Wimps, weasels and monkeys - the US media view of 'perfidious France'

Guardian ^ | 2/11/03 | Gary Younge in New York and Jon Henley in Paris

[piasa]

Since 1991 and the Gulf War Iraq has done next to nothing.

Nothing? Here's a little sample of nothing:

1991 : (INDONESIA, IRAQI ATTEMPT TO KILL US AMBASSADOR) Nevertheless, Iraq did come within a hair of scoring a major success against the United States in Jakarta, Indonesia in 1991. The episode is still classified, but UPI has learned that an Iraqi assassination team almost succeeded in killing the U.S. ambassador to Indonesia, John Cameron Monjo. The Iraqi agents had had done a thorough surveillance of the diplomat and his habits. They discovered that every evening at 6 p.m., he would go to a certain window with a flowerpot on the sill and drink a scotch and soda. The Iraqi team gained access to the house and put a bomb in the flowerpot. But an alert gardener spotted something odd: It was a piece of the bomb that the terrorist had left in plain sight on the window sill. The explosive device was removed and detonated, said UPI's source, a former U.S. intelligence analyst. this republication of a UPI article from Aug. 13, 2001

1991 : (PAKISTAN, BOMBINGS AND TERROR, SOME IRAQ-BACKED) There were also numerous bombings in Pakistan's major cities throughout the year. The Pakistani Government frequently attributed these attacks and other acts of violence to the intelligence services of India and Afghanistan. The US is unable, however, to determine if the incidents were carried out by terrorists or criminals, or if there was external involvement. Several terrorist attacks related to the Persian Gulf war and probably organized by Iraq or Iraqi sympathizers occurred in Pakistan in 1991. - "Patterns of Global Terrorism: 1991, " http://www.fas.org/irp/threat/terror_91/asia.html , Asia Overview

JANUARY 1991 : (GULF WAR, IRAQI PROPAGANDA OF A MASSACRE BY US TROOPS) a Bangladeshi paper ran a story claiming that US troops had massacred several hundred Bangladeshi soldiers- the story had been planted by Iraq.. In a country where accurate and free public information does not exist, propaganda and disinformation are second nature to the regime. Abroad, Iraq has used both overt propaganda and grey and black techniques. During the Gulf War, for instance, it planted stories in the Third World press casting the Western allies in a bad light. - "Saddam's Spies," Globalscan International, LLC, 1999 iraquespies.htm

JANUARY 1991 : (IRAQ TESTS CROP SPRAYING HELICOPTERS) Tests run on crop spraying helicopters, to test their suitability for spraying biological weapons. - 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

1991 : (GULF WAR, TURKEY CATCHES SPY FOR IRAQ) The Turkish government charged one of its citizens with passing information to Iraq. - "Saddam's Spies," Globalscan International, LLC, 1999 iraquespies.htm

1991 : (PHILIPPINES, AFGHANISTAN, ABU SAYYEF) Kidnappings by Abu Sayyef, "Bearer of the Sword" in Arabic, begin. They achieve international prominence through their high profile kidnapping from a luxurious resort, despite previous terrorist actions and a history of kidnapping and piracy. The group founded by Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani, who participated in the war in Afghanistan, began kidnapping in 1991. It has a violent past, including allegedly bombing busses, shopping centers, and even a church. They have kidnapped Spanish nuns, Hong Kong fishery workers, and a US bible translator. Among their demands in the hotel case: an independent Muslim state and the release of convicted Afghan terrorists from US prisons. But at the end of the day they "settled" for $1 million per hostage. Clearly kidnapping pays. According to Philippine authorities, Abu Sayyef purchased their arms with the $5.5 million dollars in ransom monies received from previous kidnappings. Their large coffers attract new recruits. The number of their members reportedly jumped from 200 to 1000. This sudden surge in wealth distorted the local economy. At one time, the Philippine peso was worth substantially less in Manila than in Jolo. The basic micro-economic rules of supply and demand still apply, Western hostages, previously going for $100,000, now command $1million. Feliciano Belmonte, the Philippine House Minority floor leader compared Abu Sayyef's leader, "Commander Robot," to Bill Gates.

(* Note : Abu Sayyaf is linked to both al Qaeda and Iraq)

JANUARY 16, 1991 : (INDIA : IRAQI-BACKED TERRORISTS BOMB AMERICAN AIRLINES TRAVEL AGENCY) Iraqi terrorists or their surrogates probably were responsible for the bombing of the American Airlines Travel Agency, an Indian-owned agent of American Airlines, in New Delhi on 16 January. The blast caused extensive damage but no casualties. - "Patterns of Global Terrorism: 1991, " http://www.fas.org/irp/threat/terror_91/asia.html , Asia Overview

JANUARY 19, 1991 : (PHILIPPINES, IRAQI TERRORISTS) Philippine authorities aggressively worked against terrorists during the Persian Gulf war, particularly Iraqis who planned to conduct operations against Western targets in Manila. On 19 January, a bomb exploded close to the Thomas Jefferson Cultural Center in Manila, killing the man carrying the device -- an Iraqi national -- and seriously injuring his partner, also an Iraqi. Following the attempted bombing, the consul general of the Iraqi embassy was expelled. Manila also rejected the credentials of an arriving Iraqi diplomat and forced him to depart. Two Iraqi students were also expelled. - "Patterns of Global Terrorism: 1991, " http://www.fas.org/irp/threat/terror_91/asia.html , Asia Overview

