Iraq Weapons Hunter Was Stymied By Albright

United Nations - CIA-Iraq chief weapons inspector Charles Duelfer, whose report cast doubt on Bush administration claims that Saddam Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction, was blocked from reaching that same conclusion in 1999-2000 by the Clinton White House.

Before officially joining the CIA weapons hunt earlier this year, Duelfer spent more than 8 years hunting WMD at the United Nations, first for the noted Swede Rolf Ekeus, than the flamboyant Aussie Richard Butler.

Butler, known for his repeated clashes with Iraq officials, was eventually forced out of his U.N. job by the French and Russian ambassadors in June 1999.

Duelfer, succeeded Butler in July 1999, and later resigned in March 2000, when Hans Blix was recruited to carry on the secret Iraqi weapons hunt. During Duelfer's tenure at the U.N., it was the Clinton White House who drove Iraqi policy in the Security Council.

In December 1998, Clinton launched Operation Desert Fox against Iraq. The air attacks against suspected WMD factories and storage facilities grabbed headlines, but in the end, never produced hard evidence that any illegal weapons had been destroyed.

It was at that point, the Clinton White House made a critical decision to "shelve" the U.N. Special Commission (UNSCOM). UNSCOM was created shortly after Operation Desert Storm in 1991 to uncover Saddam Hussein's secret weapons programs. By 1996, UNSCOM had not only uncovered most of Saddam's hidden programs but had privately come to the conclusion that what else may still remain was not of "signifcant" consequence.

Such a report was being prepared by then UNSCOM chief Rolf Ekeus. But Ekeus, under pressure from the Clinton White House, pulled back and never issued the report. The U.S. felt that if such a report had been sent to the Security Council, the pressure to begin lifting the punishing economic sanctions imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait (August 1990) would markedly increase.

That ran contrary to the Clinton White House policy to "get rid of Saddam Hussein."

It was the same policy that drove the White House to abandon its support of U.N.-Iraq weapons inspector Richard Butler. Butler's aggressive attitude towards Iraq, was too strong for the White House. Butler, like Ekeus, began to suspect that most of Iraq's WMD programs had been "moth-balled."

But under pressure from Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, Butler publicly "hedged" any official assessments.

National Security Adviser Sandy Berger was known to be "uncomfortable" with Butler. U.S. diplomats at the U.N. privately referred to the Aussie diplomat as an "unguided" missile. Eventually, the Russians and French, looking to resume business ties with the Iraqis, forced Butler to the sidelines.

The only support the State Department gave Butler was a "going away" party at the U.S./U.N. ambassador's residence at the Waldorf Astoria.

With Butler gone, Clinton and Albright decided to push the Iraq weapons issue to the back-burner. Presidential elections were only a year off, and the White House did not want Iraq to emerge as a major campaign issue.

Duelfer, Butler's deputy, was on loan from the State Department. A veteran of the department of political/military affairs, Duelfer, unlike Butler, could be counted on the maintain a low profile and keep Iraq out of the news. He also had a State Department pension to protect.

From July 1999 through March 2000, Duelfer and his U.N. team were essentially put in cold storage by the Clinton administration. Most U.S. intelligence to UNSCOM stopped. No more satellite surveillance, no more USAF U-2 spy flights over Iraq.

Duelfer and company were relegated to their U.N. offices and spent almost the following year analyzing and re-analyzing materials obtained from year's past.

The situation prompted Duelfer to confess to this reporter hat "UNSCOM was imploding" and that the U.N.'s weapons hunt "was no longer on Washington's radar scope."

Duelfer, like his U.N. predecessors, could also find no convincing proof that Saddam had resurrected his secret WMD programs.

In short, the White House decided the "Iraq" problem was to be put on "indefinite hold." Duelfer, growing increasingly frustrated by the White House's moves, eventually turned over the reins to veteran Swedish diplomat Hans Blix, in March 2000.

Blix also became frustrated by the White House's Iraq policy, but then came the 2000 elections and the attacks of 9/11.

What it did not change was one important fact: Saddam no longer had any significant WMD and hadn't for almost 10 years. A fact known to senior officials of the Clinton White House but never publicly acknowledged.

SEPTEMBER 1998 - FEBRUARY 2001 : (NEC CASE : IRAQ OBTAINS WMD MATERIALS FROM INDIAN COMPANY) An engineering company that has exported chemical engineering and oil drilling equipment since 1984 to Persian Gulf countries has provided the first clear evidence that Iraq obtained materials over the last four years to produce or deliver weapons of mass destruction. NEC Engineering Private Ltd. used phoney customs declarations and other false documents, as well as front companies in three countries, to export 10 consignments of raw materials and equipment that Saddam Hussein’s regime could use to produce chemical weapons and propellants for long-range missiles, according to court records. The shipments, valued at nearly $800,000, took place between September 1998 and February 2001. The exports—specialised supplies such as atomised aluminum powder and titanium centrifugal pumps—ostensibly went to Jordan and Dubai. But they subsequently were traced to Iraq’s Fallujah II chlorine plant and a rocket fuel production facility at Al Mamoun, according to US and British intelligence reports. . - Saddam’s first smoking gun traced to India (Also discussed on FOXNEWS Special Report) , by Bob Drogan, the Indian Express, Jan 19, 2003

SEPTEMBER 1, 1998 : (SUDAN FACTORY HAD EARLIER BEEN SINGLED OUT DURING COVERT OP MONTHS BEFORE) "The Sudanese pharmaceutical factory destroyed in last month's U.S. cruise missile attack was singled out as a possible target months earlier, during a covert operation in which U.S. intelligence agencies inserted an agent to obtain one of several soil samples used later to justify the strike, senior intelligence officials said Monday.." - Washington Post 9/1/98 Vernon Loeb Bradley Graham via Alamo-Girl*
*".Saddam, who has become America's favorite nemesis, tells all kinds of fanciful tales that we've always assumed to be lies. The Taleban guys, accomplished liars as well, are offended that anyone thinks there's anything wrong with coddling Osama bin Laden, and the Sudanese insist that the chemical factory Mr. Clinton's Tomahawks leveled was not a poison gas factory at all, but a place where the Sudanese made the laxatives, aspirin, pills, elixirs, liniment and other stuff to make life in the Islamic state tolerable. Not so long ago this never would would have been an argument. If an American president said it, who but evil-doers would have doubted him? ." - Wesley Pruden , Washington Times 9/1/98, via Alamo-Girl*

SEPTEMBER 1, 1998 : (COHEN & TENET COMMENT ON SUDAN STRIKE & SALEH IDRIS) ... what was the role of bin Ladin and what was the role of Iraq? Today [Sept 2, 1998?], the NYT reported that Sec Def Cohen and CIA Director Tenet briefed congress yesterday and "provided what they said was new and not fully evaluated evidence of financial ties between the plant's owner, Saleh Idris, and Osama Bin Ladin. . . They are convinced that the decision to destroy the plant was sound, though they have backed away from assertions that bin Laden was a direct investor in the plant, which they initially described as making no commercial products, when in fact it produced medicine."
If the administration only presented evidence that was "not fully evaluated" of Bin Ladin's alleged ties to the plant, that would suggest that it does not have "fully evaluated" evidence for that. And "Iraq News" does not believe it will ever come up with significant, credible evidence linking bin Ladin to that plant. VX production is not a private sector enterprise. It is produced by Gov't's. And the plant's ties to Iraq, rather than Bin Ladin, is what made it suspicious. It is the bet of "Iraq News" that after the Kenya/Tanzania bombings, the administration wanted to hit an Iraqi target, but not an Iraq target in Iraq. - "More Criticism; Sudan and Iraq," By Laurie Mylroie , Iraq News, SEPTEMBER 2, 1998

SEPTEMBER 2, 1998 : (28th DAY OF NO INSPECTIONS IN IRAQ) This is the 28th day without weapons inspections in Iraq.- "More Criticism; Sudan and Iraq," Iraq News, SEPTEMBER 2, 1998, By Laurie Mylroie (inc sources : I. BOSTON GLOBE, US HAS GONE SOFT ON IRAQ INSPECTIONS, AUG 28 [1998]; II. JOHN BOLTON, CLINTON/ALBRIGHT'S DECEIT, WEEKLY STANDARD, SEPT 7; III. IRAQI VICE PRESIDENT TOURS SUDAN'S SHIFA FACTORY, SUDAN TV, AUG 31)

SEPTEMBER 3, 1998 : (IRAQ, SCOTT RITTER COMMITTEE TESTIMONY) Ritter was invited to testify at a joint hearing of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees on September 3, 1998. Strom Thurmond, the South Carolina Republican, introduced Ritter as "a tough and demanding inspector" and a "dedicated American." Ritter wasted no time in offering his assessment of the continuing threat: "Iraq has not been disarmed." The United States, he claimed, had deliberately thwarted the U.N. inspections for fear of a confrontation with Iraq. He ripped the administration for its refusal to back up the inspections process with a legitimate use of force, including, but not limited to, removing Saddam Hussein's regime. http://www.theweeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/000/524dplvk.asp *

SEPTEMBER 3, 1998 : (IRAQ : UNSCOM : RITTER TESTIMONY AFFIRMS IRAQ HAD ASSEMBLED COMPONENTS FOR 3 NUCLEAR WEAPONS) In testimony before the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees on Sept. 3, 1998 – just eight days after resigning as chief weapons inspector – Ritter affirmed that UNSCOM had intelligence suggesting Iraq had assembled the components for three nuclear weapons. All Baghdad lacked, Ritter confirmed, was the fissile material. Ritter said in that 1998 testimony that if Iraq were to reconstruct its old program for producing fissile material, it could have a bomb in several years. He said he resigned because he felt "Iraq remained insufficiently disarmed and ready to restart its nuclear and biological weapons programs." - "Baghdad pressuring Ritter? Wolfowitz says Baghdad has history of blackmailing weapons inspectors ," By Art Moore, WorldNetDaily.com, Friday, January 24, 2003

SEPTEMBER 3, 1998 : (RITTER QUOTE ON IRAQ'S ABILITY TO RECONSTITUTE ITS WMD PROGRAMS) "Once effective inspection regimes have been terminated, Iraq will be able to reconstitute the entirety of its former nuclear, chemical, and ballistic missile delivery system capabilities within a period of six months."- Scott Ritter, September 3, 1998

SEPTEMBER 8, 1998 : (GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN LOOMS) ".I am writing to urge you to pass -- as quickly as possible -- a Continuing Resolution to ensure that the government does not shut down this fall. It has become obvious that Bill Clinton plans to shut the government down to diver the nation's attention from his legal problems. This domestic version of the "Wag the Dog" strategy is the largest abuse of power ever considered by an elected official in the history of our country.." - Peter Cleary of Americans for Tax Reform, US Newswire press Release 9/8/98 , via Alamo-Girl's Downside Legacy at Two Degrees of President Clinton

