Posted on 04/17/2004 12:14:12 PM PDT by kattracks
Jordan's King Abdullah revealed on Saturday that vehicles reportedly containing chemical weapons and poison gas that were part of a deadly al Qaeda bomb plot came from Syria, the country named by U.S. weapons inspector David Kay last year as a likely repository for Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
"It was a major, major operation. It would have decapitated the government," King Abdullah told the San Francisco Chronicle. Jordanian officials estimated that the death count could have been as high as 20,000 - seven times greater than the Sept. 11 attacks.
Abdullah said that trucks containing 17.5 tons of explosives had come from Syria, though he took pains not to implicate Syrian President Bashir Assad in the al Qaeda plot, saying, "I'm completely confident that Bashir did not know about it."
In his testimony before Congress last year, Mr. Kay said U.S. satellite surveillance showed substantial vehicular traffic going from Iraq to Syria just prior to the U.S.attack on March 19, 2003 attack.
While Kay said investigators couldn't be sure the cargo contained weapons of mass destruction, one of his top advisors described the evidence as "unquestionable."
"People below the Saddam-Hussein-and-his-sons level saw what was coming and decided the best thing to do was to destroy and disperse," said James Clapper, in comments reported by the New York Times on Oct. 29. Clapper heads up the National Imagery and Mapping Agency.
Israeli intelligence has long believed that after the U.S. delayed invasion plans to allow U.N. weapons inspectors time to search for Iraq's WMDs, Saddam moved the banned weapons to Syria, the only other country where the Ba'ath Party ruled.
On April 1, Jordanian officials announced the arrest of several terrorist suspects, saying they were still hunting for two cars filled with explosives.
Five days later, the State Department revealed the attackers were linked to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian-based terrorist considered to be one of al Qaeda's most dangerous. One of Zarqawi's targets was the U.S. embassy in Amman.
By Saturday morning European news services were quoting an unnamed Jordanian official who revealed that the al Qaeda plotters planned to use weapons of mass destruction in the foiled attack.
"We found primary materials to make a chemical bomb which, if it had exploded, would have made nearly 20,000 deaths ... in an area of one square kilometre," the official told Agence France Press.
Another operation planned by the network was to use "deadly gas against the US embassy and the prime minister's office in Amman," he added.
A car belonging to the al Qaeda plotters, containing a chemical bomb and poisonous gas, was intercepted just 75 miles from the Syrian border.
You guys should stop trying to scare everyone.
Nobody, but that contribution is enormous.
There is no word whatsoever of this event in my local Sunday newspaper (no surprise, as it is wholly owned by the New York Times).
As an aside, their feature front page article today is an entire page (five-column spread) on the 911 Ommission hearings. But, not a single word about the bombshell Ashcroft testimony (he's not even mentioned), the "wall" memo, the "post-millenium" memo, or Jamie Gorelick and her refusal to resign and testify. On the other hand, blame is heavily troweled on the Bush Administration and "confusion" within the CIA and FBI. But, the Clinton Administration is credited with heroically trying to get bin Laden despite all the obstacles (specifics unnamed). A large bloc of space was breathlessly given to the Clarke testimony and his damnation of President Bush's lack of concern over the terror threat. Oh, and lots on the August 8th PDB Memo, with repeat after repeat of the full title.
This isn't just lame writing, it's criminal. People reading our paper are being denied the facts and fed crap. How can citizens make any kind of a valid judgment when they are not getting all the facts but instead get a cleverly crafted web of innuendos, lies and false conclusions?
Just a suggestion...Free Republic should create a deck of cards in the likeness of the most dangerous liberals and those that pose a threat to true American values...Gore, ClinTOON's, Kerry, SoroASS, Kennedy, media-types and so on. 52 cards may not be enough, but it should be available for the next Freep-a-thon and anyone that donates $52 will get the deck of cards....just an idea...what do you think??
On the contrary, the poster has raised a reasonable practical question. From where will we get adequate numbers of properly trained and equipped troops? This question will require a practical answer; flag-waving and harrumphing will not do any good.
Sharon: Iraq transferred chemical and biological weapons to Syria -12/25/02
U.S.:Syrians hiding Iraqi weapons for cash- 02/07/03
Former UN weapons chief backs US claims Syria concealed weapons- 04/15/03
Powell Confronts, Assad Prevaricates - 05/04/03
- U.S. acknowledges intelligence on transfer of Iraqi WMD to Syria and Lebannon - 09/17/03
U.S. says WMD went from Iraq to Syria - 10/29/03
U.S. intelligence consensus: Iraqi WMD shipped to Syria - 10/29/03
For Those Still in Denial, Saddam's WMD Went To Syria - 11/01/03
Report: Syria hiding Iraqi WMD - 01/06/04
Top U.S. Politician: Iraq WMD May Have Gone to Syria- 01/24/04
Saddam's WMD hidden in Syria, says Iraq survey chief - 01/24/04
Dr. Kay Had Maps with Coordinates of WMD Hiding Places in Syria - 02/17/04
I have one MAJOR quibble about this article:
Israeli intelligence has long believed that after the U.S. French, Germans and the UN delayed invasion plans to allow U.N. weapons inspectors time to search for Iraq's WMDs, Saddam moved the banned weapons to Syria, the only other country where the Ba'ath Party ruled.
The UN antics are unequivocally responsible for the "surprising" lack of WMD in Iraq. There is NO MYSTERY here.
Jordan nearly paid the price this month. We don't know who or when that turkey will actually (successfully) roost.
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