I don't think so!
I shouldn't but I do love it when truth Bites the Left in the butt.
Posted on 11/21/2005 4:04:33 PM PST by MikeA
MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Russian intelligence services warned Washington several times that Saddam Hussein's regime planned terrorist attacks against the United States, President Vladimir Putin has said.
The warnings were provided after September 11, 2001 and before the start of the Iraqi war, Putin said Friday.
The planned attacks were targeted both inside and outside the United States, said Putin, who made the remarks during a visit to Kazakhstan.
"I can confirm that after the events of September 11, 2001, and up to the military operation in Iraq, Russian special services and Russian intelligence several times received ... information that official organs of Saddam's regime were preparing terrorist acts on the territory of the United States and beyond its borders, at U.S. military and civilian locations," Putin said.
He said the information was given to U.S. intelligence officers and that U.S. President George W. Bush expressed his gratitude to a top Russian intelligence official.
"This information was indeed passed on through our partner channels to our American colleagues and, moreover, President Bush had an opportunity and used this opportunity to personally thank the leader of one of the Russian special services for this information, which he considered to be very important," Putin said.
Putin made his comments in response to a question from reporters seeking clarification on similar statements leaked by an unnamed intelligence officer in a dispatch by the Interfax news agency.
Regarding how the information might have been related to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Putin said, "Whether or not this was sufficient basis to state the United States was acting within the boundaries of self-defense, well, I don't know. This is a separate issue."
The United States, meanwhile, never mentioned the Russian intelligence in its arguments for going to war.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
This is a little something the "Saddam was no threat" crowd either forgets or doesn't know about. When this was reported last year, the media gave it very minimal air play, but I saved the link because I knew memories would be short on the reasons we needed to overthrow Saddam. And being as it comes from CNN gives it some additional cache among the "the world was better off with Saddam in power" crowd because it isn't exactly coming from a conservative source.
For those who might dismiss this information, it's important to keep in mind Russia's intelligence infiltration of Saddam's regime was extensive and by far the best intel. op inside of Saddam's Iraq. This warning cannot be dismissed lightly.
It adds justification to the war effort because in the wake of 9-11, what was Bush suppose to do when given a warning like this? Clearly links between Saddam and Al Qaeda had already been established. Now the president is hearing that Saddam is planning to use terrorists to hit us again. What was he suppose to do? Trust in Saddam's well-established track record of good judgment and restraint? Clearly this information played a role in the president's decision to end Saddam's regime, as well it should have.
Some have questioned why the president would not have cited it in the run-up to the war. Putin waited until 2004 to even come forward with this information because clearly he was protecting Russian intelligence ops. inside Iraq. The president would have been violating Russia's trust if before the war he had made public this secret information to make his case. It would have made Russian agents within Saddam's Iraq vulnerable to exposure and danger and Russia would have been far less likely to ever give us intelligence tips again. Other foreign intelligence services also would have been far less likely to work with us after such a breach of confidence.
Finally, the legitimacy of this warning is borne out by the source: Russia. It is not as if they were a great ally of the US on the liberation effort. So why would they invent something like this that could potentially lead to the overthrow of a friendly government in Iraq?
I think the president was right to take these warnings seriously. Now that they've been revealed, he needs to point out that this was a compelling reason not to exercise restrain against Putin and de-classify other information we've found in Saddam's intel. files about his workings with terrorists and particularly Al Qaeda. The head of the House Intelligence Committee and writer Stephen Hayes are working on just that. When that information finally comes out, these Democrats are going to be left with serious egg on their hideous faces for saying Saddam was a harmless little lamb.
Get it done Bush! Get the information out there and let's embarrass these turds!
But, but It is Bush's fault that terrorists are in Iraq.
This needs to be repeated often. But I have to say I am disgusted that it need be. If the left hadn't deliberately tried to destroy this President at any cost , we wouldn't need to stress this today.
bookmarking for home.
No, they are well aware of it, especially the "No Threat" crowd in congress (dems). This intel was shared, and I remember reading about it in the press at the time, although I can't find a link to it. At the time I believe the source was speculated to be Russian, but not explicit.
The attempts were to be made in reprisal for no-fly zone enforcement, which at that time only the US and Britian were interested in.
Keep in mind we know Iraq had an elaborate plan to blow former President Bush up during a Mideast visit. W doesn't bring this up because he doesn't want it to seem like he was acting to protect his dad. CLINTON launched cruise missiles into Iraq in response. For my money, planning to blow up our former president, or any US citizen is grounds for war.
What has the 911 Commission got to say about this?
Democrats are getting caught in their "Big Lie" more and more every day.
Not to mention, we know the following about Saddam aiding and abetting a terrorist attack on the US, even very possibly having trained the bombers and perhaps even having been the source of said plot:
Abdul Rahman Yasin was the only member of the al Qaeda cell that detonated the 1993 World Trade Center bomb to remain at large in the Clinton years. He fled to Iraq. U.S. forces recently discovered a cache of documents in Tikrit, Saddam's hometown, that show that Iraq gave Mr. Yasin both a house and monthly salary.
Hell Saddam tried to assassinate Bush I
That was an act of war right there
Course Bubba lobbed a few Tomahawks at some radar sites and called it a day
Of course the media forgot this a long time ago!
From one of many, many WWW sources. Remember?
"CNN's Eason Jordan admitted the cable giant had routinely suppressed stories of gruesome atrocities in Iraq. . .
"Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby wrote, 'It is scandalous that a network calling itself 'the most trusted name in news' would sanitize the truth about a dictatorship it claimed to be covering objectively.'"
I'd be somewhat wary of this. Putin's special services were also training the Mukhabarat. Nonetheless, even if it is disinfo, it is disinfo that immitates reality, as revealed by Jayna Davis and Laurie Mylroie.
bttt
I understand what you're saying, but I can't imagine Putin was eager to add to the US case for war with this information. He didn't want to lose his biggest ally in the region, but I don't think he could have in good conscience sat back and allowed a terrorist assault within the US, especially if it came out later that Putin knew about it and did nothing. Surely he had to have feared US infiltrators within his own intel. service finding out he had this info. and sat on it.
To me the only logical conclusion is the Russian's believed this intel. to be legit and passed it on in good faith. The only way we will ever know for sure is if the Bush admin and the Pentagon would get over their inexplicable obstinance over de-classifying Iraqi intelligence files on Saddam's terrorist efforts.
Weren't there Russian generals working w/ the Baathists in Iraq right up until the moment we started bombing? Something doesn't add up here....
bump
You've got a point there, it would have been very bad if he knew, and we found out he knew from anyone besides Putin.
I don't think so!
I shouldn't but I do love it when truth Bites the Left in the butt.
bttt
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