SEPTEMBER 9, 1998 : (RITTER TESTIMONY BEFORE SENATE) IRAQ is hiding three technologically complete nuclear bombs and is lacking only fissionable materials to make them operational. This is the view of Scott Ritter, the United Nations arms inspector who resigned on August 26, 1998. Mr Ritter made his claim at a recent meeting of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. It was published for the first time yesterday (9/09/98) by Zeev Schiff, military editor of Haaretz, the Tel Avivhe disclosure, and others about biological and chemical weapons held by Baghdad, came as another showdown between Iraq and the UN loomed. According to Mr Schiff's report on the claims by Mr Ritter, the longest-serving American weapons inspector, Unscom knows where the three nearly complete nuclear bombs are hidden. The UN team is also said by Mr Ritter to have information on the method used to conceal the bombs, the units and officers responsible for guarding them, and the types of vehicle employed to transport them in the game of cat and mouse between Saddam and the UN experts. Mr Ritter claimed that, despite the information available, no order was given to the team to conduct a surprise inspection of the site. He claimed that the Security Council and the Clinton Administration had blocked the work of the inspectors just as they were "on the doorstep" of uncovering Iraq's hidden non-conventional weapons of mass destruction. His revelation about the existence of the three bombs has again heightened tensions in the Middle East and raised the stakes in any new confrontation between Iraq and the West. Israel has long believed that it would be the first target of any Iraqi nuclear strike.
As the news about the nuclear devices broke, Security Council members were in the middle of discussing a US-British draft resolution to suspend regular 60-day reviews of UN sanctions until Iraq co-operates with the inspectors.
Mr Schiff, reporting Mr Ritter's disclosures, said: "Unscom inspectors also came up with evidence suggesting that Iraq carried out biological weapons tests on human beings in 1995." No details are available about this claim. It is not known, for instance, if prisoners of war were involved in the alleged test. "Ritter also discovered that Iraq had deliberately reported an exaggerated number of chemical bombs that it had used in the [1991 Gulf] War. The reason: so that Baghdad could hide thousands of such bombs and seven tons of chemical components." Iraq claimed on Tuesday that a new report by Richard Butler, the chief UN weapons inspector, that his arms experts had been barred from three sites was politically motivated and a lie aimed at discrediting Baghdad. The inspectors have to be satisfied that they have accounted for Iraq's weapons of mass destruction before sanctions imposed in August 1990, when Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait, can be lifted.Haaretz quoted Mr Ritter as revealing that proof also existed that Iraq had been manufacturing chemical weapons outside its borders since the Gulf War. He said that Unscom wanted to pursue this lead in Sudan, but its mandate limited its activities to Iraq- "Ritter: Baghdad 'possesses three nuclear bombs' ," by Christopher Walker, Times of London, 9/10/98

SEPTEMBER 9, 1998 : (IRAQ, UN RESOLUTION TO WITHDRAW INSPECTORS) Babel, the Baghdad paper owned by Uday, Saddam's eldest son, issued a warning that, if the resolution were to be adopted, Iraq would boycott the UN Security Council. - "Ritter: Baghdad 'possesses three nuclear bombs,'" by Christopher Walker, Times of London, 9/10/98

SEPTEMBER 9, 1998 : (UN SEC COUNCIL RESOLUTION) [UN Security Council resolution] 1194 (Sept. 9, 1998) ... [was] issued condemning Iraq—ineffectual words that had no effect.

SEPTEMBER 9, 1998 : (UNSC SUSPENDS SANCTIONS REVIEWS) UN Security Council unanimously passes Resolution 1194, suspending sanctions reviews.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor

SEPTEMBER 9, 1998 : (IRAQ THREATENS TO BOYCOTT SECURITY COUNCIL) As Scott Ritter's news about the nuclear devices broke, Security Council members were in the middle of discussing a US-British draft resolution to suspend regular 60-day reviews of UN sanctions until Iraq co-operates with the inspectors.Yesterday (9/09/98) Babel, the Baghdad paper owned by Uday, Saddam's eldest son, issued a warning that, if the resolution were to be adopted, Iraq would boycott the Security Council. - "Ritter: Baghdad 'possesses three nuclear bombs' ," by Christopher Walker, Times of London, 9/10/98

SEPTEMBER 10, 1998 : (UN ENVOY SHAH RETURNS TO IRAQ AFTER INFORMING THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL OF HIS FAILURE TO GET IRAQI COOPERATION) Prakash Shah, the UN special envoy to Iraq, returns there today (9/10/98) after telling the Security Council of his failure to persuade President Saddam Hussein to resume co-operation with arms inspectors.- "Ritter: Baghdad 'possesses three nuclear bombs' ," by Christopher Walker, Times of London, 9/10/98

SEPTEMBER 10, 1998 : (UNSCOM INSPECTOR RITTER, IRAQ, NUKES) Iraq is hiding three technologically complete nuclear bombs and is lacking only fissionable materials to make them operational. This is the view of Scott Ritter, the United Nations arms inspector who resigned on August 26. Mr Ritter made his claim at a recent meeting of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. It was published for the first time yesterday by Zeev Schiff, military editor of Haaretz, the Tel Aviv daily. Haaretz quoted Mr Ritter as revealing that proof also existed that Iraq had been manufacturing chemical weapons outside its borders since the Gulf War. He said that Unscom wanted to pursue this lead in Sudan, but its mandate limited its activities to Iraq. - "Ritter: Baghdad 'possesses three nuclear bombs,'" by Christopher Walker, Times of London, 9/10/98

SEPTEMBER 11, 1998 : (AFGHANISTAN, TALIBAN, MASSACRES) The UN announces that it has confirmed an accusation by Amnesty International that the Taliban government of Afghanistan had massacred thousands of people near Mazar-i-Sharif in 8/98. The killings were committed because the victims were of the Hazara ethnic group and of the Shiite denomination of Islam. The UN determined that the number of victims, between 4,000 and 6,000 people, was about three times more than AI had alleged.

SEPTEMBER 12, 1998 : (CUBAN SPY RING ARRESTS IN FLORIDA) Ten people allegedly operating as a Cuban spy ring "have been arrested and accused of collecting information on U.S. military installations and anti-Castro groups in Florida, federal officials announced today. The arrests, carried out Saturday [12 Sep. 1998], ended the most extensive espionage effort involving Cuban agents ever uncovered here, U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Scott said."

SEPTEMBER 15, 1998 : (NORTH KOREAN MISSILE MAY BE A THREE STAGE TYPE) The Daily Yomiuri reported on 9/15/98 that "The missile fired by North Korea on Aug. 31 was likely a three-stage rocket carrying a very small satellite, not a two-stage ballistic missile as originally suspected, the government learned from an unofficial U.S. source on Monday..However, both Japan and the United States are concerned that if the rocket was the three-stage type, they have seriously underestimated North Korea's missile technology. .A Foreign Ministry official said the United States would demand Pyongyang limit its missile development program because "the technology used to produce three-stage rockets can also apply to the technology for intercontinental ballistic missiles."."

(NORTH KOREA ACCUSES JAPAN OF USING N KOREAN MISSILE TEST AS AN EXCUSE TO BUILD UP ITS MILITARY) "North Korea has accused Japan of trying to use the North's recent rocket launch as an excuse to build up its military and said Tokyo harbors a plan to ultimately invade the North. In a statement issued by its Foreign Ministry, North Korea said Japan was using the launch to deflect attention from its domestic economic crisis." - AP 9/16/98 Tokyo

SEPT. 18, 1998 (CHANG, DNC, MCAULIFFE, TORICELLI) Mr. Chang gives $50,000 to the Democratic National Committee.

SEPT. 20, 1998 (CHANG, DNC, MCAULIFFE, TORICELLI : CHANGMEETS WITH COL. PRITCHARD) Mr. Chang meets in New York with Col. Jack Pritchard, a National Security Council senior ofcial for Asian affairs, to discuss policy ideas related to North Korea.

SEPTEMBER 21, 1998 : (LEFTIES : RAMSEY CLARK ON SUDAN) [former] "U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark said Tuesday the U.S. government had wanted an excuse to strike at Sudan last month and the decision to bomb a pharmaceutical plant there was strictly political. Clark made the accusations to reporters after returning from Sudan, where he led a delegation from the International Action Center on a fact-finding mission to the El Shifa pharmaceutical factory, which was destroyed by U.S. cruise missiles on Aug. 20.."It is absolutely absurd to believe that they scooped up some dirt and found nerve gas on the outside of the plant,'' Clark said, adding there were some four million people living in the Khartoum area and that any nerve gas would have affected local residents.." - Reuters 9/21/98 via Alamo-Girl

SEPTEMBER 1998 late : (UN : ARAB STATES' DRAFT RESOLUTION) "Arab states on Monday submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council calling for a fact-finding mission to verify US claims about a Sudanese factory hit by US missiles. Bahrain ambassador Jassim Buallay submitted the draft resolution on behalf of the UN Arab Group. But the US delegation said that further bilateral discussions were needed, and that the United Nations was not the appropriate forum for the issue, according to western diplomats at the closed-door session. Sudanese diplomats say they want to challenge the United States to issue a veto to prevent the fact- finding mission from going ahead.. - Agence France-Presse 9/29/98 , via Alamo-Girl's Downside Legacy at Two Degrees of President Clinton

SEPTEMBER 24, 1998 : () Newsday 9/24/98 Sheryl McCarthy "WHILE OUR lawmakers split hairs over whether the president's lies about an extramarital affair are impeachable offenses, they don't seem to know the difference between high crimes and trivial misdemeanors. In the month since the United States bombed a factory in Sudan that was suspected of making chemicals for deadly nerve gas, information has surfaced that this decision was made on the flimsiest evidence. It's now clear that at the time of the bombing U.S. officials didn't know the target was a pharmaceutical plant, which makes medicine to treat diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria. There is no evidence that the plant was financed by the terrorist leader, Osama bin Laden, as U.S. officials had claimed. And the claim that Empta, a chemical used to make nerve gas, was found in soil samples near the plant has been called into question. The chemical may have been a common insecticide. The New York Times has reported that all that the policymakers involved in the decision to bomb the Al Shifa plant knew was: Terrorists were living in Sudan, the now questionable soil sample existed, and Osama bin Laden once asked Sudanese leaders to help him make poison gas. On the basis of this, they advised Clinton to launch his missiles.. , via Alamo-Girl's Downside Legacy at Two Degrees of President Clinton

SEPTEMBER 24, 1998 : (REP BARNEY FRANK) "Rep. Barney Frank, one of President Clinton's most outspoken supporters on Capitol Hill, said Thursday he believes Clinton made a mistake last month in ordering the bombing of a Sudanese factory suspected of manufacturing chemical weapons agents. Frank, D-Mass., said in a letter to Clinton he initially supported the bombing of sites in both Sudan and Afghanistan but now believes the administration went too far in the Sudan attack.." - AP, 9/24/98, via Alamo-Girl's Downside Legacy at Two Degrees of President Clinton

SEPTEMBER 25, 1998 : (NORTH KOREA ACCUSES THE US OF SLANDER) "Accusing the United States of slander, North Korea threatened today to use its new rocket system for military use. The reclusive communist country fired a rocket over Japan on Aug. 31, claiming to have put its first scientific satellite into orbit. The United States considered the launch a bold demonstration of North Korea's growing missile technology, which posed threats to two key Asian allies, Japan and South Korea, and U.S. military bases there. Today, a commentary in Rodong Sinmun, an organ of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, accused the United States of slandering the North. ``For the U.S. to talk about `threats' by the Democratic People's Republic of (North) Korea is the height of impudence,'' said the commentary, carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. ``Whether the DPRK's launch of artificial satellite is used for military purposes or not entirely depends on the attitude of the U.S. and other hostile forces,'' it added.." - AP 9/25/98

SEPTEMBER 1998 : (CURT TOMLIN PREDICTS CLINTON WILL LAUNCH AN ATTACK SOON WHICH WILL PROVOKE RETALIATION AT THE US DOMESTICALLY) "President Bill Clinton is playing war games on a top secret computer to come up with a way to be an international hero, according to the man who designed the system. According to Rev. Curt Tomlin, a former member of the battle staff of both presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, Clinton is a desperate man who is like an animal trapped in a corner. He will do anything to regain his credibility and deflect criticism from his impending impeachment hearings, he says. He also is driven by his desire to create a positive legacy of his time in the White House, according to various reports. Clinton's motivations are dangerous to the security of our nation, according to Tomlin. It was Tomlin who designed and perfected the Pentagon's first war games computer system, the top secret "Single Integrated Operating Procedure.".Clinton had tried to become an international hero by destroying hundreds of terrorists being trained by Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan and a chemical weapons plant in Sudan. Those two missile attacks were chosen through use of the SIOP computer to which Clinton has access, according to Tomlin...Tomlin expects Clinton to launch an attack very soon that will bring devastating domestic retaliation to the U.S. "If I were still on active duty, either as an enlisted man or as a commissioned officer, knowing what I know now, looking at all of the information I have available to me, I would have no choice but to resign my commission or terminate my enlistment simply because there is no way that I could now trust my commander in chief," said Tomlin.." , Source: by David Bresnahan,, WorldNetDaily 9/29/98 via Alamo-Girl's Downside Legacy at Two Degrees of President Clinton