JANUARY 19, 1991 : (GULF WAR, IRAQI TERRORISM IN THE PHILIPPINES) Philippine authorities aggressively worked against terrorists during the Persian Gulf war, particularly Iraqis who planned to conduct operations against Western targets in Manila. On 19 January, 1991 a bomb exploded close to the Thomas Jefferson Cultural Center in Manila, killing the man carrying the device -- an Iraqi national -- and seriously injuring his partner, also an Iraqi. Following the attempted bombing, the consul general of the Iraqi embassy was expelled. Manila also rejected the credentials of an arriving Iraqi diplomat and forced him to depart. Two Iraqi students were also expelled.asia.html

1991 - present : (IRAQI OIL REVENUES DEPOSITED IN NY FOR THE PURCHASE OF FOOD , ETC, ARE MANIPULATED BY IRAQ TO OBTAIN CASH) Saddam's thuggish older son, Uday, controls the first of two Iraqi procurement networks. Its primary purpose is to flood the U.N. sanctions committee with export requests to trigger the release of funds from the escrow account with the BNP in NY City where since 1991 the proceeds from Iraq's oil revenues have been deposited. In some cases, the former Iraqi officer (AL-HAIDER?) said, Uday uses cutouts and middlemen to sign fictitious contracts with European companies for goods such as food and medicine that routinely are approved by the United Nations. "Once the contracts are approved, the money is released from the escrow account," he says. "Iraq then pays the company up to 40 percent for the paperwork, and lets them keep the goods. Saddam desperately needs the 60 percent in cash for forbidden goods and could care less about food or medicine." French exporters, interviewed by Insight, explained yet another finesse of Saddam's commercial network. They said they had been approached by an Iraqi front company known as ALIA, based in the Garden district of Amman, Jordan. "Uday uses ALIA to squeeze a 10 percent commission from exporters that gets kicked back to the regime," an exporter tells Insight. Large companies such as Renault Vehicules Industriels, Schneider Electric SA and Dow Agrosciences have used ALIA to sell several hundred million dollars worth of U.N.- approved goods to Iraq, according to export documents obtained by Insight. The Iraqi purchases included off-road vehicles, large quantities of specialized pumps and chillers that could be used for uranium enrichment, 2,000-liter and 5,000-liter reactor vessels needed to produce chemical weapons and chemicals for pesticides. All ostensibly were sold for civilian purposes and approved by the U.N. sanctions committee in New York. In France, ALIA also is known as SOFRAG ALIA Development France, according to the documents. It applied to the United Nations for permission to export $1 million worth of oil-well logging equipment to Iraq under an approved program to rebuild Iraqi oil fields. Such equipment is particularly sensitive because it includes neutron generators which U.N. weapons inspectors discovered were key components in the crude gun-implosion nuclear device Iraq had designed and tested before the 1991 gulf war - "How Saddam Got Weapons of Mass Destruction" By Kenneth R. Timmerman, Insight Magazine via WorldNetDaily.com , Tuesday, October 1, 2002 ,

1991-1997 : (UNSCOM FOUND 27 TONS OF BRAZILIAN URANIUM IN IRAQ) An International Atomic Energy Agency report says that U.N. weapons inspectors, during a 1991-97 investigation into Iraq's nuclear capabilities, found some 27 tons of uranium originating from Brazil. However, according to Brazil's Jornal da Tarde newspaper, which recently reprinted a 1990 expose entitled "The dark history of the relationship between Brazil and Iraq," Brazil sold three large shipments of uranium to Iraq in clandestine transactions- "Brazil uranium sales to Iraq stir debate ," by Carmen Gentile, United Press International 9/25/02

MARCH 1991 : (IRAQ STOCKPILE OF URANIUM) Iraq has only 12.3 kilograms of 93 percent enriched uranium, some of which might fuel the Tammuz II research reactor at Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center near Baghdad. The material was intended for the 40-megawatt Osiraq reactor, destroyed by Israel in 1981 just before it was scheduled to begin operating. Iraq also has about 10 kilograms of 80 percent enriched uranium at the 5-megawatt IRT-5000 reactor supplied by the Soviet Union. Up to two-thirds of the enriched uranium has been irradiated in the reactor and would require remotely operated chemical processing to extract the highly enriched uranium, a step that would have been difficult for Iraq to accomplish quickly, even before the bombing of Tuwaitha. The unirradiated highly enriched uranium, however, could be added to the 93 percent material, possibly providing Iraq with just enough material for a crude bomb. - "Iraq and the Bomb: Were They Even Close?", By David Albright and Mark Hibbs, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, March 1991, Volume 47, No. 2, pp. 16-25

MARCH 4, 1991 : (GULF WAR) Ten Allied POWs freed from Iraq. Iraqis had used tortured and rape.

APRIL 7, 1991: (SAMI AL ARIAN USF CASE) A speaker introducing Al-Arian at a rally in Cleveland calls the ICP ``the active arm of the Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine'' and drums up donations by invoking a stabbing spree by a Jihad activist. (The Al Arians are involved in the antiwar movement)

APRIL 11, 1991 : (UN SECURITY COUNCIL CEASE FIRE AGREEMENT) The UN Security Council declared the Persian Gulf War formally over. As part of the cease-fire agreement, Iraq was supposed to destroy all of its biological and chemical weapons and the facilities to produce those weapons. As of 2003 it has not done so.

APRIL ? 1991 : (IRAQ LIES TO UN ABOUT BIOWEAPONS) Iraq tells UN that it has never had any biological materials, weapons, research or facilities.- 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

AUGUST 2, 1991 Friday : (US SENATE RESOLUTION ON IRAQI WMD) 1st anniversary of the invasion as Senate approves resolution to eliminate any Iraqi weapons programs of mass destruction http://www.sci.fi/~fta/1991-ops.htm.

AUGUST 8, 1991 Thursday : (IRAQI TROOPS VIOLATE CEASE FIRE AND ENTER KUWAIT TO RECOVER IRAQ'S WEAPONS) Iraqi troops are slipping into Kuwait to recover abandoned weapons, several thousand infantry weapons and 15 Silkworm missiles were seen moving http://www.sci.fi/~fta/1991-ops.htm.

AUGUST 1991 : (IRAQ) Iraq's Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical weapon development programs have been seen to be farther advanced than expected. Plutonium (3 oz) was discovered and the processes by which it is made. Iraq is alo not cooperating with names of companies and countries sending the material http://www.sci.fi/~fta/1991-ops.htm.

AUGUST 28 , 1991 : (KUWAIT - IRAQ BORDER) Exchange of gunfire between Iraq salvage teams and Kuwaiti border troops. http://www.sci.fi/~fta/1991-ops.htm.

AUGUST 1991 : (IRAQ FINALLY ADMITS TO BIOWEAPONS PROGRAM) Iraq admits to a biological weapons research programme- 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 13, 1991 Friday : (IRAQ FOUND TO BE LYING ABOUT NUMBERS OF SCUD MISSILES ; EVIDENCE OF NUKE PROGRAM ENRICHMENT FOUND) Iraq admitted at the end of the war to have 52 SCUD missiles remaining, but the UN inspectors have already destroyed more than that and many more are suspected. Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency have found increasing evidence that the Iraq Nuclear program was very near production of weapons and advanced fusion technology and research facilities. The IAEA made 20 visits into Iraq & published a 35 page summary report on their findings. 3 secret uranium enrichment facilities were the big surprises. Iraq admitted to having 10,000 chemical warheads but inspectors have destroyed more than our times that already (46,000) plus 30 chemical SCUD warheads, 6400 155mm artillery shells with mustard and 6120 MRLS rocket warheads with nerve agents. Biological weapons have yet to be found.

OCTOBER 21 , 1991 Monday : (IRAQ SUPPORTS KURDISH REBELS AGAINST TURKEY) Saddam decorates 8 top Iraqi Field Commanders with a new Military Award, "The order of the Sword of the Mother of All Battles" and several Political Aids with "The Order of the Two Rivers" for their "victories" during the Gulf War. * Turkey accused Iraq of supplying weapons to Kurds living in Turkey, this was supported by Western Diplomats. Post-war analysis indicates that no Iraqi SAM's were fired in a guided mode at US Navy aircraft and less than 15% of those fired at USAF Aircraft were guiding. Only 3 USAF aircraft were considered actually lost to SAM's. At any given time only 25% of the assembled TACAIR resources were utililized in the Gulf War because it took 100% of the EW resources to support them ; (260) late model ALQ-131/Blk 2 were assigned to over 1000 aircraft ; ... had 180 hour MTBF (40 hours were specified in factory tests) ; ... 4487th EWAS ; (250) older ALQ-119 pods + (50) ALQ-101's + around (25) ALQ-184's which are modernized 119's for F-4G Weasels http://www.sci.fi/~fta/1991-ops.htm.

OCTOBER 26, 1991 : (IRAQ SEEKS TO DEVELOP NUCLEAR WARHEAD) UN experts find Iraqi plays for a small nuclear missile warhead http://www.sci.fi/~fta/1991-ops.htm.

DECEMBER 27, 1991 Sunday ; (IRAQ FIRES ON COALITION PLANE) An Iraqi MiG-25 fired an ATOLL Missile at a TR-1 reconnaissance plane http://www.sci.fi/~fta/1991-ops.htm.

1992 : (ZAWAHIRI MET WITH IRAQI AGENTS IN BAGHDAD OVER SEVERAL DAYS) Upon information and belief, there have been numerous meetings between IRAQI Intelligence agents and high-ranking al Qaeda terrorists to plan terror attacks. Once such meeting occurred in 1992, when Zawahiri (Egyptian Islamic Jihad leader and al Qaeda officer) met with Iraqi Intelligence agents in Baghdad, Iraq over several days. An Iraqi serving with the Taliban who fled Afghanistan in the fall of 2001, was captured in Kurdistan and has corroborated this meeting and confirmed that Iraqi contacts with al Qaeda began in 1992. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda

1993 : (YASIN PREPARES BOMB INTENDED TO DESTROY WORLD TRADE CENTER, LATER GETS SAFE HAVEN IN IRAQ, ALSO, INDICATIONS YOUSEF EMPLOYED BY IRAQ?) Abdul Rahman Yasin mixed and made the truck bomb which wrought destruction and killed six in the first New York World Trade Center attack - then coolly boarded a plane for Baghdad, where he still resides. There is strong evidence that Ramzi Yousef, leader of both the 1993 New York bombing and a failed attempt two years later to down 12 American airliners over the Pacific, was an Iraqi intelligence officer.

1993 : (IRAQ DRAINS SWAMPLANDS TO STARVE OUT SHIITES) The Iraqi government began draining the swamplands, where the Shiites lived. This made it so they could not grow rice, which was an important source of food.

JANUARY 17, 1993 : (US STRIKES IRAQI NUCLEAR FACILITY AFTER IRAQ REFUSES TO ALLOW INSPECTORS IN) US missile strikes against a nuclear fabrication and reprocessing facility southeast of Baghdad followed in response to Iraq's refusal to allow UN weapons inspectors to enter Iraqi airspace through the no-fly zone.

FEBRUARY 26, 1993, 5:12 PM : (NEW YORK, WTC -1 BOMBING, CYANIDE, YOUSEF) Car bomb exploded on the 2nd level of parking basement in the World Trade Center, killed 7 and injured hundreds. The bombers also left behind a device designed to release cyanide gas to kill emergency response crews and area residents, but the fire destroyed the cyanide. Bin Laden denied involvement. Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, who had been trained in Afghanistan, was named as an FBI suspect and added to the Ten Most Wanted list, with a $2 million reward. In 1985, Yousef was recognized in Pakistan, arrested, and extradited to the US. Yousef was convicted of being the "mastermind" of the 2/26/93 attack and sentenced to life in prison.

APRIL 9, 1993 : (IRAQIS PAINT US AIRCRAFT, US FIRES BACK) Iraqi antiaircraft 'paints' US aircraft. U.S. warplanes bomb or fire missiles at Iraqi anti-aircraft sites which had tracked U.S. aricraft

APRIL 14, 1993 : (IRAQ TRIES TO ASSASSINATE FORMER US PRESIDENT H. W. BUSH IN KUWAIT) Iraqi intelligence service attempt to assassinate former US President, George Bush, during a visit to Kuwait. Two months later the US launches a cruise missile attack on the Iraqi capital Baghdad in retaliation. * Attempted assassination of former President Bush in Kuwait was the most brazen Iraqi act of terrorism in 1993. Kuwaiti officials discovered the elaborate scheme to kill former President Bush with an enormous car bomb shortly before he arrived for a visit. The group arrested for the assassination attempt was also planning a bombing campaign to destabilize Kuwait. 14 suspects--11 Iraqis and three Kuwaitis. Several of the Iraqi defendants worked for Iraqi intelligence, according to testimony in the trial. Forensic evidence also clearly linked Iraq to the abortive attack.
"More recently, when Iraqi involvement in the plotted assassination of President Bush was verified in June 1993, President Clinton ordered a Tomahawk missile strike against the facility believed to have facilitated the planning of the operation, the headquarters complex of the Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS). This attack (while later determined to be of questionable military effectiveness) provided a significant symbol of US resolve to punish those responsible involved in terrorism directed against its citizens. http://216.239.35.100/search?q=cache:O1TlMD7FAxgC:www.terrorism.com/terrorism/force.html+iraqi+international+terrorism+incidents&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 force.html
Iraq, notwithstanding UN Security Council resolutions requiring its renunciation of terrorism, continues terrorist attacks against political dissidents at home and abroad, many of them Kurds. Saddam Hussein is known to provide safe haven for terrorist groups, including the factions of the Palestinian Liberation Front, the Abu Nidal Organization, and the Arab Liberation Front (U.S. Department of State 1995, 26).

APRIL 18, 1993 : (IRAQ): Iraqi antiaircraft 'paints' US aircraft. U.S. warplanes bomb or fire missiles at Iraqi anti-aircraft sites which had tracked U.S. aircraft

JUNE 9, 1993 : (IRAQ PAINTS ANOTHER US PLANE, US RESPONDS) U.S. aircraft fired a missile at an Iraqi anti-aircraft site which displayed hostile intent.

JUNE 17, 1993 : (IRAQ IN MATERIAL BREACH) UN issues its last finding of “material breach” against Iraq.- 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

JUNE 27, 1993 : (US CUISE MISSILE STRIKES ON IRAQI INTELLIGENCE SERVICE IN BAGHDAD, RETALIATION FOR IRAQI ASSASSINATION PLOT ON BUSH IN KUWAIT) the US launched 23 Tomahawk cruise missiles on the site of the Iraqi intelligence service in Baghdad in retaliation for a plot to assassinate former U S President Bush during his visit to Kuwait in April 1993.

1994 : (IRAQ) Saddam's chemical weapons scientists secretly began producing dusty VX as early as 1994, according to an Iraqi defector quoted in a September 2002 NY Times article.- "Iraq takes delivery of powder used in chemical arms, " AP via Washington Times, 11/18/02

1994 : (IRAQ, SMALLPOX FREEZE-DRYER FOUND BY WEAPONS INSPECTORS) In 1994, U.N. inspectors at an Iraqi medical complex found a freeze-dryer labeled "smallpox" in Arabic, said former inspector Jonathan Tucker. The Iraqis claimed the equipment was used to make smallpox vaccine, Tucker said. A freeze-dryer could be used to make a weaponized form of the smallpox virus. "It's not conclusive proof but suggestive of Iraqi interest," said Tucker, author of a recent book on smallpox. Iraq also admitted to U.N. inspectors that its biological weapons scientists worked with camelpox, a close relative of the smallpox virus that doesn't usually infect people. Working with camelpox would give Iraq a way to perfect techniques for making smallpox weapons without endangering the researchers. "The only explanation is they used it to see how to grow smallpox, how to concentrate it, how to deploy it. It's a perfectly good and safe model for this," said Alibek, now director of the George Mason University Center for Biodefense in Manassas, Va. "It's hard to believe Saddam would do this work to protect his camels."

1994 : (BIN LADEN MEETS IRAQI INTELLIGENCE AGENTS IN SUDAN) Bin Laden again met with Iraqi intelligence secret service director Faruq al-Hijazi agreed to work together on terrorist projects directed against the U.S. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda

1994 : (IRAQI SCIENTIST KHIDIR HAMZA) Iraqi scientist Khidir Hamza defects from Iraq- "Brazil uranium sales to Iraq stir debate ," by Carmen Gentile, United Press International 9/25/02

APRIL 13, 1994 : (IRAQI "DIPLOMATS" ASSASSINATE DISSIDENT IN LEBANON) Five individuals, including two Iraqi diplomats, were arrested for assassinating Iraqi opposition figure Shaykh Talib Ali al-Suhayl in his house near West Beirut.

1995 : (BIN LADEN MEETS IRAQI INTELLIGENCE AGENTS IN SUDAN) Bin Laden again met with Iraqi intelligence officers in 1994 and 1995 in the Sudan. At these meetings, bin-Laden and Iraqi intelligence secret service director Faruq al-Hijazi agreed to work together on terrorist projects directed against the U.S. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda

1995 : (IRAQ BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS TESTS ON HUMAN BEINGS) 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."- "Ritter: Baghdad 'possesses three nuclear bombs' ," by Christopher Walker, Times of London, 9/10/98

1995 : (IRAQI WEAPONS TESTS ON HUMAN BEINGS; IRAQ CLAIMS IT USED UP MORE CHEMICAL BOMBS THAN IT DID IN ORDER TO HIDE STOCKPILES) According to Ritter's testimony in a September 1998 Senate hearing reported on by Zeev Schiff, military editor of Haaretz, "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."- "Ritter: Baghdad 'possesses three nuclear bombs' ," by Christopher Walker, Times of London, 9/10/98

JULY 1995 : (IRAQ ADMITS ITS PROGRESS IN BIOWEAPONS DEVELOPMENT) Iraq admits to have made substantial progress in its biological weapons programme, making just under 30,000 litres of biological agents and filled munitions. This included 19,000 litres of Botulinium, 8,400 liters of antrax and 2,000 liters of aflatoxin and clostridium- 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

JULY 1995 : (RUSSIA AGREES TO SELL FERMENTATION EQUIPMENT TO IRAQ - DUAL USE, CALLS OFF DEAL WHEN IT BECOMES PUBLIC) The Russian government agreed to sell Iraq large and sophisticated dual-use industrial fermentation equipment that could be used to produce BWs. Negotians were called off after the deal received Western press. Iraq allegedly later obtained the equipment elsewhere, but UNSCOM inspectors never located it.

1995 : (IRAQI HEAD OF BIOLOGICAL WARFARE PROGRAM, KAMAL, DEFECTS TO JORDAN) One of the heads of Iraq's BW program, Babrak Kamal defected to Jordan in 1995 and revealed that despite Iraq's claims to UNSCOM to the contrary, a facility at al-Hakam was used to produce not animal feed but biological weapons, and that the French-built animal vaccine plant called Al Manal in the southern outskirts of Bagdhad had been converted into a BW facility dedicated to toxins and virus weapons. Iraq conceeded that the plant had been used for an early-phase genetic engineering program in virus weapons research and that during the Gulf War it had produced sufficient botulinum toxin to (theoretically) kill every person on Earth a thousand times over

AUGUST 1995 : (IRAQ ADMITS IT HAS PRODUCED BIOLOGICAL BOMBS) Iraq admits to having produced 191 biological bombs, of which 25 were missile warheads which had been loaded with anthrax, botulinum and aflatoxin for use in the Gulf war.- 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

AUGUST 1995 : (SADDAM HUSSEIN'S SON-IN-LAW DEFECTS TO US) Saddam’s son-in-law, Lt General Hussain Kamil, defected to the US from Iraq. He had been placed in charge of the WMD programme and provided substantial evidence.- 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

AUGUST 1995 : (IRAQI GENERAL KAMEL AL-MAJID DEFECTS) Saddam Hussein's son-in-law, General Hussein Kamel al-Majid, defected to Jordon with his family carrying an enormous quantity of top-secret documents, including information confirming that by the time of the Persian Gulf War, Iraqi BW and chemical weapons production programs were far more advanced than the US had believed possible.

AUGUST 1995 : (IRAQ ADMITS TO DIVERTING NUCLEAR FUEL TO WEAPONS LABS) Faced with Lt. General Kamil's defection to the US, Iraq then admitted to starting its attempts at a fast-track nuclear programme, which involved diverting nuclear fuel from power stations to the weapons laboratories- 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 ?, 1995 : (IRAQ AIRCRAFT TESTING OF BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS) Iraq admits two projects to testing the delivery of biological weapons through Mirage F-1 and MiG-21 aircraft.- 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

1996 - 2001 : (BIN LADEN, TALIBAN, IRAQ MUTUAL ASSISTANCE) From 1996 until 2001, bin Laden with the financial and logistical support of Omar and others in the Taliban and Iraq and Iraqi intellignece, created, supplied and operated at least five training camps in order to create an “Islamic Foreign Legion” capable of attacking their enemies throughout the world. These camps trained men from 15 nations in guerrilla warfare, terrorist activities, rocket warfare, demolition and bombing, including the use of mines, grenades, TNT, nitroglycerine and plastic explosives. Classes were also given in “how to kill a policeman” and “traps, murder and terrorist moves.” Iraq upon information and belief, agreed to supply arms to al Qaeda and provide al Qaeda with access to and training in the use of chemical and biological weapons and agreed to instruct al Qaeda terror trainers at its Salman Pak camp in Baghdad that contained a Boeing 707 used to practice hijacking. Iraq also agreed to supply al Qaeda terrorists with new identities and passports from Yemen and the United Arab Emirates. Al Qaeda agreed to provide protection from political opponents to Iraq and Saddam Hussein, and to commit assassinations and other acts of violence to create instability in regions of Iraq, particularly Kurdistan, to assist the regime of Saddam Hussein. Al Qaeda further agreed to provide trained terrorists, assassins and martyrs to carry out terror attacks in concert with Iraq against their common enemies, including the United States. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda

1996 : (BIOWEAPONS, IRAQ) UN Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM) inspectors destroy some Iraqi biological weapons. (Should have been detroyed immediately after cease fire, but Iraq tried to hide them as long as possible)

1996 : (IRAQ SPIES ON UNSCOM INSPECTORS) But the operation began to unravel by 1996 as Iraq and the inspections teams faced off over access and transparency. Inspectors accused Iraq of violating resolutions and refusing to cooperate with some inspections. The Iraqis accused inspectors of the same, pointing to wording in resolutions calling on monitors to respect the country's sovereignty. The inspectors also complained they were spied on while Iraq claimed the entire operation was a front for U.S. intelligence.

MARCH 20, 1996 : (IRAQ VIOLATES UNFETTERED ACCESS AGREEMENT) UNSCOM reports Iraqi resistance, violating the “unfettered access” agreement.- 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

JULY 6, 1998 : (IRAQ CONFISCATES UNSCOM INSPECTOR'S PAPERS) Iraq confiscated documents from UNSCOM weapons inspectors documents suggesting that it overstated by 6,000 the number of bombs it had used in its war with Iran. It allowed inspectors to make notes, but kept the original document, infuriating the UN and the US. This event triggered what was to become Operation Desert Fox.- 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 * Iraq seizes from UNSCOM documents suggesting it may have 6,000 more bombs left over from its war with Iran than it had admitted to.- 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

JULY 17, 1996 : (YOUSEF STANDS TRIAL IN NY FOR INVOLVEMENT IN PROJECT BOJINKA - IRAQI AGENT?) the man responsible for the first World Trade Center bombing, Ramzi Yousef. Mylroie makes a compelling case that Yousef was an Iraqi agent. Indeed, the Arabs with whom he conspired in the New York area knew him as "Rashid, the Iraqi." On July 17, 1996, Yousef was standing trial in New York for his role in a plot known as "Bojinka," the Serbian word for explosive. Yousef had been planning to blow up 11 American airliners over the Pacific more or less simultaneously. The scary thing is that he was capable of doing it. - "TWA Flight 800 - no longer an accident! Jack Cashill on evidence Iraq orchestrated attack," WorldNetDaily.com, Wednesday, November 20, 2002, by Jack Cashill

AUGUST 1996 : (IRAQ BACKS ONE KURDISH GROUP AGAINST ANOTHER) The Iraqi government sent troops into the safety zone in support of one of the Kurdish groups.

SEPTEMBER 1996 : (US STRIKES IRAQ FOR SAFETY ZONE INCURSIONS) The US begins bombing southern Iraq in response to the Iraqi government sending in troops into the safety zone.

1997 late : (IRAQ OIL FOR FOOD PROGRAM) The only nod to change came with U.S, backing for the "oil for food" program that allowed UN-controlled petroleum sales to pay for civilian goods. That program got off the ground late in 1997 and has been liberalized several times since, bringing Iraq tens of billions of dollars in revenue. A more thorough review of U.S. policy on Iraq was called for in the mid-1990s but never materialized. Meanwhile, Russia, France and, intermittently, China became increasingly willing to listen to Iraq's perennial lament that unending, intrusive inspections were no longer necessary since weapons of mass destruction were long gone - a claim that no one with any knowledge of Saddam's government believed - and that steps toward the lifting of sanctions could begin.- "Years have been lost, and it isn't all Saddam's fault - The undoing of arms inspections in Iraq," by Barbara Crossette, International Herald Tribune , October 1, 2002

1997 : (UNSCOM, RICHARD BUTLER TAKES OVER) Richard Butler, a blunt Australian disarmament expert, took over as executive chairman of the inspection system - the United Nations Special Commission, or Unscom - the Security Council's disarmament program in Iraq was in deep trouble. That year, the Iraqis blocked inspection after inspection and tried to bar Americans from the teams on the ground in Iraq. There was bluster in Washington. But the Clinton administration was heading into the Monica Lewinsky scandal and had been embarrassed by reports that Washington was using inspection teams to set up spy operations for American intelligence. - "Years have been lost, and it isn't all Saddam's fault - The undoing of arms inspections in Iraq," by Barbara Crossette, International Herald Tribune , October 1, 2002

FEBRUARY 1997 : (BIN LADEN ON IRAQ) Bin Laden publicly expressed his support for Iraq in its conflict with the US stating: “The hearts of the Muslims are filled with hatred towards the United States of America and the American president for American conduct towards Iraq.”- Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda

OCTOBER 29, 1997 : (IRAQ THROWS OUT AMERICAN UNSCOM INSPECTORS) Iraq demands that Americans on the UN Special Commission inspection team leave; the Americans leave temporarily but return on November 20.- "Key events in UN weapons inspections in Iraq," By AP September 17 2002

OCTOBER 31, 1997 : (IRAQ) Iraq reiterates that it is ready, if necessary, to face US military action over its decision to expel the weapons inspectors. Russia and France believe a solution can be found to the crisis. Russia rejects use of force Iraq urged to backdown - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

NOVEMBER 3, 1997 : (IRAQ THREATENS TO SHOOT DOWN U-2S SUPPORTING UNSCOM INSPECTIONS) Iraq warns it will shoot down U2 spy planes flying over its territory in support of UN weapons inspectors. Iraq threatens US planes - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

NOVEMBER 20, 1997 : (IRAQ) Russian Foreign Minister, Yevgeny Primakov, brokers a compromise in the crisis between Iraq and the UN. The US, Russia, France, Britain, China meet through the night to work out the deal which allows the inspectors to return to Baghdad. However, UNSCOM inspectors return only to find they are barred from presidential sites. Iraq settlement seen as "brilliant victory" for Russian diplomacy - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

1998 or after : (IRAQ AGREES TO AID BIN LADEN IN SETTING UP LAB IN AFGHANISTAN TO PRODUCE ANTHRAX) Iraq maintains an advanced chemical and biological weapons program and is one of only three countries in the world producing a highly developed weaponized anthrax. Some time during or after 1998, Iraq agreed to help bin Laden and al Qaeda develop a laboratory in Afghanistan designed to produce anthrax. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda

JANUARY 1988 : (UNSCOM TEAM FINDS IRAQI CHILDREN'S PRISON - ACCORDING TO LATER INTERVIEW WITH SCOTT RITTER) Q : "You've spoke about having seen the children's prisons in Iraq. Can you describe what you saw there?" A: "The prison in question is at the General Security Services headquarters, which was inspected by my team in Jan. 1998. It appeared to be a prison for children — toddlers up to pre-adolescents — whose only crime was to be the offspring of those who have spoken out politically against the regime of Saddam Hussein. It was a horrific scene. Actually I'm not going to describe what I saw there because what I saw was so horrible that it can be used by those who would want to promote war with Iraq, and right now I'm waging peace. "

JANUARY 13, 1998 : (IRAQ REFUSES TO COOPERATE WITH UNSCOM) Iraq temporarily withdraws cooperation, claiming the inspection team had too many US and British inspectors. - "Key events in UN weapons inspections in Iraq," By AP September 17 2002

JANUARY 13, 1998 : (IRAQ ACCUSES RITTER OF SPYING) Iraq blocks an inspection by an American dominated team. It accuses the leader of the team, Scott Ritter, of spying for the US. Iraq bans weapons inspectors - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

JANUARY 14, 1998 : (IRAQ) SC/6468 : SECURITY COUNCIL DEPLORES IRAQ'S DECISION TO HALT WORK OF UNSCOM INSPECTION TEAM

JANUARY 22, 1998 : (IRAQ REFUSES TO ALLOW UNSCOM INSPECTORS TO VISIT "PRESIDENTIAL SITES") Iraq refuses inspection of presidential sites. - "Key events in UN weapons inspections in Iraq," By AP September 17 2002

JANUARY 23, 1998 : (IRAQ : BUTLER) Richard Butler, UNSCOM chairman, addresses the UN security Council and presents a bleak report. Iraq will provide no new information on its weapons programme. UN discusses continuing crisis over Iraq - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

JANUARY 28, 1998 : (CLINTON STATE OF THE UNION) President Clinton delivers his State of the Union address, and says the US is prepared to carry out a military attack against Iraq. Clinton address applauded - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

FEBRUARY 13, 1998 : () The United States insists it will not walk away from stopping Iraq developing weapons of mass destruction, and Russian objections would not prevent use of force. Russia says diplomatic effort should not end before Kofi Annan visits Baghdad. Russia warns US against military action - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

FEBRUARY 14, 1998 : (UK, IRAQ) Robin Cook, then UK Foreign Secretary, first uses the phrase “doing nothing is not an option” with Iraq. This was to become UK government’s position until August 2002.- 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 early : (UN SECRETARY-GENERAL KOFI ANNAN BLUNDER WITH IRAQ) The US acquiesced in a disastrous diplomatic mission by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to Baghdad to sign an agreement with Saddam to open disputed "presidential sites" to diplomats if not inspectors. By this time Iraq had a laundry list of places inspectors could not go. Iraq was backing out of even this flimsy agreement before the ink was dry. Washington said almost nothing. Nor did it put muscle behind the embattled chief inspector, Butler, as he was stiffed, insulted and humiliated by the Iraqis. - "Years have been lost, and it isn't all Saddam's fault - The undoing of arms inspections in Iraq," by Barbara Crossette, International Herald Tribune , October 1, 2002 In an effort to keep the operation afloat and avoid another war in Iraq, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan cut a deal with Baghdad in early 1998 restricting inspectors' access to eight so-called presidential sites encompassing a total of 12 square miles.The United States and the rest of the Security Council endorsed the plan but, within weeks, the inspectors said they were finding very little other than frustration. After months of cat-and-mouse games, Saddam sent the entire team packing in November 1998.

FEBRUARY 20, 1998 : () Kofi Annan arrives in Baghdad, saying he has a "sacred duty" to try to defuse the crisis. In Jordan, a bystander is killed in clashes between police and a crowd of worshippers demonstrating in support of Iraq. Annan arrives on 'sacred' peace mission - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

FEBRUARY 20-23, 1998 : (UN SAYS IT HAS GOTTEN IRAQ'S COOPERATION ON UNRESTRICTED ACCESS TO IRAQI SITES) UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan secures Iraq's cooperation and unrestricted access to inspectors. - "Key events in UN weapons inspections in Iraq," By AP September 17 2002

MARCH 1998 : (BRAZIL REFUSES TO EXTRADITE GERMAN SCIENTIST KARL-HEINZ SCHAAB FOR SALES TO IRAQ) Brazil's Federal Supreme Court turned down an extradition request for Schaab, saying he was charged with a politically motivated crime, which meant that under Brazilian law, could not be extradited. Schaab had been sought by German authorities since 1990 on charges of selling German uranium enrichment technology to Iraq before the Gulf War.- - "Brazil uranium sales to Iraq stir debate ," by Carmen Gentile, United Press International 9/25/02

MARCH 2, 1998 : (UNSC BLOWS SMOKE) UN Security Council seeks to bolster compromise by passing a unanimous resolution (1154) saying that Iraq’s failure to comply with UN sanctions will have the “most severe consequences”- 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

APRIL 1998 : (WAR LONG OVVER, BOTH SIDES STILL HOLDING POWS? IRAN AGREES TO RELEASE PRISONERS FROM IRAN IRAQ WAR) Iran agrees to the release of 5,584 Iraqi POW's in April 1998, and news organizations reported intermittent meetings throughout the remainder of the year between Iranian and Iraqi government officials toward reaching a final agreement on the remaining POW's held by each side. The Iranian government pledged to settle the remaining POW issues with Iraq in 1999. And joint Iran-Iraq search operations were initiated to identify remains of those missing in action.

