How Bad Is the Senate Intelligence Report? Very bad. (Stephen Hayes)

The Weekly Standard ^ | 9-25-06 | Stephen Hayes

[ikez78]

According to a report released September 8 by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Saddam Hussein "was resistant to cooperating with al Qaeda or any other Islamist groups." It's an odd claim. Saddam Hussein's regime has a long and well-documented history of cooperating with Islamists, including al Qaeda and its affiliates.

As early as 1982, the Iraqi regime was openly supporting, training, and funding the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist organization opposed to the secular regime of Hafez Assad. For years, Saddam Hussein cultivated warm relations with Hassan al-Turabi, the Islamist who was the de facto leader of the Sudanese terrorist state, and a man Bill Clinton described as "a buddy of [Osama] bin Laden's."

Throughout the 1990s, the Iraqi regime hosted Popular Islamic Conferences in Baghdad, gatherings modeled after conferences Turabi hosted in Khartoum. Mark Fineman, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, attended one of the conferences and filed a story about his experience on January 26, 1993. "There are delegates from the most committed Islamic organizations on Earth," he wrote. "Afghan mujahedeen (holy warriors), Palestinian militants, Sudanese fundamentalists, the Islamic Brotherhood and Pakistan's Party of Islam." Newsweek's Christopher Dickey attended the same conference and wrote about it in 2002. "Islamic radicals from all over the Middle East, Africa, and Asia converged on Baghdad," he wrote, "to show their solidarity with Iraq in the face of American aggression. . . . Every time I hear diplomats and politicians, whether in Washington or the capitals of Europe, declare that Saddam Hussein is a 'secular Baathist ideologue' who has nothing to do with Islamists or terrorist calls to jihad, I think of that afternoon and I wonder what they're talking about. If that was not a fledgling Qaeda itself at the Rashid convention, it sure was Saddam's version of it."

[WV Mountain Mama]

So....the Senate says they have no intelligence? I can't argue with that. Being intelligent means one is able to learn and understand. Apparently they can do neither. They receive reports and lose them, read them and not understand what the report is about or just plain forget what the report said. They are unable to read the reports and apply the knowledge to what is going on around them, or apply cause and effect relationships. They are unable to distinguish fact from talking points or disclose the whole story.

[MHGinTN]

Saxby isn't a rino. The Rockefeller connection is why this specious report came forward with such prevarications. The Rockefeller family is on a one-world government track that they seek to bring about at ANY COST, including the demise of this nation. Bastard should be in Levenworth isolation.

I wanted the names so I would know which Republicans to flame with snail mail letters. Time to tell these spineless pukes what some of the people know and how that indicts these pubby senators as fools on public display. The day after the elections, I intend a campaign to get alternate pubby candidates (not prone to sleeping through committee meetings and signing off on lies from democraps) into the primaries for 2008 and 2010. Time to clean our house, and I do mean OUR HOUSE.

[r-q-tek86]

ping

[sheana]

you beat me ;) So easy.............

[sgtbono2002]

I dont think I stated Saxby was a Rino. Irregardless now you have the list.

[jveritas]

Excellent article.

[4integrity]

'I am really sick of the US senate ..and yes, even the Republican senate.'

me too. and that's what I wrote to Ken Mehlman when I returned the RNC letter asking for money. Told him I will give no more money to RNC until he gets the Republican Senators to support the President's efforts to protect our great nation. Told him to visit with Rep Senators and let them know their behavior is adversely affecting RNC coffers. Will donate to individual Senators but not to the RNC. I am tired and disgusted by Senators like Spector, McCain, Graham and their ilk, not to mention, Dem lite Sen. Chaffee, Snowe and Hagel.

[dufekin]

Because of the sensitive nature of intelligence, the rules of the Senate give the leadership of the Senate Intelligence Committee to Democrats in perpetuity, regardless of the partisan makeup of the Senate, but likewise grants numerical equality to the Republicans. Provided that all Democrats on the committee unite in their anti-Americanism and that some even adhere to the enemies of the United States to give aid and comfort, the Democrats can prevail on every vote automatically with the absence or agreement of a single Republican. Because the Senate Republicans notoriously lack either backbones or testicular fortitude and generally aim to appease their partisan enemies, the Democrats basically rule the committee. Only with the agreement of two-thirds of the Senators present and voting can the Republicans change the rules governing the partisan makeup of the Senate Intelligence Committee. So we're stuck with this odious clique conducting espionage and treason for our enemies.

[MonicaG]

I'm about half that, and I agree it is depressing because a lot of our "radicals" are heavily invested in daily 2(+) Minutes Hate against POTUS and entire country, instead of loving our awesome country enough to track and hold our representatives accountable, or to even exercise their freedom of speech in civil discourse (instead of paranoid lunatic ravings that President Bush is all at once the most stupidest dummy on earth AND the evil 9-11 mastermind getting richer off oil, etc.).

However, I went to the 9-11 memorial in Sacramento and heard from some awesome U.S. servicemembers who have served in Iraq, and it was SO encouraging and awesome! I hope we can elect a lot of those wonderful dedicated Americans to office so we can be represented by people willing and able to deal with reality (rather than insane lies, denial and displacement).

[Peach]

Thanks for the ping. I just knew that Hayes would be writing about the recent Senate Intelligence Report, and he's done a great job.

And just today I read that Iraqis are upset with the Pope's comments about Muslims. But how can that be? We keep hearing that Saddam never had a relationship with Al Qaeda because "Saddam was secular".

If Saddam was so darned secular, how in the world did he put up with the Islamists in his regime?

[Txsleuth]

I would sure like Woolsey's opinion of this Senate Intel. Committee report, AND the "opinion" that the DEMs and Hagel and Snowe are out spreading around.

[ikez78]

intelligence.senate.gov
has all the members and then you can get their phone numbers

calling them would be a great idea

[jackv]

"Told him I will give no more money to RNC until he gets the Republican Senators to support the President's efforts.."

Me too!! And now I won't answer my phone because they keep calling!

And they call this "oversight"?? What a joke. These senators have gone LAZY. They come out huffing as though they are so exhausted from all their hard work. Yea right, going to all those worthless meetings is hard work I bet!! Somebody else does all the "work" and all they do is sign the bottem line.
phooey on any more $$ from me either!!!

[Marine_Uncle]

Yet again does Steve come out with some good stuff. Thanks for the ping.

[musicman]

BTTT !!

[doesnt suffer fools gladly]

Why doesn't Bush refute this report?

[ikez78]

Everyone PLEASE contact these members of the Senate intel committee and let them know what they missed on this report.

Pat Roberts
Washington D.C. Office:
109 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-1605
Phone: 202-224-4774
Fax: 202-224-3514

Orrin Hatch
Washington DC Office
104 Hart Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-5251
Fax: (202) 224-6331

Mike Dewine
Washington, D.C. Office
140 Russell Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-2315
Fax: (202) 224-6519
TDD: (202) 224-9921

Kit Bond
Washington, DC Office:
274 Russell Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
(202)224-5721

Trent Lott
Phone: (202) 224-6253
Fax: (202) 224-2262

Olympia Snowe
Toll free in Maine: (800) 432-1599
TDD - Maine Relay Service: 1-955-3323

Chuck Hagel
Washington, D.C. Office
248 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-4224
Fax: (202) 224-5213


Senator Saxby Chambliss
Republican - Georgia United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3521
Evan Bayh
463 Russell Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-5623
(202) 228-1377 fax

[pleikumud]

The Weekly Standard is the only magazine I subscribe to; it's great. They constantly blow holes in the mass media lies.

[Enchante]

Yes, the real atrocity is that REPUBLICANS (well, worthless RINOs like Hagel and Snowe) allowed the Demagogues to produce this propagandistic garbage as the official report, phase II, of the SSCI. I'm never surprised anymore when the Demagogues produce crap like this, and much worse, but no Republican should ever be complicit in endorsing or enabling such nonsense. Hagel and Snowe truly are dangerous imbeciles.

[Valin]

You two get an attaboy
ATTABOY