SEPTEMBER 28, 1998 Monday : (CONGOLESE REFUGEES ARE ARRIVING IN TANZANIA) UNHCR reported that 328 Congolese refugees arrived in western Tanzania's Kigoma area on Monday. The arrivals included 117 people who said they had fled fighting between DRC rebels and government forces in the Kalemie and Kabimba areas of Katanga. The other 211 refugees arrived from the Fizi and Uvira areas of South Kivu, bringing the total number of Congolese refugee arrivals in Kigoma to 8,530 since early August. - "Congolese crossing to Tanzania," "IRIN Update 513 for 30 Sep 1998," U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org IRIN Update No. 513 Central and Eastern Africa (Wednesday 30 September 1998) via UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER, http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/irin513.html

SEPTEMBER 29, 1998 Tuesday : (UGANDA : PLANE 'PROBABLY' CRASHED) Uganda's defense minister, Stephen Kazuma, said Tuesday that the Bunia-bound Ugandan aircraft that disappeared on Friday was not a military plane, news agencies reported. Kazuma said that the aircraft was carrying two foreigners and three Ugandans. Among the Ugandans was the brother of the country's military chief-of-staff, who was travelling on private business, Kazuma said. The Associated Press quoted Ugandan army spokesman Shaban Bantarize as saying the twin-engine Islander aircraft was last seen hovering at low altitude just over the DRC border and that it "probably crashed." A spokesman for the Ugandan Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels told the BBC Tuesday that the ADF had shot down the plane. - "Ugandan plane "probably crashed" ," "IRIN Update 513 for 30 Sep 1998," U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org IRIN Update No. 513 Central and Eastern Africa (Wednesday 30 September 1998) via UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER, http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/irin513.html

SEPTEMBER 29, 1998 Tuesday (TANZANIA : POLICE SAY THEY WILL TRY TWO SUSPECTS, HEMED & SAIDI, IN THE BOMBING OF THE US EMBASSY IIN DAR ES SALAAM AND HAS NO PLANS TO EXTRADITE THEM TO THE US) Tanzanian police said on Tuesday they would try in Tanzania two suspects in the 7 August bombing of the US embassy in Dar es Salaam and had no plans to extradite them to the United States. Reuters reported Aden Mwamunyange, assistant commissioner of police, as saying the two suspects, Tanzanian Rashid Salehe Hemed and Egyptian Mustapha Mohamed Saidi, would be tried where the offence was committed. - "TANZANIA: Bombing suspects to be tried at home - police," "IRIN Update 513 for 30 Sep 1998," U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org IRIN Update No. 513 Central and Eastern Africa (Wednesday 30 September 1998) via UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER, http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/irin513.html

SEPTEMBER 29, 1998 : (UN INSPECTOR RITTER : ) UN arms inspector Scott Ritter tells the BBC why he left the international team investigating Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Inspector condemns UN- TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

SEPTEMBER 29, 1998 Tuesday : (RWANDAN NEWS AGENCY REPORTS THAT KABILA HAD RECRUITED MORE THAN 10 EX-FAR OFFICERS FROM AMONG HUTU REFUGEES IN CONGO) The Rwandan News Agency reported Tuesday that Kabila had recruited more than 10 ex-FAR senior officers from among the Hutu refugees in Congo-Brazzaville. The commanders, who were reported to have already crossed to Kinshasa, will be used by Kabila to "coordinate the activities of ex-FAR soldiers, the Hutu Interahamwe militia and a rag-tag of guerilla forces of the region," the radio quoted a RDC commander as saying. Last week, UNHCR expressed concern about reports that Rwandan asylum seekers were leaving camps in countries of central Africa to join the fighting in the DRC. Kabila's government has denied recruiting refugees from Congo-Brazzaville to help combat the DRC rebels. - "Ex-FAR "coordinating" for Kabila - rebels," "IRIN Update 513 for 30 Sep 1998," U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org IRIN Update No. 513 Central and Eastern Africa (Wednesday 30 September 1998) via UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER, http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/irin513.html

SEPTEMBER 29 & 30, 1998 Tuesday & Wednesday : (ANGOLA : SADC DISCUSSES INTERVENTION IN A MEETING ON THE CONFLICT IN CONGO; ALSO DISCUSS SITUATIONS IN ANGOLA & LESOTHO) Army officials from the countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) gathered yesterday and today in Angola to discuss the conflict in the DRC, as well as the situation in Angola and Lesotho, news organisations reported. Three SADC members - Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola - have confirmed providing military support to Kabila. General Mojo Motau, head of South African military intelligence, told reporters in the Angolan capital, Luanda, that South Africa recognised the responsibility of the SADC armed forces to secure the region. ''We are ready to make our contribution,'' he was quoted as saying by AFP. Richard Cornwell of the Institute for Security Studies told IRIN that South Africa may move in to halt the advance of Ugandan and Rwandan troops from the east and to prevent the war spilling into a sub-regional conflict. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's state radio yesterday reported that 20 rebels were killed by Zimbabwean forces in "mop-up operations" in the DRC near the border with Angola. - "SADC discusses intervention," "IRIN Update 513 for 30 Sep 1998," U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org IRIN Update No. 513 Central and Eastern Africa (Wednesday 30 September 1998) via UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER, http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/irin513.html

SEPTEMBER 30, 1998 Wednesday : (ETHIOPIA & KENYA) Ethiopia has urged Kenya to improve the road linking the two countries, a Kenyan government newsletter reports. Ethiopian President Negasso Gidada told Kenya's outgoing ambassador that his government was "exploring possibilities of utilizing the services of the Port of Mombasa." The road from Isiolo in central Kenya to the border crossing of Moyale is currently unpaved and prone to insecurity. Ethiopia's dispute with Eritrea has blocked access to the Red Sea ports of Massawa and Assab. Ethiopia has provided investment for the Djibouti port, and has also provided signals of support for the Hargeisa authorities, who control the port of Berbera. The report, in the latest Kenyan 'Foreign Affairs Bulletin' also said that the two countries would also work to enhance cross-border security. - "KENYA-ETHIOPIA: Ethiopia eyes Mombasa," "IRIN Update 513 for 30 Sep 1998," U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org IRIN Update No. 513 Central and Eastern Africa (Wednesday 30 September 1998) via UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER, http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/irin513.html

SEPTEMBER 30, 1998 Wednesday : (UGANDAN PAPER SAYS SON OF IDI AMIN, TABAN AMIN, IS COMMANDING UNIT OF UGANDAN REBELS IN SUPPORT OF KABILA) Meanwhile, Uganda's 'New Vision' newspaper reported today that the son of former Ugandan President Idi Amin, Taban Amin, is commanding a unit of Ugandan rebels supporting Kabila at his forward military base in Kindu, Maniema province. - "Ex-FAR "coordinating" for Kabila - rebels," "IRIN Update 513 for 30 Sep 1998," U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org IRIN Update No. 513 Central and Eastern Africa (Wednesday 30 September 1998) via UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER, http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/irin513.html
Rebels told AFP today they had captured the town of Punia about 200 km north of Kindu. Quoting a military aide to rebel commander Jean-Pierre Ondekane, AFP said that an entire company of government soldiers in Punia had joined rebel ranks. There was no independent confirmation of the rebel claim. - "Rebels claim capture of Punia," "IRIN Update 513 for 30 Sep 1998," U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org IRIN Update No. 513 Central and Eastern Africa (Wednesday 30 September 1998) via UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER, http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/irin513.html

SEPTEMBER 30, 1998 Wednesday : (UGANDAN PAPER REPORTS THAT CONGO'S STATE MINISTER FOR INTERNAL AFFAIRS KAKUDJI - KABILA'S COUSIN- HAS FLED AND WENT TO BRUSSELS, BELGIUM BECAUSE HE FEARED THAT CONGO'S PRESIDENT WAS PLOTTING TO KILL HIM) Uganda's 'New Vision' newspaper also reported today that DRC State Minister for Internal Affairs Gaetan Kakudji had fled Kinshasa through Uganda and proceeded over the weekend to Brussels. Quoting senior Ugandan security officials, the newspaper said Kakudji, who is Kabila's cousin, fled Kinshasa because he feared that the DRC president was plotting to kill him. - "Kakudji flees Kinshasa - report," "IRIN Update 513 for 30 Sep 1998," U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org IRIN Update No. 513 Central and Eastern Africa (Wednesday 30 September 1998) via UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER, http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/irin513.html

1998 fall : (CLINTON LETS SLIP ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO NAB BIN LADEN) In the fall of 1998, they (the NSC and the intelligence community) had Bin Laden tagged. National Security Advisor Sandy Berger tried to get Clinton on the phone. They only had a two hour window to bag Bin Laden.
Clinton was "Unavailable" (golf). He tried again and again to reach the President, to no avail. Despite being accompanied by Military Aides (Col Patterson, who carried "the football") and Secret Service, he was "unavailable". When Berger finally managed to get through, Clinton couldn't make a decision. He waffled away that two hour window. Bin Laden got away. - Source : Paraphrasing from 'Dereliction of Duty' by Col. Patterson, who carried "the football" (the code needed for a nuclear launch): 4 posted on 02/21/2004 5:37:58 PM PST by Maria S

1998 fall : (CLINTON LETS SLIP ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO NAB BIN LADEN) In the fall of 1998, they (the NSC and the intelligence community) had Bin Laden tagged. National Security Advisor Sandy Berger tried to get Clinton on the phone. They only had a two hour window to bag Bin Laden. Clinton was "Unavailable" (golf). He tried again and again to reach the President, to no avail. Despite being accompanied by Military Aides (Col Patterson, who carried "the football") and Secret Service, he was "unavailable". When Berger finally managed to get through, Clinton couldn't make a decision. He waffled away that two hour window. Bin Laden got away. - Source : Paraphrasing from 'Dereliction of Duty' by Col. Patterson, who carried "the football" (the code needed for a nuclear launch): 4 posted on 02/21/2004 5:37:58 PM PST by Maria S

OCTOBER 1998 : (COLUMBIA: EGYPTIAN AL-GAMAL AL-ISLAMIYA TERRORIST MOHAMED ENID ABDEL AAL, ENTERS COLUMBIA FOR TALKS WITH FARC; AAL HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN INVOLVED WITH LUXOR MASSACRE IN EGYPT) An Egyptian terrorist belonging to al-Gamal al-Islamiya entered Colombia illegally in 1998 to hold talks with FARC and was arrested and turned over to U.S. authorities. — He was wanted in connection with the 1997 massacre of 80 Western tourists near Cairo.
Interpol arrested the Egyptian extremist Mohamed Enid Abdel Aal, in Bogota, Colombia. Abdel Aal, a leader of one of the most dangerous of the Islamist terrorist organizations, told authorities under questioning that "he planned to stay in Colombia for a few days and then head to Venezuela over land.” (El Nuevo Herald, Sept. 16, 2001)
There is additional information that indicates that the Colombian territory under FARC control has become a haven for Terror International. Argentine journalist Julio Cirino, an expert on international terrorism, has written about the existence of a logistical support base "in a small city near the Colombian border with Venezuela,” where "Middle Eastern types” receive fake Colombian passports and move on to other unspecified destinations.

OCTOBER 1998 : (COLUMBIA, VENEZUELA, FARC, TERROR INTERNATIONAL, EGYPTIAN TERRORIST, AAL) Interpol arrested Egyptian extremist Mohamed Enid Abdel Aal, in Bogota, Colombia. Abdel Aal, a leader of one of the most dangerous of the Islamist terrorist organizations, told authorities under questioning that "he planned to stay in Colombia for a few days and then head to Venezuela over land.” (El Nuevo Herald, Sept. 16, 2001)
There is additional information that indicates that the Colombian territory under FARC control has become a haven for Terror International. Argentine journalist Julio Cirino, an expert on international terrorism, has written about the existence of a logistical support base "in a small city near the Colombian border with Venezuela,” where "Middle Eastern types” receive fake Colombian passports and move on to other unspecified destinations.

OCTOBER 1998 : (KABUL, AFGHANISTAN COMPUTER, ATEF, VIDEO DEAL) Shortly after U.S. cruise missiles slammed into an al-Qaida training camp in retaliation for the Africa embassy bombings, the Kabul computer later recovered in 2001 after the WTC and Pentagon attacks of 9/11/01, was used to create letterhead for a fictional company, Challenge for Media Services, and to draft letters to ABC, CNN and CBS. Each was signed Dr. Mohammed Atef and offered a business deal: cash for film of bin Laden and his bomb-destroyed training camp at Khost in eastern Afghanistan.The letters promised the networks footage in which bin Laden “openly threatened U.S. and Israeli troops” and urged the networks to send representatives to Kabul or Jalalabad, to ensure “priority in getting the material and easiness in negotiation.” But the letters don’t appear to have been sent. They were left in a folder marked “not sent” on the computer’s hard drive. ABC, CBS and CNN say they never received any letters nor bought any videos from Atef.

OCTOBER 1998 : (IRAQ FORCES UNSCOM OUT) But, when it comes to Iraqi disarmament, by far the most critical event of the past four years occurred in October 1998, when Saddam effectively forced UNSCOM out. Instead of taking military action to make Saddam back down, the Clinton administration effectively acquiesced to pressure applied on his behalf from Russia, France and China to put UNSCOM out of business and install a much weaker disarmament apparatus in its place. But the Iraqis have refused to permit the new inspection teams to enter the country. -"The Bizarre Odyssey of Scott Ritter," editorial, The Washington Times, September 18, 2002

OCTOBER 4, 1998 : (FORMER PRESIDENT BUSH WARNS ABOUT HOW CLINTON'S SCANDALS WERE CREATING CYNICISM WHICH IN TURN WAS IMPAIRING THE COUNTRY'S SECURITY) "Former President George Bush said ... that scandal distracting the Clinton presidency is hurting America's ability to deal effectively with foreign crises that threaten U.S. security. "It's hard to separate the two crises," he said in an exclusive interview with The Washington Times. Mr. Bush, 74, has resisted criticizing President Clinton, who defeated him in 1992. But yesterday, in Washington to mark the publication of a new book he has written with Brent Scowcroft, he cited the widespread speculation that the August missile strikes against Sudan and Afghanistan were an effort to divert attention from the Monica Lewinsky scandal as an example of how the scandal "caused that kind of question to be raised." The world is in many ways less secure and the United States more threatened than before the collapse of global communism, he said." - by Ralph Hallow, Washington Times 10/5/98 via Alamo-Girl

OCTOBER 4, 1998 : (REPORT SURFACES THAT CLINTON ADMINISTRATION DID NOT CONSULT WITH JOINT CHIEFS OR THE FBI ABOUT PROPOSED BOMBING RAIDS) "The White House planned bombing raids on suspected terrorist targets in Afghanistan and the Sudan without involving four members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and FBI Director Louis Freeh, The New Yorker magazine reported. The magazine also said in its Oct. 12 edition, due on newsstands Monday, that Attorney General Janet Reno was ignored when she questioned whether evidence linking Islamic extremist Osama bin Laden to the terrorist bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa was strong enough to justify the retaliatory attacks. The Aug. 20 Tomahawk missile strikes hit bin Laden's purported terrorist training camp in Afghanistan and a chemical plant in Khartoum, Sudan. President Clinton said the latter raid was based on evidence of a nerve gas component found at the Al Shifa plant. The New Yorker said the White House consulted Joint Chiefs Chairman Hugh Shelton on the raid plans but instructed him not to brief the three generals and one admiral who run the nation's armed forces, nor to consult with experts in the Defense Intelligence Agency.." - AP via FoxNews, 10/4/98 via Alamo-Girl's Downside Legacy at Two Degrees of President Clinton

OCTOBER 5, 1998 : (REPORT : CLINTON IGNORED RENO & BYPASSED 4 MEMBERS OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF AS WELL AS LOUIS FREEH IN ORDERING CRUISE MISSILE RAIDS) "The White House ignored Attorney General Janet Reno when she questioned whether evidence linking Islamic extremist Osama bin Laden to the bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa was strong enough to justify retaliatory attacks, The New Yorker magazine reported. The magazine also said in its Oct. 12 edition, due on newsstands today, that the White House kept planning for raids on suspected terrorist targets in Afghanistan and Sudan so secret that four members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and FBI Director Louis Freeh were bypassed entirely.." - AP via AlamoGirl's Clinton Rogues Gallery , via Alamo-Girl's Downside Legacy at Two Degrees of President Clinton

OCTOBER 7, 1998 : (ARABIC NEWSPAPER REPORT CLAIMS BIN LADEN HAS ACQUIRED TACTICAL NUKES - MY NOTE: THEY ALWAYS REPORT THIS WHEN THEY THINK IRAQ IS ABOUT TO GET WHACKED BY THE US & UK) "OSAMA BIN LADEN, the exiled millionaire Saudi terrorist leader, has acquired tactical nuclear weapons from the former Soviet Central Asian states, according to a leading Arabic newspaper. Bin Laden, accused by America of masterminding the attacks on the US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, has established a network of influential friends in Central Asia and Ukraine, according to the London-based al-Hayat. Citing reliable diplomaticsources in Central Asia, the paper says that the Afghan-based terrorist has used this network to get hold of weapons from the former Soviet republics. It did not say how many weapons he had obtained or if he had paid for them." - by Michael Binyon, The Times, 10/7/98 via Alamo-Girl's Downside Legacy at Two Degrees of President Clinton

OCTOBER 1998 : (ECONOMY) " Central bankers around the world are in sheer terror of what is coming in the world economy. A third of the world is in depression. A third of the world is in recession. We are most of what's left and it looks grim for 1999 as Greenspan sees giant waves of US layoffs looming in the wake of cheap imports and foreigners unable to buy our exports. Forget inflation - we're headed for a serious deflationary recession or worse. Any stock rally may be a last chance to bail out before a massive downturn in the market." - Freeper John Wurtz 10/15/98 reportsvia - ALAMO-GIRL'S DOWNSIDE LEGACY AT TWO

OCTOBER 19, 1998 : (IRA PRISONER KILLS ULSTER LOYALIST LEADER WRIGHT) Ulster Loyalist leader, Billy Wright, murdered by IRA prisoner inside the Maze Prison, Northern Ireland.

OCTOBER 23, 1998 : (NETANYAHU SIGNS WYE RIVER MEMORANDUM) Netanyahu signs Wye River Memorandum outlining further Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank after US pressure to end 18 month's of stagnation on the Israeli-Palestinian peace track. Upon completion of each phase of Palestinian commitments, Israel agrees to transfer a specified percentage of land to the Palestinians within the context of the "further redeployments" as stated in previous agreements. Full Text: Wye Memorandum (From Israel embassy site) - "History of Middle East conflict," BBC News, Feb 7, 2001

OCTOBER 1998 late : () ".In case you haven't noticed, Hollywood is doing us all a favor for a change. Since not many people believe what they hear on the mainstream media and fewer people read newspapers anymore, Hollywood is using our televisions and movie houses to issue us a warning. Take heed; this is important. A couple of new movie releases - a made-for-television movie on NBC last night and a big screen production to be released this week - are about terror or terrorist-related scenarios in which government must step in to corral the people to "deal" with the problem. This is especially ironic, considering that the U.S. government has been using U.S. cities for U.S. troops to practice "invading" for over three years now. And it is ironic considering what most people who should know have been saying about the very real threat of terrorism in the United States. We've already witnessed some of it at the World Trade Center and, in my opinion, in the shooting down of a U.S. airliner in New York within the past few years... Most potential enemies today have no such fear of the Clinton administration.
After watching the Clintonites bungle virtually every foreign policy challenge they've faced for the past six years [and seeing what the Clintons will do for campaign money], they have concluded that their window of opportunity is fast approaching." - USA Journal Online 10/26/98 Jon Doughertyvia - ALAMO-GIRL'S DOWNSIDE LEGACY AT TWO DEGREES OF PRESIDENT CLINTON ; SECTION: BREACH OF TRUST; SUBSECTION: TERROR; Revised 1/8/01

OCTOBER 27, 1998 : (UN INSPECTOR BUTLER SAYS IRAQ HAD FILLED WARHEADS WITH VX PRIOR TO 1991 GULF WAR) Richard Butler, says tests carried out by international scientists confirm that Iraq filled missile warheads with the deadly nerve agent VX before the 1991 Gulf War. UN says Iraq made deadly weapons - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

OCTOBER 28, 1998 : (IRAQI MASS TRAINING EXCERCISE) The Iraqi army embarks on a training exercise to enable hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens to defend themselves. Iraqi army starts mass training - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

OCTOBER 31, 1998 : (IRAQ BECOMES TOTALLY UNCOOPERATIVE WITH UNSCOM) Iraq ends all forms of cooperation with UNSCOM. UNSCOM withdraws. - "Key events in UN weapons inspections in Iraq," By AP September 17 2002 ***
*** Saddam ends all cooperation with UNSCOM. However, he allows their return a month later after the U.S. and U.K. warn that without cooperation they will strike without warning.- "Iraq Timeline," campaign for UN reform, http://www.cunr.org/priorities/Iraq_timeline.html ***
*** Iraq suspends cooperation with UN inspectors. - http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/page/0,12438,793802,00.html.(incredibly liberal website) ***
*** Iraq ends all forms of cooperation with the UNSCOM and expels inspectors. ***
*** The Iraqi leadership says it has ceased all co-operation with investigations and monitoring by the UN Special Commission. Iraq stops Unscom - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998
*** Iraq bans all remaining UNSCOM activities- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor***

OCTOBER 31, 1998 : (IRAQ BANS ALL UNSCOM ACTIVITIES) Iraq bans all remaining UNSCOM activities- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor

OCTOBER 31, 1998 : (IRAQ LIBERATION ACT : AUTHORIZES ASSISTANCE TO IRAQI OPPOSITION ORGANIZATIONS) See pdf version : http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/iraq/libact103198.pdf

OCTOBER 31, 1998 : (IRAQ LIBERATION ACT OF 1998 IS SIGNED INTO LAW BY BILL CLINTON) President Bill Clinton signs H.R. 4655, "The Iraq Liberation Act of 1998", restating the case for Saddam Hussein's ouster and pledging support for the Ba'athist opposition. --- Source : 6 posted on 04/11/2004 2:15:28 AM PDT by WhistlingPastTheGraveyard

(* Freeper note: exactly one year later, the co-pilot of Egypt Air Flight 990 would send the aircraft plummetting into the Atlantic Ocean while repeating "Tawakkalt ala Allah" iow, "I rely on Allah")

OCTOBER 1998 : (IRAQ LIBERATION ACT PASSED, BUT CLINTON ADMINISTRATION DOESN'T USE IT) Charley Rangel, a senior member of Congress and, Lord help us, a committee chairman if the RATS ever get back into power, has made it clear that he "supports the troops" but not the president [later said in reference to W Bush, future president]. The greatest anger and hatred for our president comes from Rangel's fellow members of the American-hating Black Caucus. Defenders of Rangel will cite that Trent Lott, our weak-kneed former Senate Leader, was critical of Bill Clinton when he was dropping missiles on Iraq in 1998. For those who forgot, the missiles were dropped on the eve of impeachment. Lott opposed the air assault on suspected Iraqi chemical, nuclear, and biological weapons sites (i.e. an aspirin factory), because he thought the attacks were ineffective. It was not enough action against Hussein. And now for what the left wants everyone to really forget. For months Lott had criticized the Clinton administration for failing to take more aggressive steps to topple Saddam Hussein. “I will support serious and sustained action but will oppose action that does not accomplish our larger strategic goal,” Lott said. Under pressure from Congress, Clinton enacted the Iraq Liberation Act in October, 1998, which earmarked $8 million to support Iraqi political opposition. In a letter to Clinton, the Senate Republicans [later] complained that he had only spent $58,000 of that money. -"1998 LOTT CRITICISM OF CLINTON -- The Rest of the Story," several sources , 3-22-03 , dfu

NOVEMBER 1998 : (WEINBERGER SAYS CRUISE MISSILE ATTACKS WERE A TIMED POLITICAL PLOY) MSNBC 11/12/98 Freeper Neve Report ".Former Defense Secretary Casper Wineberger feels that the cruise missle attacks in the Sudan and Afghanistan, were a political ploy. Wineberger suggests that it was no coincidence that the military operation took place during a critical part of the Lewinski investigation. Wineberger made his comments on MSNBC's "Watch It" program.." , via Alamo-Girl's Downside Legacy at Two Degrees of President Clinton

NOVEMBER 1998 : (UNSCOM TOSSED) Iraq sent inspectors packing.

