what

..exactly to do with America or its security interests ?

[sandnsea]

29. You got me

and even if we did decide to do something militarily because of Israel and those terrorists groups, the American people deserve to be told that specifically. Of course the same people who screamed about supporting Israel would turn right around and support gitten them thar hammis ragheads cuz Bush said so.

[gbwarming]

32. Now picked up in part by Wash Times. Report identified

I can't find the report and it's only a one line mention. Seems like AFP really made a mountain out of a molehill on this one.

http://washingtontimes.com/national/20030808-115950-1720r.htm

<snip>
An hour after the president spoke, the White House released a detailed document, "Results in Iraq: 100 Days Toward Security and Freedom." The 25-page report says:

<big snip>

Disputing the notion that Mr. Bush exaggerated the threat from Saddam Hussein and weapons of mass destruction, the progress report says "a senior al Qaeda terrorist, now detained, who had been responsible for al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan, reports that al Qaeda was intent on obtaining WMD assistance from Iraq."
<end of that claim>

AP doesn't even mention Al Qaeda:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/08/08/national1801EDT0678.DTL

The Pigfarm press confrence:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/08/20030808-1.html

[dansolo]

47. The intent of al Quaeda is irrelevent

It may very well be true that al Quaeda was intent on obtaining WMD assistance from Iraq. The issue is the actions of the Iraqis and Saddam, not al Quaeda. I'm not sure that I would take the word of a member of al Qaeda. There hasn't been any corroboration on the Iraqi side.

[aquart]

33. Which is why they took our planes with boxcutters.

Pull the other one.

[study_war_no_more]

37. two years to torture this fiction out of one prisoner

BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
SHIT

[the_sam]

38. My Guess

The administration realizes that very little compelling evidence of banned weapons in Iraq will ever surface. So they're trying to play up the alleged al Qaeda connection to compensate.

[kentuck]

39. Just add it to their long list...

of lies and diversions...

[Gman]

40. Every day brings an answer to the question...

just how stupid do they think we are?

[cmd]

41. Making something out of nothing

We have found zero WMD. Divide zero by al-Qaeda and you still get zero. It's just more fuzzy math.

[Darranar]

42. Right...

And how many times did you have to torture him for that informtation, George W. Bush?
:eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes:

[psychopomp]

43. No need to force this info out

by torture or any other means. If it is claimed that a prisoner implicated Iraq in any conspiracy with al-Qaeda there is no way that it could be disproven. Therefore, this could, possibly, be leaked to the press without any substance to the claim whatsoever.

[yankeeinlouisiana]

44. The first two paragraphs contradict

each other.

First: "Iraq supplied the Islamist militant group with material to build chemical and biological weapons"

Second: "al-Qaeda was intent on obtaining (weapons of mass destruction) assistance from Iraq"

So, did they get "material to build chemical and biological weapons" or were they just "intent on obtaining assistance from Iraq"?

This really proves nothing. When the first two paragraphs of an article totally disagree with each other, how can you trust it?? None of this makes sense.

[psychopomp]

45. No..

Let's say that I got 5 dollars from you today, which had been my plan all along. I was intent on getting the 5-spot and you gave it to me. These statements are not mutually exlusive.

[instantkarma]

52. how about the headline?

from Iraq 'supplied al-Qaeda with WMDs'
to "...Iraq supplied the Islamist terrorist group with material to build chemical and biological weapons."
to "...al-Qaeda was intent on obtaining (WMD) assistance from Iraq."

This is psyops bullshit. They could have said "al-Qaeda obtained" and didn't. And the leap from "WMDs" to "material to build" is weak.

[tedzbear]

46. What a crock...

Of course, your typical American man on the street will read this article and immediately believe it without question.
Myself, I don't trust anything * says unless it is corroborated by a different source (unless that source is Blair).

This news item is :puke:

[DeathvadeR]

48. Actually its al-qaeda releasing the info.....It might be true....

They need some sort of a weapon to use as a bargining chip to gets its voice on the table.

Do they have the weapons or means? Maybe, Maybe not, Personally I doubt it.. All they need to do is convince everyone that they do or can.....

[Uzybone]

49. Choking....

on the BS. Arent they tired of spreading these false claims. I guess not.

[Bragi]

50. The story has no traction...

and seems to be being widely ignored by the world press, even the US press.

It has the appearance of being a re-spun White House misinformation dump intended to minimize/confuse yesterday's negative (for Bush) stories about the UN "no-Iraq-al Qaeda connection" report, and the US-DoD's "no trailers of mass destruction" report.

- b

[scarletwoman]

53. It's an amazing strategy...

As soon as some of your lies start being exposed, pile on even BIGGER lies and keep your juggernaut rolling.

The Bush cabal is nothing if not, "Damn the torpoedoes, full speed ahead!" It's mind-boggling.

My greatest hope is that the tremendous head of steam they've built up will eventually result in a truly spectacular crash and burn. Just one good trip up -- surely even THIS group of criminals is ultimately subject to Murphy's Law...

sw

[dweller]

54. Oh Goody, the 'OOGAH BOOGAH' is back..

now put on your dancing shoes!

It's just a step to the left, and another step to the left, and then with the next step to the Left,
you jump violently to the Right!
Stick your head up your A**
and die of fright.

OOGAH BOOOOOOOGAH, ......oogah boogah! now aren't you scared?
Wet your pants.

repeat.

dp

[FubarFly]

56. LOL!!

I almost wet my pants, but not for the reasons stated. Thanks for that.

:-)

[tweekinnow]

55. Rubbish!

unnamed prisoner? bin Laden and Hussein trading favors?
Amazing what lengths resident Moron and his propaganda machine will go to to to insult our intelligence.
Total crap!!! just like the rest of boy blunders administration.

[shamgar50]

57. Tooth Fairy

The WMD were handed over to al-Queda by the "Tooth Fairy".:nuke: