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.
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Unless Saddam had collapsed into complete dotage after a massive brain trauma, to predict that he'd be looking for some form of vengeance would take minimal IQ of 0.5 - and one could be a layman, not an intelligence professional.
>> Unless Saddam had collapsed into complete dotage after a massive brain trauma, to predict that he'd be looking for some form of vengeance would take minimal IQ of 0.5 - and one could be a layman, not an intelligence professional... <<
You're presuming he intended to get caught and held responsible.
As it was, he ran terrorist airliner-takeover schools in Northern Iraq, and the media denies he had anything to do with 9/11. So his strategy was quite simple: Get Saudis to do it, and all his sycophants in the US media will say, "why attack Iraq instead of Saudi Arabia." Don't forget: Hussein's number one foreign-policy goal was regime change in Saudi Arabia.
Remember the GPS jaming devices given to Iraq by Russia?==
There were no proves of it.
America retreating would oblige Russia to deal with militant Islam and Chinese expansionism.==
IMHO that is true.
As long as America is engaged, he can play America and our common natural enemies off against each other. ==
IMHO it is far fetched. Because such tactics may unite your "enemies" so they both attack you to punish for betrayal.
If you look at what is going on within Russia, my guess is that the Russians are using the pretext of cooperation on the WOT to cover their return to totalitarianism.==
Yeah?:). If Russia will decide to return to totalitarism then she won't ask anyone or disgise her actions. Everyone might see it clear.
Now I see some authoritarism of Putin. But very very far from Stalin' totalitarism. Believe me I know what I say.
I merely presume that he had typical arab mentality and a knee-jerk reflex. As for him trying have a billt-in deniability - goes without question.
Show me the blood!! There isn't any. Why?
Because the only place these translated documents are given any weight, or even mentioned at all, is in the conservative media. Until the other 65% of the people in America see it in the NYT or on NBC - it ain't happening.
"Until the other 65% of the people in America see it in the NYT or on NBC - it ain't happening."
We do not live in that world anymore. If that were true, Kerry would be President right now.
There is a reason people refer to those old sources as the antique media.
They are losing their hold on the people.
The internet has risen.
Perhaps he was afraid that Kerry would find in Schroeder and Chirac good friends. Thus those two would treat him with more distance. When US and the EU argue with each other, Putin is dancing.
You are right - for about 35 to 40 % of the people. And that group is heavily weighted with under25somethings.
Unfortunately there is a huge group of politically active folks in their 30's to 70's that simply adhere to the old media and will not believe what is being uncovered (and covered) by the blogs and other alternate forms of media.
I live in Seattle - a place you would think would be pretty hip to the internet. Yet many I know in the 40 to 70 bracket will look at sources on the internet but give them no credence unless its got an old time name on it: NYT, Washington Post, CBS, CNN, Time, Newsweek - el al.
Of course Seattle is a liberal cesspool....but that is another story!!
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