NOVEMBER 1998 (CHANG, DNC, MCAULIFFE, TORICELLI : CHANG & CLINTON ARE IN SOUTH KOREA) Mr. Chang has pizza with President Clinton at Hyatt hotel in Seoul, South Korea.

NOVEMBER 10, 1998 : (US WARNING ABOUT IRAQ'S ABILITY TO RECONSTITUTE ITS WMD PROGRAMS) The US warns that Iraq will be able to rebuild its weapons programme in a matter of months unless the international community takes action over its obstruction of UN weapons inspections. Iraq could rearm 'in months' - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

NOVEMBER 11, 1998 : (UN WITHDRAWS NONESSENTIAL PERSONNEL FROM IRAQ) The UN withdraws all non-essential personnel from Iraq, amid speculation that the US is preparing a military attack. UN withdraws staff from Iraq - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

NOVEMBER 14, 1998 : (IRAQ SENDS LETTER TO KOFI ANNAN) Iraq sends letter to the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan offering to allow UN weapons inspections to resume. Iraq backs down - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

NOVEMBER 14, 1998 : (IRAQ SAYS IT WILL ALLOW INSPECTIONS TO RESUME) Iraq allows inspections to resume. - "Key events in UN weapons inspections in Iraq," By AP September 17 2002

NOVEMBER 14, 1998 : (IRAQ : ) Iraq allows inspections to resume. - http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/page/0,12438,793802,00.html

NOVEMBER 14, 1998 : (CLINTON DELAYS STRIKES) Clinton delays his planned strikes on Iraq by 24 hours, in hope of lastminute deal.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor

NOVEMBER 14, 1998 : (CLINTON DELAYS STRIKES ON IRAQ) Clinton delays his planned strikes on Iraq by 24 hours, in hope of lastminute deal.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor

NOVEMBER 15, 1998 : (IRAQ AGREES TO RESCIND BAN ON UNSCOM) A deal is delivered, as Iraq agrees to rescind its ban on UNSCOM activities. Diffuses crisis.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor

NOVEMBER 17, 1998 : (UN INSPECTORS RETURN TO IRAQ) UN weapons inspectors return to Iraq after Baghdad's promise to allow them to continue their work narrowly averts air strikes. Inspectors return - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

NOVEMBER 20, 1998 : (NORTH KOREAN VESSEL ENTERS SOUTH KOREAN WATERS) The South Korean navy fires warning shots before chasing a North Korean spy vessel back across the maritime border near Kanghwa-do, northwest of the capital Seoul. http://asia.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/06/29/korea.navy.timeline.reut/

NOVEMBER 20, 1998 : (CIA WARNS OF NORTH KOREAN MISSILE CAPABILITY AND POTENTIAL FOR PROLIFERATION) Robert Windrem - NBC News ".The North Korean military could test a missile capable of hitting "mainland Alaska and Hawaiian Islands" before Jan. 1, and deploy the missile within a few years, the Central Intelligence Agency believes. MOREOVER, the United States believes the North Koreans will market the missile, called the "Taepo-Dong-2," to other nations like Iran. "As North Korea proceeds with its Taepo Dong developments, we need to assume that they will follow their current path and market them; at a minimum, aspiring recipients will try to buy them," he said. Both assessments were made two months ago and the imminent test of such a missile appears to be driving comments made Friday by Secretary of State Madeline Albright.."

NOVEMBER 1998 : (SOUTH KOREA : CLINTON VISITS DMZ) ". President Clinton, troubled by a string of potentially hostile acts by North Korea, Sunday visited U.S. soldiers in South Korea arrayed along the world's last Cold War frontier. The review of the troops - a staple for U.S. presidents in South Korea - took on added significance following North Korea's August 31 missile test over Japan and its refusal to grant access to a suspected underground nuclear site.. Tensions still run high on the divided land, where the two Koreas are technically still at war following the armistice that ended the 1950-53 conflict.
South Korea's defense ministry accused the North of violating the armistice after the South Korean navy Friday chased a suspected North Korean spy ship out of their waters, the latest in a series of incursions. Washington has been particularly uneasy with North Korea's development of an underground site near Yongbyon, where a Soviet-era nuclear power plant has been mothballed under a 1994 agreement between the United States and North Korea. Under that deal, Washington agreed to provide North Korea with two advanced nuclear power reactors and alternative energy supplies in return for Pyongyang freezing its nuclear program. A U.S. official visited North Korea this week but failed to persuade Pyongyang to allow an inspection of the site. U.S. officials said they had rejected a North Korean demand for $300 million in "reparations'' to visit the development.." - Reuters 11/22/98

NOVEMBER 24, 1998 : (CLASSIFIED FOREIGN POLICY DOCUMENTS CONCERNING IRAQ ARE LEAKED THROUGH REPORTER MURRAY WAAS) WASHINGTON -- The Clinton administration is facing the most massive leak of classified foreign policy documents since the publication of the Pentagon papers more than two decades ago during the Vietnam war, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned. "The impeachment proceedings are going to have seemed like a picnic, before we get though with this," said one White House official.
The papers, totaling more than 20,000 pages, according to sources who have read them, include a history of the secret negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea, describing the failed policy of trying to buy off North Korea to forego its nuclear weapons policy. They describe in great detail the intelligence and policy failures that led to the detonations of nuclear weapons by India and Pakistan this year.
Most embarrassing, the papers appear to corroborate, according to sources who have read them, allegations by a former U.N. arms inspector that the Clinton administration concealed from Congress and the public details regarding Saddam Hussein's ambitious program to develop nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons.
The papers also reveal new details on the Clinton policy towards China in which the White House allowed ballistic missile technology exports to China at the behest of wealthy Democratic campaign contributors.
News of the massive leak of classified foreign policy documents caught senior White House officials by surprise on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend...
Two Washington newspaper editors have reviewed the papers, which have been obtained by left-wing reporter Murray Waas. Waas has been holding the documents close, according to one media insider. Some in Washington speculate that Waas does not want to write a major expose about the Clinton administration in the midst of the impeachment hearings, fueling the flames for conservatives.
The new leaks appear to be indicative of deep dissatisfaction within the foreign policy establishment regarding Clinton policies.
There have been other unprecedented leaks as well: most notably, a James Risen story in the NEW YORK TIMES earlier this week about the disregarding of a CIA assessment of Russian corruption by Vice President Al Gore. Some see an organized attempt by dissidents to discredit the Clinton foreign policy.
Ironically, the Clinton White House might have a hard time attacking one of their favorite reporters: During the 1992 presidential campaign, both Clinton and Gore often praised Waas exclusives exposing the Bush administration's Iraq policy, which involved the leaks of thousands of pages of classified papers regarding the Gulf war.
--- "XXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXX WHITE HOUSE PANIC; MASSIVE LEAK OF NATIONAL SECURITY DOCUMENTS XXXX ," Drudge Report, 1998

NOVEMBER 1998 : (IRAQ : PREEMPTION) Anthony Sivers, in his 1998 editorial in the Washington Times entitled "Just Cause on Iraq," offered this insightful commentary: "Just Cause: The first just cause is the anticipatory self-defense of the international community from the threat of use entailed in Saddam Hussein's possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) (U.N. Security Council Res. 687). His use of poison gas in aggressive wars, torture and mass murder are sufficient evidence for probable cause assumption of malice aforethought on his part, given opportunity, with any WMD capabilities possessed. Inaction to forestall such opportunity would be morally irresponsible." - The Washington Times, "Just Cause on Iraq," Sivers, Anthony, November 25, 1998. via - "President Bush's Authorization to Use Force Against Iraq," http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/redirect?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.american-partisan.com%2Fcols%2F2002%2Frazzano%2Fqtr4%2F1009.htm | October 9, 2002 | LPR from "Precedent? I’ll Give You A Precedent," by Linda A. Prussen-Razzano, Dallas Bureau Chief , The American Partisan, October 9, 2002

NOVEMBER 1998 : (AFRICA EMBASSY BOMBING INDICTMENTS, BIN LADEN) US Justice Dept indicted Osama bin Laden for the 8/7/98 bombing of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

NOVEMBER 1998 : (GERMANY, ATTA'S HAMBURG CELL) After Ramzi Binalshibh drops out of preparatory German classes for a college degree, he moves into an apartment with Mohamed Atta and Said Bahaji. Mohammed Haydar Zammar becomes a frequent visitor to their apartment on Marien Street near the university where Atta studied, neighbors said. "What they did was say, 'We want to be fighters for Allah,' " said a Western intelligence official. "And then Zammar said, 'If you want to do that, here's where you need to go, and here's who you need to see.' " - info from "Yemeni Fugitive Was Critical To Unfolding of Sept. 11 Plot," By Peter Finn, Sunday, July 14, 2002, page A01, Washington Post

NOVEMBER 1998 : (GERMANY, ATTA'S HAMBURG CELL, ZAMMAR) The process of radicalization under the influence of Mohammed Haydar Zammar continued in a Hamburg apartment that Atta and two fugitives, Ramzi Binalshibh and Said Bahaji, rented in November 1998 and which they called the “House of Followers.” Binalshibh, who failed four times to get a U.S. visa, played a major logistical role in the Sept. 11 plot, officials said. A Saudi analyst said the Saudis have confirmed a family tie between Binalshibh and one of the key hijackers, Khalid Almihdhar, who was on the airliner that crashed into the Pentagon The Saudi analyst said Binalshibh, a Yemeni, is a cousin of Almihdhar’s wife. Almihdhar, though a Saudi citizen, came from a prominent Yemeni family. The tie may explain how the German-based group led by Atta was able to coalesce with a larger group of Saudis who became hijackers. German authorities have issued international arrest warrants for Binalshibh, Bahaji, a German citizen whose father is Moroccan, and Zakariya Essabar, a Moroccan, all of whom fled Germany shortly before Sept. 11. The U.S. counterterrorism official said the three are either dead or “in the wind,” possibly hiding in Pakistan.

DECEMBER 1998 : (UNSCOM FACES YET MORE IRAQI NONCOMPLIANCE) Then, after a brief return to Baghdad, the inspectors reported Iraqi noncompliance and left the country in December 1998 ahead of punishing U.S. and British airstrikes. Since then, many former inspectors have maintained that the only way to disarm Iraq would be to reinstate some of the inspectors' earlier freedoms.

