Posted on 04/07/2006 9:55:38 AM PDT by eyespysomething
Putin Vindicated?
In 2004 the Russian president said that Saddam had planned terrorist attacks on America. New Iraqi documents suggest he may have been right.
IN JULY 2004, DURING THE COURSE of a little-publicized event while on a visit to Kazakhstan, Russian President Vladimir Putin made some unusual remarks:
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's remarks were little noticed by the American press, coming as they did so soon after the release of the 9/11 Commission's report. Moreover, despite his strong opposition to the war in Iraq, Putin was unabashedly in favor of Bush's reelection, having earlier criticized Senator Kerry for supporting unilateral action against Serbia while opposing it with regard to Iraq. Putin went so far as to claim in October 2004 that "The goal of international terrorism is to prevent the election of President Bush to a second term."
And one of the newly-released Iraqi documents, BIAP 2003-000654, indicates that Putin may have been on to something. On page 6 of the document it is revealed that:
Written by the commander of Iraq's Ali Bin Abi Taleb Air Base, this document, if authentic, indicates that Iraq was actively recruiting suicide bombers with the intention of targeting U.S. interests at least as far back as early 2001. Nor is this the only document released with the intention of making it clear that Saddam's intentions for carrying out terrorist attacks against other nations--the plans for Blessed July appear to lay out a similar agenda focusing on using the Saddam Fedayeen to carry out a bombing and assassination campaign in London, Iran, and the "self ruled" areas of Iraq, a likely reference to Iraqi Kurdistan. While these documents do not by themselves prove the veracity of Putin's remarks, if they are deemed to be authentic they would appear to indicate that his claims did not occur in a vacuum.
IF EITHER DOCUMENT can be verified as accurate, it would seem to refute a long-standing contention among members of the U.S. intelligence community that Iraq ceased its involvement in international terrorism after its failed 1993 plot to assassinate former President George H.W. Bush. Indeed, the following exchange is reported in former counterterrorism chief Dick Clarke's book Against All Enemies:
It would be sad to learn that the Russian Federation's intelligence service was better informed as to Iraq's terrorist capabilities than were their American counterparts.
Dan Darling is a counterterrorism consultant.
BTTT
"When it comes the Weekly Standard I have agreed with them to publish my translations with no need to credit me in the article. However I will ask them if they can mention Free Republic."
Decades ago, I was trying to write my MBA Master Thesis, and I turned what I thought was my final and very expensive professionally typed (before word processing) Thesis.
It came back refused. I had cited every real quote that I listed appropriately. My failure was to quote some standard management mantras without citing who made the quote/manta. After a conference call with the Dean of English, the MBA program, the school's lawyer and my professor, I made the citations for each of the mantras.
After graduation, I discussed this with the Dean of the English Department. She said that if she had allowed me to get by with that, I and the university might get caught up in plagerism or at least mimicing charges someday in the future.
Ownership of originality of ideas and concepts will become a huge legal quagmire before this decade is over. De facto ownership by not acknowledging the orginator is not wise in today's world.
WTF does that mean?
I meant the linguini spine Rinos in the House and Senate
Moscow had informants inside U.S. Central Command whose information on the March 2003 invasion of Iraq was relayed to dictator Saddam Hussein days before American troops ousted him from power, according to a Defense Department history released yesterday.
And, as U.S. troops encircled Baghdad in April, Russia's ambassador fed information from Moscow's intelligence service to Saddam's regime regarding U.S. troop movements.
Moscow spies tipped Saddam on U.S. war plan
Not to mention helping them move the WMDs. Putin cannot be trusted.
Amen!
When it comes the Weekly Standard I have agreed with them to publish my translations with no need to credit me in the article. However I will ask them if they can mention Free Republic.
Ask them to mention FReeper jveritas too.
lol!
bttt
But not at all surprising.
Thanks for the ping!
Wasn't that before the Orange Revolution?
Brings bck memories, .... I had some errors on the Front Page.
Putin wanted Bush reelected because then Russia could play balance-of-power politics. America retreating would oblige Russia to deal with militant Islam and Chinese expansionism. As long as America is engaged, he can play America and our common natural enemies off against each other.
(Yes, wheels within wheels: There's a reason 'byzantine' got it's secondary meaning. We Orthodox are Christians, but we're still Eastern.)
Either that, or they have a more vivid imagination than our intelligence people do. That's why Pravda is best described as the National Enquirer of the authoritarian left.
Yep.
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