DECEMBER 1998 : (US CHEMICAL WEAPONS INCINERATOR INCIDENT : SARIN GAS RELEASE) "Army officials downplayed the threat posed by the spill of 140 gallons of the deadly nerve agent Sarin at the first chemical weapons incinerator in the continental United States.." - From Freeper Brian Mosely AP 12/15/98 via - ALAMO-GIRL'S DOWNSIDE LEGACY AT TWO DEGREES OF PRESIDENT CLINTON ; SECTION: BREACH OF TRUST; SUBSECTION: TERROR; Revised 1/8/01

DECEMBER 1998 : (IRAQI HIJAZI TRAVELS TO AFGHANISTAN) Iraqi Farouk Hijazi to travel to bin Laden's Afghanistan hideouts in December 1998. - "The Clinton Intel Record Deeper failures revealed. ," by Mansoor Ijaz, National Review Online, 4-29-2003

DECEMBER 1998 : (CLINTON USES UN RESOLUTION 1154 TO JUSTIFY ATTACK ON IRAQ) May I direct your attention to Operation Desert Fox, the poorly named military campaign begun under President Clinton in December of 1998, against Iraq? What did President Clinton use to justify that fruitless engagement? Resolution 1154, of course. At that time, there was no hue and cry from Democrats in Congress. They supported President Clinton throughout his ineffectual three days of bombing. The general sentiment was not doubt and hesitation, but action and righteousness. - "President Bush's Authorization to Use Force Against Iraq," http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/redirect?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.american-partisan.com%2Fcols%2F2002%2Frazzano%2Fqtr4%2F1009.htm | October 9, 2002 | LPR from "Precedent? I’ll Give You A Precedent," by Linda A. Prussen-Razzano, Dallas Bureau Chief , The American Partisan, October 9, 2002

DECEMBER 1998 : (IRAQ, UNSCOM DISMANTLES GERMAN CENTRIFUGE INSTALLATION) The Times of London interview with Hamza notes another possible clue tog the nature of Brazil-Iraq relations in the early 1980s. Before leaving Iraq in 1998 -- just days before U.S.-led air strikes -- U.N. weapons inspectors had dismantled an illegally imported German centrifuge installation that had been used to refine progressively natural or low-enriched uranium until it became suitable for weapons, the Times reported. - "Brazil uranium sales to Iraq stir debate ," by Carmen Gentile, United Press International 9/25/02

DECEMBER 1998 : (BILL CLINTON ON IRAQ) Bill Clinton was firm, resolute and uncompromising in explaining to the nation why military action against Saddam Hussein had proved necessary: "This situation presents a clear and present danger to the stability of the Persian Gulf and the safety of people everywhere," he said. "This is a question of action. Iraq has abused its final chance." Indeed, he warned, "Overwhelming force remains an option." Delaying such action "for even a matter of days would [give] Saddam more time to disperse his forces and protect his weapons." Even with nations such as Russia, China and France disagreeing with the use of armed force, he said, "we remain ready to act." Bill Clinton issued those threats and later acted on them (albeit briefly and tentatively). - "DEM DOUBLE-TAKE (or...Hypocrites On Parade), " by ERIC FETTMANN, New York Post October 10, 2002

DECEMBER 1998 : (KERRY ON IRAQ) "Saddam Hussein's objective is to maintain a program of weapons of mass destruction," said Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) back then. (December 1998) "It is important to hold him accountable by force. No one will question that it is Mr. Hussein who has precipitated this confrontation and no one else." In 1998, Kerry insisted "I would go beyond mere containment." But in 2002, when George W. Bush became commander-in-chief, Kerry (who'd dearly love to move into the White House himself) wants to know why America isn't pursuing a policy of containment. - "DEM DOUBLE-TAKE (or...Hypocrites On Parade), " by ERIC FETTMANN, New York Post October 10, 2002 - "DEM DOUBLE-TAKE (or...Hypocrites On Parade), " by ERIC FETTMANN, New York Post October 10, 2002. A true partisan, Kerry would change his tune under President Bush in 2002 as Democrats struggled to gain supremacy in the 2002 election cycle.

1998 : (US : HOUSE RESOLUTION ENDORSING REGIME CHANGE IN IRAQ APPROVED) Were Republicans opposing the Democratic president in 1998? No: A House resolution supporting the attack and endorsing regime change in Iraq passed by 417-5. There was some GOP skepticism - but only over the air strikes' politically suspicious timing: Clinton launched the attack one day before the vote on his impeachment. And he had, until then, consistently backed down when faced with the need for military force against Saddam. Indeed, the White House flip-flopped on its Iraq policy from Day One of Clinton's administration. Clinton repeatedly threatened to go to war over weapons inspections. Later, he secretly undermined those same inspectors' ability to do their job . - "DEM DOUBLE-TAKE (or...Hypocrites On Parade), " by ERIC FETTMANN, New York Post October 10, 2002

1998 : (USA : NY SENATOR LEVINE URGES CLINTON TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST IRAQ) Democratic Senator Carl Levine initiated a letter signed by 26 colleagues urging Clinton "to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction." - "DEM DOUBLE-TAKE (or...Hypocrites On Parade), " by ERIC FETTMANN, New York Post October 10, 2002

DECEMBER 1998 : (BIN LADEN RECEIVES THE FATWA FROM THE HIGH COURT OF AFGHANISTAN PERMITTING THE USE OF WMD AGAINST AMERICAN CIVILIANS) MR. BODANSKY ...The first key event took place in the first days of December last year, in that when bin Laden received the fatwah, a religious decree from the high court of Afghanistan, the leading Ulama -- religious court -- permitting, among other things, the use of weapons of mass destruction against innocents -- against American civilians. Terrorists in the past have had weapons of mass destruction -- never in the quantity and quality of bin Laden's -- and we'll go into that in a few minutes. The important thing is never have they had any authorization to use them. And this is the first time, considering the fact that bin Laden is the guest of the Taliban, he is seeking permission, justification or legitimization to use these weapons from the same group of learned individuals that also guide the Taliban is of extreme importance. ---NATIONAL PRESS CLUB 8/6/99 "...PRESS CONFERENCE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB MORNING NEWSMAKER WITH YOSSEF BODANSKY, AUTHOR; SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM NATIONAL PRESS CLUB WASHINGTON, D.C. 10:00 A.M. EDT FRIDAY, AUGUST 6, 1999 via ALAMO-GIRL'S DOWNSIDE LEGACY AT TWO DEGREES OF PRESIDENT CLINTON ; SECTION: BREACH OF TRUST; SUBSECTION: TERROR; Revised 1/8/01

DECEMBER 1998 : (UNSCOM) Then, after a brief return to Baghdad, the inspectors reported Iraqi noncompliance and left the country in December 1998 ahead of punishing U.S. and British airstrikes. Since then, many former inspectors have maintained that the only way to disarm Iraq would be to reinstate some of the inspectors' earlier freedoms.

DECEMBER 1998 : (RITTER SPEAKS IN SENATE HEARING) "Even today, Iraq is not nearly disarmed. Based on highly credible intelligence, UNSCOM [the U.N. weapons inspectors] suspects that Iraq still has biological agents like anthrax, botulinum toxin, and clostridium perfringens in sufficient quantity to fill several dozen bombs and ballistic missile warheads, as well as the means to continue manufacturing these deadly agents. Iraq probably retains several tons of the highly toxic VX substance, as well as sarin nerve gas and mustard gas. This agent is stored in artillery shells, bombs, and ballistic missile warheads. And Iraq retains significant dual-use industrial infrastructure that can be used to rapidly reconstitute large-scale chemical weapons production." - Scott Ritter, December 1998

DECEMBER 1998 : (IRAQI FAROUK HIJAZI, A FORMER? SENIOR INTELLIGENCE AGENT & AMBASSADOR TO TUNISIA MEETS BIN LADEN) For example, Farouk Hijazi, a former senior Iraqi intelligence agent and ambassador to Tunisia who was reported to have met bin Laden in December 1998, has been in U.S. custody since late April.[2003] - "Memo shows Iraq, Iran tried to contact bin Laden ," By Eli J. Lake, Washington Times, September 12, 2003

DECEMBER 8, 1998 : (REPORT : NORTH KOREA HAS BEGUN WORK ON THREE UNDERGROUND LAUNCH FACILITIES) "North Korea has started building three underground facilities capable of launching ballistic missiles, Japan's public broadcasting network reported today. U.S. spy satellites have confirmed what appear to be three missile bases under construction in the northern part of North Korea, NHK television quoted Japanese Defense Agency sources as saying. Hosei Norota, Director General of Japan's Defense Agency, told reporters today that he has ``yet to receive such information'' and that he has not confirmed the report, according to an agency spokesman. The report was sure to intensify concerns in Japan, already unnerved by North Korea's firing of a missile Aug. 31. U.S. and South Korean officials say North Korea test fired a Taepo Dong-1 missile, which traveled over the Japanese mainland and landed in the Pacific Ocean, proving the communist country could strike at any part of Japan. North Korea's three new facilities reportedly are being built at depths ranging from 165 feet to 330 feet. A fuel storage facility will be completed in one or two years at one of the underground sites, NHK reported.." - AP 12/8/98

DECEMBER 10, 1998 : (ABDOULAH ENTERS THE US) "Mohdar Mohamed Abdoulah " entered the United States from Canada on Dec. 10, 1998 with a Yemeni passport and a valid visitor's visa
[* My note : or did he enter six days later as another report suggests?]

DECEMBER 10, 1998 : (YEMENI 9/11 HIJACKER ABDOULAH aka ZAID OBTAINS VISITOR VISA FROM US CONSULATE IN OTTAWA, CANADA) Abdoulah aka Mihdar Mohammad Al-Mihdar Zaid obtained a B2 visitors visa from the U.S. Consulate in Ottawa on Dec. 10, 1998, by showing a passport from Yemen and identifying himself as a student in Canada. Six days later, he flew to San Diego. - BEN FOX Associated Press 63420.html

DECEMBER 10, 1998 : (UNSCOM) Inspectors vow to press on with surprise inspections despite a dispute with Baghdad over access. Inspectors in new row - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

DECEMBER 13, 1998 : (TIME MAGAZINE REPORT: BIN LADEN MAY BE PLANNING STRIKES ON NY OR WASHINGTON) "Suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden may be planning strikes on Washington or New York to avenge a U.S. missile strike on his Afghan headquarters in August, Time magazine reported Sunday. "We've hit his headquarters, now he hits ours," the magazine quotes a State Department aide as saying. U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno organized an exercise at FBI headquarters in Washington on Oct. 14 to plan for a possible terror attack by bin Laden, the weekly said.." Nando Times 12/13/98, via Alamo-Girl *

DECEMBER 13, 1998 : (TERROR ALERTS) ".U.S. embassies in four Gulf nations said Sunday they have information indicating the "strong possibility'' of a terrorist attack at one or more American targets in the region over the next 30 days. A statement distributed to American citizens in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain asked them to be on alert to "any suspicious activity and take precautionary steps to reduce the profile and vulnerability of any U.S. facilities.'' The statement did not give details beyond saying there is "a strong possibility that terrorist elements are planning an attack against U.S. targets in the Gulf, possibly in the next 30 days.''." FOX; AP 12/13/98 via Alamo-Girl

DECEMBER 1998 : (SLAVERY IN NORTH KOREA) MSNBC.com 12/14/98 ".Two South Korean soldiers presumed dead for over 45 years returned home after escaping from North Korea, South Korean intelligence officials announced on Monday. The men, Kim Bok-ki, 67, and Park Dong-il, 71, flew in from a "third country" where they had been living in hiding since escaping North Korea early this year, the officials said. MORE THAN 20,000 South Koreans and 8,100 American soldiers are still listed as missing from the 1950-53 war. Kim and Park are only the fourth and fifth POWs to escape from the North since the end of the war. Officials said the two soldiers were captured during the Korean War by Chinese troops during a battle at Keumhwa at the northeastern region near the border now separating the two Koreas. The two were initially detained in a POW camp near the North's capital, Pyongyang, but were later sent to a coal mine in northern North Korea where they had been forced to work until they escaped the country, the officials said. Both Kim and Park spent decades in slave labor at coal mines in before escaping, the statement said. Kim and Park were being held for questioning, an NSP official said. Beyond the fact that they entered South Korea through a "third country," details of their escape were not immediately released.."

DECEMBER 15, 1998 : (UNSCOM WITHDRAWS DUE TO IRAQI NONCOMPLIANCE) UNSCOM weapons inspectors withdraw from Iraq, saying Saddam has not delivered the unfettered access he promised, rendering the team unable to perform their mission.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor

1998 : (UNSCOM DISBANDED) The UN team known as UNSCOM was set up in 1991 and was constantly hindered in its work until it was disbanded in 1998, on the eve of a bombing campaign by the United States and Britain. - Agence France-Presse Two weeks would be enough to begin Iraq inspections- Blix

DECEMBER 16, 1998 : (OPERATION DESERT FOX BEGINS) Operation Desert Fox begins. US and UK launch 415 cruise missiles and 200 bombs at 50 Iraqi locations. It was, however, a flop (The Center for Strategic and International Studies has described Desert Fox as “a near total failure.” Its full report is entitled “If We Fight Iraq,” revised 28 June 2002). Only ten targets were destroyed and 18 severely damaged. US says it killed 1,400 Iraqi troops. Baghdad says 62.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor

DECEMBER 16, 1998 : (YEMENI 9/11 HIJACKER ABDOULAH aka ZAID FLIES TO SAN DIEGO, CA) Abdoulah aka Mihdar Mohammad Al-Mihdar Zaid obtained a B2 visitors visa from the U.S. Consulate in Ottawa on Dec. 10, 1998, by showing a passport from Yemen and identifying himself as a student in Canada. Six days later, [Dec 16, 1998] he flew to San Diego. - BEN FOX Associated Press 63420.html

DECEMBER 16, 1998 : (UNSCOM WITHDRASWS SINCE IRAQ ISN'T COOPERATING) UNSCOM removes all staff from Iraq after inspectors conclude Iraq is not fully cooperating. Four days of US and British airstrikes follow.- "Key events in UN weapons inspections in Iraq," By AP September 17 2002

DECEMBER 16, 1998 : (UN ORDERS UNSCOM INSPECTORS TO LEAVE IRAQ) The UN orders weapons inspectors out of Iraq hours after the chief UN weapons inspector, Richard Butler, issued a report complaining that the Iraqis were still failing to co-operate. UN orders inspectors out - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

DECEMBER 16, 1998 : (GORE ON IRAQ) "If you allow someone like Saddam Hussein to get nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, chemical weapons, biological weapons, how many people is he going to kill with such weapons? He's already demonstrated a willingness to use these weapons. He poison-gassed his own people. He used poison gas and other weapons of mass destruction against his neighbors. This man has no compunction about killing lots and lots of people." -- Al Gore, Dec. 16, 1998
Remember the night he said that?
Remember that he said it during PRIME TIME TV????
Remember that he was the TIE VOTE for the resoluation supporting Bush 41 in the first Gulf War?
Remember that he went to the Dems and the GOP and told them that he'd vote with WHICHEVER ONE OF THEM GAVE HIM PRIME TIME TV TIME TO MAKE HIS SPEECH?????
That SOB.
17 posted on 08/09/2003 10:36 PM PDT by Howlin

DECEMBER 16, 1998 : (IRAQ : UN INSPECTORS WITHDRAWN) UN inspection team is withdrawn, after concluding that Iraq is not cooperating fully. - http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/page/0,12438,793802,00.html.<

DECEMBER 16, 1998 : (FRUSTRATED, UNSCOM AND IAEA WITHDRAW FROM IRAQ) On Aug. 5, 1998, [Iraq] halted cooperation with UNSCOM and the IAEA completely, and they withdrew on Dec. 16, 1998. Saddam had another four years to develop and hide his weapons of mass destruction without any annoying, prying eyes. U.N. Security Council resolutions 1115, (June 21, 1997), 1137 (Nov. 12, 1997), and 1194 (Sept. 9, 1998) were issued condemning Iraq—ineffectual words that had no effect. - "Russian Collusion in Iraq," By Ion Mihai Pacepa, Washington Times , August 22, 2003

1998 late : (UN WEAPONS INSPECTION TEAMS LEAVE IRAQ; MANY ITEMS LEFT UNNACCOUNTED FOR) When the inspection teams left Iraq in 1998, among the items that remained unaccounted for:

Two long-range missiles.
550 bombs, shells and warheads filled with mustard and sarin gases.
Almost 18,000 unfilled shells and warheads - 2,000 for chemical payloads and 15,900 for biological weapons.
100 warheads filled with biological toxins.
4,400 tons of chemical weapons raw materials and 31,000 chemical weapons munitions.
660 tons of raw materials for the deadly VX nerve agent, enough to make 220 tons of VX - enough, theoretically, to obliterate the population of the world.
19 tons of growth media for biological weapons agents, enough to produce at least three times the quantity of anthrax that Iraq has admitted it produced.

- "Saddam's bad case of gas - Probers find shells containing deadly fumes," by HELEN KENNEDY, New York Daily News, 12/05/02

DECEMBER 16-17, 1998 : (OPERATION DESERT FOX) Hundreds of cruise missiles are fired into Iraq by US forces, marking the start of strikes to punish the Baghdad government for obstructing the work of the UN weapons inspectors. US strikes Baghdad- TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

DECEMBER 16, 1998 : (OPERATION DESERT FOX, RITTER) On Dec. 16, 1998, the United States, with British support, launched Operation Desert Fox, four days of bombing. With the Clinton administration finally hammering Saddam, one might have expected Ritter to be elated, but in fact, he thought it a travesty. Desert Fox had come without the approval of the Security Council. In Ritter-think, America was bound to the United Nations by treaty, and treaties were backed by the United States Constitution. ''We've broken the law and compromised our morality,'' he says. Besides, speaking as a Marine intelligence officer, he also thought the operation nothing more than a futile pinprick. If they wanted to bomb, they should have hit Saddam for a full 60 days. ''I could've shown them the targets,'' he says. - "Scott Ritter's Iraq Complex: One man's continuing war with Saddam, Washington -- and himself ," by Barry Bearak, New York Times Magazine, November 24, 2002

DECEMBER 16, 1998 : (IRAQ : UNSCOM : RITTER CRITICIZES OPERATION DESERT FOX) Former UNSCOM inspector Ritter's public turnabout came just a few months after his Senate testimony, when on Dec. 16, 1998, he unexpectedly criticized Operation Desert Fox, a four-day U.S.-British bombing operation, for not having the approval of the U.N. Security Council. - "Baghdad pressuring Ritter? Wolfowitz says Baghdad has history of blackmailing weapons inspectors ," By Art Moore, WorldNetDaily.com, Friday, January 24, 2003

DECEMBER 16 - 19, 1998 : (IRAQ : OPERATION DESERT FOX) Operation 'Desert Fox' begins: four days of US-British air strikes against Iraqi weapons programmes. - "Missile blitz on Iraq," http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/page/0,12438,793802,00.html.

DECEMBER 16-19, 1998 : (IRAQ : OPERATION DESERT FOX) U.S. and U.K. launch a bombing campaign "Operation Desert Fox" to destroy suspected nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs.

DECEMBER 1998 : (AIRSTRIKES ON IRAQ TAKE PLACE AFTER MORE THAN A YEAR OF TENSIONS) More than a year of tension between Washington and Baghdad began in the fall of 1997 when Iraq demanded an end to U.S. participation in the weapons inspections, charging that they were espionage operations. Iraq's lack of cooperation with the U.N. inspectors since then culminated in the pre-Christmas [1998] U.S. and British airstrikes on targets in Iraq. - "Sources: Annan's office leaked allegations of U.S. spies in UNSCOM," CNN.com, January 7, 1999, Web posted at: 10:42 p.m. EST (0342 GMT), Correspondent David Ensor and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

DECEMBER 1998 : (IRAQ: FATHER JEAN-MARIE BENJAMIN IS IN BAGHDAD, MAKES ANOTHER "DOCUMENTARY" CALLED "IRAQ : JOURNEY TO THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM," THIS ONE WHINING ABOUT DEPLETED URANIUM SHELLS) he [Jean-Marie Benjamin] was in Baghdad during the bombing and, after an international enquiry, made a new documentary entitled: "Iraq: journey to the forbidden kingdom" dedicated to the living conditions of the Iraqi population and the impact of radioactive contamination on the population and the environment due to the use of weapons containing depleted uranium.---- Source : http://www.benjaminforiraq.org/homeGB.htm

DECEMBER 1998 : (NORTH & SOUTH KOREAN GUNBATTLE AT SEA) "South Korean navy ships fought a gunbattle with a suspected North Korean submarine Friday, sinking it off the southern coast, military officials said. The body of one North Korean crewman was recovered after the 10-ton sub was sunk about 60 miles off the tip of the Korean Peninsula, the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The sub was first spotted shortly before midnight Thursday as it approached the shore near Yosu, a port city 200 miles south of Seoul, the military said..", by Andra Brack, The Washington Post 12/17/98

DECEMBER 18, 1998 : (SOUTH KOREA SINKS NORTH KOREAN SPY SUB) The South Korean navy sinks submersible North Korean spy vessel, with one frogman found dead in the Sea of Japan east of the Korean peninsula. http://asia.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/06/29/korea.navy.timeline.reut/

DECEMBER 18, 1998 : (NORTH KOREA NEWS REPORT) "Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Perry, in the capacity of a coordinator for "North Korea" policy, reportedly debated on a "proposal of cooperation" with somebody and is about to arrange it in detail with reference to the DPRK's "underground nuclear facility" and launch of a satellite, says Rodong Sinmun in a commentary today. Criticising the U.S. imperialist hawks' outcry for "cooperation" and "proposal of cooperation," insisting on "inspection of underground nuclear facility" and countermeasure against "missile threat" as a military provocation against the DPRK and a far-fetched manner aimed at unleashing a war against the DPRK, the news analyst continues: The Korean people will never tolerate any attempt to tarnish the dignity of the DPRK and encroach upon its sovereignty. If the U.S. hawkish elements continue to screw up the tension under such unjustifiable pretext, war will be inevitable on the Korean peninsula.." - North Korean News 12/18/98

DECEMBER 19, 1998 : (CHANG, DNC, MCAULIFFE, TORICELLI : CHANG DINES AT THE WHITE HOUSE) Mr. Chang attends holiday dinner at the White House with 465 other guests

DECEMBER 20?, 1998 Wednesday : (CRUISE MISSILES FIRED AT IRAQ REPORTED TO HAVE GONE ASTRAY INTO IRAN) "Among the hundreds of cruise missiles that were fired at Iraq on Wednesday night, a couple of them fell in Khorramshahr town in Iran's Khuzestan province. There was some damage to property, but fortunately no resultant casualties in Iran. That is one of the problems of these high-tech weapons, fired from afar, they are not as accurate as their users would want them to be. Fired at Iraq, they land in Iran. Aimed at Afghanistan, they drop down in Pakistan. And then there is what the Americans term collateral damage. The ugly phrase meaning civilian deaths.Bombing Iraq is an abuse of power, in the belief that there can be no retribution. This is the first time that the Security Council has been sidetracked so blatantly. Washington was so quick o send out its missiles that it did not even make the effort of getting support from anyone other than its closest ally, Britain, at the time of the attack. Even the other permanent members of the Security Council, which forms the elite core group, were not consulted.." , by Shubha Singh, The Pioneer, 12/20/98, via Alamo-Girl's Downside Legacy at Two Degrees of President Clinton

DECEMBER 20, 1998 : (OPERATION DESERT FOX ENDS) End of Desert Fox, a 72-hour operation. Clinton says more may follow.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor It was during Desert Fox, when a corner of a building's roof was blown off, that the CIA discovered Iraq had fitted aircraft with crop-dusting equipment.

DECEMBER 20, 1998 : (OPERATION DESERT FOX ENDS) End of Desert Fox, a 72-hour operation. Clinton says more may follow.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor
(My note: It was during Desert Fox, when a corner of a building's roof was blown off, that the CIA discovered Iraq had fitted aircraft with crop-dusting equipment.)

DECEMBER 20, 1998 : (BIN LADEN HAS REBILT TRAINING CAMPS) "THE world's most wanted terrorist, Osama Bin Laden, is preparing for war. Four months after the United States launched cruise missile attacks on his camps in Afghanistan, Bin Laden has rebuilt his "terrorist universities" and is constructing bomb-proof headquarters in a cave beyond the reach of spy satellites in the Pamir mountains in the north of the country.." - by Adrian Levy, Cathy Scott-Clark , Peshawar, The Sunday Times - London 12/20/98 via Alamo-Girl

DECEMBER 21, 1998 : (HIJAZI & BIN LADEN TARGET LIST MADE) "Terrorist cells belonging to the network organized by Osama bin Laden...are ready go into action in the countries of the Persian Gulf and Europe...The list of targets is ready. It was agreed in Kandahar 21 December by Osama himself and Farouk Hijazi... The new recruits, together with the veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Bosnia, form the secret army that is expected to use its weapons against all those who oppose the rais of Baghdad. In order to make them even more dangerous, traditional training has been supplemented with training in the use of chemical weapons, toxins and viruses." [Corriere della Sera, February 1, 1999 (Italia)] see http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/743697/posts?page=51#51

DECEMBER 1998 : (SADDAM HUSSEIN SENT HIJAZI TO MEET WITH BIN LADEN, ACCORDING TO FORMER CIA COUNTER-TERRORISM CHIEF CANNISTRARO) Vince Cannistraro, the CIA's former counter-terrorism chief, said Baghdad made an overture to Mr bin Laden in December 1998. Saddam was apparently so impressed by the bombings that year of the two US embassies in East Africa that he sent Iraq's ambassador to Turkey, Farouk Hijazi, to Afghanistan to meet Mr bin Laden. The CIA believed Mr Hijazi offered Mr bin Laden and al-Qa'ida, then being pursued by the Americans, a permanent refuge in Iraq but the offer was refused.- "The suicide bomber and the Baghdad conspiracy," By Chris Blackhurst, Independent.co.uk , 14 October 2001

1998 (near year's end) : (AFGHANISTAN, IRAQI AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY, HIJAZI, MET WITH BIN LADEN IN KANDAHAR ) The source added that Egyptian Islamic Jihad, which has now effectively merged with al-Qaeda, maintained regular contacts with Iraq for many years. He confirmed the claims first made by the Iraqi National Congress - that towards the end of 1998, Farouk Hijazi, Iraq's ambassador to Turkey and a key member of the Mukhabarat leadership - went to Kandahar in Afghanistan, where he met bin Laden.

DECEMBER 1998 : (IRAQI AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY, HIJAZI, MEETS WITH BIN LADEN) Osama bin Laden reported to have met Farouk Hijazi, Iraqi’s ambassador to Turkey and an intelligence officer (Information from the Wisconian Project on Nuclear Arms Control, a Washington-based think tank. Gary Milhollin, its director and Professor Emeritus of the University of Wisconian Law School, gave evidence to US International Relations Committee on 4 Oct 2001).http://216.239.53.100/search?q=cache:P4fOFA3WkHAC:www.atranaya.org/News/AIJ/AIJSep16a.htm+%22Information+from+the+Wisconian+Project+on+Nuclear+Arms+Control,+a+Washington-based+think+tank.+Gary+Milhollin,+its+director+and+Professor+Emeritus+of+the+University+of+Wisconian+Law+School,+gave+evidence+to+US+International+Relations+Committee+on+4+Oct+2001%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

DECEMBER 1998 : (IRAQI OFFICIAL AL-HIJAZI MEETS WITH BIN LADEN IN AFGHANISTAN) Following the December 1998 air strikes on Iraq, Saddam Hussein dispatched Faruq al-Hijazi to Kandahar, Afghanistan in order to meet with bin Laden and plot their revenge. To demonstrate Iraq’s commitment to bin Laden and al Qaeda, Hijazi presented bin Laden with a pack of blank, official Yemeni passports, supplied to Iraqi Intelligence from their Yemeni contacts. Hijazi’s visit to Kandahar was followed by a contingent of Iraqi intelligence officials who provided additional training and instruction to bin Laden and al Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan. These Iraqi officials included members of “Unit 999,” a group of elite Iraqi intelligence officials who provided advanced sabotage and infiltration training and instruction to al Qaeda operatives. At that meeting, upon information and belief, bin Laden, al Qaeda and Iraq agreed to join efforts in a detailed, coordinated plan for a protracted terrorist war against the United States. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda

DECEMBER 23 +/-, 1998 : (BIN LADEN TIME INTERVIEW, FATWA, SOMALIA) Usama Bin Laden was asked by Time magazine whether he was responsible fo rthe August 1998 attacks. He replied: "The International Islamic Jihad Front for the Jihad against the US and Israel has, by the grace of God, issued a crystal clear fatwah calling on the Islamic nation to carry on Jihad aimed at liberating the holy sites. the nation of Mohammed has responded to this appeal. If intigation for jihad against the Jews and the Americans... is considered to be a crime, then let history be a witness that I am a criminal. Our job is to instigate and, by the grace of God, we did that, and certain people responded tot his instigation." He was asked if he knew the attackers: "...those who risked their lives to earn the pleasure of God are real men. They managed to rid the Islamic nation of disgrace. We hold them in the highest esteem. " And what the US could expect of him:
"...any thief or criminal who enters another country to steal should expect to be exposed to murder at any time...
The US knows that I have attacked it, by the grace of God, for more than ten years now...
God knows that we have been pleased by the killing of American soldiers (in Somalia in 1993.) This was achieved by the grace of God and the efforts of the mujahadeen...
Hostility towards America is a religious duty and we hope to be rewarded for it by God. I am confident that Muslims will be able to end the legend of the so-called superpower that is America. "

DECEMBER 23, 1998 : (CUBAN SPIES AT UN SHOWN THE DOOR) Three Cuban diplomats at the UN were ordered to leave the US. "The three men were linked to espionage after an investigation by the FBI that led to the arrest and indictment of 10 suspected Cuban agents in Miami (the WASP network) three months ago. The three men in NY have diplomatic passports, which give them immunity from prosecution as spies."

DECEMBER 25, 1998 : (BIN LADEN COMMENTS ON AMERICAN PEOPLE SUPPORTING IRAQ, SAYING IT JUSTIFIES MUSLIMS KILLING AMERICANS AND BRITS) ". Osama Bin Laden, the Saudi exile accused of masterminding the U.S. Embassy bombings in Africa, is calling on Muslims to kill Americans and Britons for the airstrikes their countries carried out against Iraq. ``The British and the American people loudly declared their support for their leaders' decision to attack Iraq,'' Bin Laden said in Friday's edition of the Arabic newspaper Asharq Al- Awsat. This made it ``the duty of Muslims to confront, fight and kill'' Britons and Americans, he said. ``And anything that can be taken from them by force is the rightful prize of Muslims,'' Bin Laden said..." - AP, 12/25/98

DECEMBER 25, 1998 : (BIN LADEN) ".Mr. Bin Laden renewed his fatwa (a religious decree) in the interview reportedly conducted Wednesday night in a tent under heavy security in the Afghan wilderness. Mr. Bin Laden is quoted as saying he is confident that Muslims would rid Islamic countries of Americans and Jews. Osama Bin Laden has been indicted by the U.S. government, which accuses him of involvement in the August bombings of two American embassies in east Africa. a total of 224 people died in the bombings. Washington is offering a five million dollar reward for information leading to his arrest. Mr. Bin Laden is quoted as denying that he was responsible for the bombings. but the Saudi-born militant says he supports the attacks and knows some of the suspects who have been accused in the attacks.Mr. Bin Laden does not deny the charge that he is trying to develop chemical and nuclear weapons. The Saudi militant is quoted as saying acquisition of such weapons would be part of his religious duty. He adds the use of such weapons would be decided by him. Mr. Bin Laden is living in Afghanistan under the protection of the Taleban Islamic movement, which has rejected requests by the united states for his extradition. The Taleban says Mr. Bin Laden is a guest in Afghanistan.." - by Ayaz Gul in Islamabad Pakistan, Voice of America 12/25/98, via Alamo-Girl

DECEMBER 28, 1998 : (YEMEN : TERRORISTS KIDNAP BRITS, AMERICANS, & AUSSIES) Yemini militants kidnap a group of western tourists, including 12 Britons, 2 Americans, and 2 Australians on the main road to Aden. Four victims were killed during a rescue attempt the next day.

DECEMBER 28, 1998 : (YEMEN) Islamic militants kidnapped 16 non Muslim Western tourists in Yemen on December 28, 1998 killing 4 British and Australian citizens - "A Short History of World War IIIA Lesson of the Future.," by Sal Rosken, The Partial Observer , 2 March 2003

DECEMBER 1998 : (YEMEN, AAIA, AL-MEHDAR) The Aden Abyan Islamic Army (AAIA) in Yemen took 17 hostages. In a raid by the Yemen police, 4 of the hostages were freed and 13 of the hostages were killed. AAIA leader Zein al-Abideen al-Mehdar was arrested and executed

DECEMBER 1998 : (COLUMBIAN DRUG SEIZURE LINKED TO CUBA - See Congressman Rangel) In December 1998 Colombian police seized 7.2 metric tons of cocaine valued a $US1.5 billion and which was being shipped to Havana, Cuba, from where it would eventually end up in the US. 11 months later US President Clinton ordered that Cuba be removed from the list of major drug peddling countries.
What really makes the situation so dreadful is that Rangel and other Congressmen were told of Castro’s drug running. Rangel’s response was to blame it on the CIA, even though in 1993 a federal court in Miami indicted Raul Castro, Fidel’s Castro’s brother, for drug trafficking. - "The Democrats’ drug running links," by Gerard Jackson , The New Australian News with Commentary, Friday 1 June 2001

DECEMBER 30, 1998 : (US vs IRAQ) U.S.-Iraq missile fight the 2nd this week - December 30, 1998

DECEMBER 1998 : (TERROR THREAT : NY CITY & DC) "A report cited yesterday in the New York Post should serve as a wake-up call to Americans who are foolishly unconcerned about potential terrorist attacks on our native soil. The Post - citing information gleaned from this week's issue of Time magazine - said that "intelligence sources" told Time that Saudi terrorist Osama Bin Laden "could be targeting New York City and Washington, D.C. for deadly bombing attacks." The Post said "the bloody violence may come as bin Laden plans his revenge on the United States for the cruise-missile attacks that blew up his terrorist camps in Afghanistan last August." "Among other likely city targets are the World Trade Center, the Empire State Building, Times Square and Rockefeller Center during the holidays," the report noted. Well, rat's bit. I'd say that considering the bungling of the Clinton administration in the arena of foreign policy over the past six years, this information isn't a shocker but is entirely believable. Bungling foreign policy - while not necessarily affecting our precious stock market -- is aggravating to people of other nations because we allow them to look to this country far too often to solve their problems. But the leaders of other nations are usually interested in having the American taxpayer - not the U.S. State Department - provide these "solutions," if you follow me. Without American money, most countries that look to us for support now would cease to do so in a heartbeat..." - USA Journal 12/15/98 Jon Doughertyvia - ALAMO-GIRL'S DOWNSIDE LEGACY AT TWO DEGREES OF PRESIDENT CLINTON ; SECTION: BREACH OF TRUST; SUBSECTION: TERROR; Revised 1/8/01

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