APRIL 9, 1998 : () A UN report claims Iraq is continuing to hold back information about its germ warfare programme. Iraq still holding back on weapons- TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

APRIL 17, 1998 : () UN inspectors say they have made no progress in verifying whether Iraq has destroyed its weapons of mass destruction. - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

APRIL 25 - MAY 1, 1998 : (AL QAEDA'S ABU-ISLAM & QASSIM MEET WITH QUSAY HUSSEIN IN IRAQ; ALSO IRAQI AGENTS MET WITH AL QAEDA IN AFGHANISTAN) Between April 25 and May 1, 1998, two of bin Laden’s senior military commanders, Muhammad Abu-Islam and Abdullah Qassim, visited Baghdad for discussions with Saddam Hussein’s son -- Qusay Hussein -- the “czar” of Iraqi intelligence. Qusay Hussein’s participation in those meetings highlights the importance of the talks in both symbolic and practical terms. Upon information and belief, as a direct result of these meetings, Iraq again made commitments to provide training, intelligence, clandestine Saudi border crossings, financial support and weapons and explosives to al Qaeda. Iraqi intelligence officials met with bin Laden in Afghanistan several more times. A second group of bin Laden and al Qaeda operatives from Saudi Arabia were then trained by Iraqi intelligence in Iraq to smuggle weapons and explosives into Saudi Arabia and other countries, which they later accomplished in an effort to carry out future terrorist acts of violence. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda

1998 summer : (IRAQ TRAINS AL QAEDA PERSONNEL) After the meetings in Iraq with Qusay Hussein, Saddam hussein's son, Iraqi intelligence officials met with bin Laden in Afghanistan several more times. A second group of bin Laden and al Qaeda operatives from Saudi Arabia were then trained by Iraqi intelligence in Iraq to smuggle weapons and explosives into Saudi Arabia and other countries, which they later accomplished in an effort to carry out future terrorist acts of violence.A third group of bin Laden and al Qaeda operatives received a month of sophisticated guerrilla operations training from Iraqi intelligence officials later in the Summer of 1998. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda

MAY 1998 : (IRAQ OBTAINS KIDNEY MACHINES TO GET PRECISION SWITCHES) Iraq ordered six “lithotripter” machines, saying they would be used to treat kidney stones. Each machine contains a high-precision electronic switch which triggers atomic bombs. It ordered six extra switches.- 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

JUNE 24, 1998 : (IRAQ LIED: VX NERVE GAS HAS BEEN FOUND IN IRAQI MISSILE FRAGMENTS) Richard Butler confirms reports that traces of the nerve gas VX has been found in Iraqi missile fragments. Iraq had always insisted it had not weaponised VX. UN confirms nerve gas reports Iraq rejects nerve gas claims - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

JUNE 30, 1998 : (IRAQ) An American fighter plane opens fire on an Iraqi missile site. The US Defence Department says the action was taken after four British Tornado military jets were illuminated by Iraqi radar. US plane targets Iraqi missile site Iraq condemns 'US aggression'- TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

JULY 1998 mid : (AL ZAWAHIRI MEETS WITH IRAQI VICE PRESIDENT RAMADAN IN IRAQ) Despite philosophical and religious differences with Saddam Hussein, bin Laden continually sought to strengthen and reinforce the support he and al Qaeda received from Iraq. In mid-July 1998, bin Laden sent Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian co-founder of al-Qaeda, to Iraq to meet with senior Iraqi officials, including Iraqi vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan. Upon information and belief, the purpose of this meeting was to discuss and plan a joint strategy for a terrorist campaign against the United States. During the July 1998 visit Zawahiri toured an Iraqi military base and nuclear and chemical weapons facility near al-Fallujah in Iraq and upon information and belief, observed training by Iraqi intelligence officials of al Qaeda operatives at the al-Nasiriyah military and chemical weapons facility in Iraq. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda

JULY 30, 1998 : (IRAQ THREATENS ACTION UNLESS UN EMBARGO LIFTED : AL QAEDA?) Iraq warns that it will take unspecified action unless the UN embargo is lifted. A statement issued after a meeting of Iraqi leaders said the visit by Richard Butler the following week would be crucial. - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998 (*My note : this was right after al Qaeda's al Zawahiri met with Iraqi VP and before the US embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya in early August.)

AUGUST 1998 : (RITTER) August 1998, he said his departure should serve as a "wake-up call" about the United Nation's abandonment of the goal of eliminating Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. In a blistering letter to UNSCOM chief Richard Butler, Mr. Ritter sharply criticized the Clinton administration and the U.N. Security Council for not being vigorous enough about insisting that Iraqi mass-destruction weapons be destroyed. He also accused U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan of serving as a "sounding board" for Iraqi complaints aimed at impeding UNSCOM's work. -"The Bizarre Odyssey of Scott Ritter," editorial, The Washington Times, September 18, 2002

AUGUST 4, 1998 : (UNSCOM INSPECTOR BUTLER LEAVES IRAQ) Richard Butler leaves Baghdad after talks collapse on proposals designed to ensure Iraq is fulfilling its committments to destroy weapons of mass destruction. Tariq Aziz said it was pointless becoming involved in an unending process to prove what the Iraqis had already shown. Iraq arms talks collapse - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

AUGUST 5, 1998 : (UNSCOM, IRAQ BALKS) Iraq has refused since August 5 to work with the UN Special Commission (Unscom) set up to ensure that it dismantles any weapons of mass destruction in its possession. Baghdad has demanded that the UN body be re-structured, its alleged US influence reduced, and its headquarters moved from New York to Europe. - "Ritter: Baghdad 'possesses three nuclear bombs,'" by Christopher Walker, Times of London, 9/10/98

AUGUST 5, 1998 : (IRAQ BARS UNSCOM INSPECTIONS OF NEW FACILITIES) Iraq says it will no longer allow UNSCOM to inspect new facilities- 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 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 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

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 27, 1998 : (VX HAD BEEN USED IN WARHEADS EVEN EARLIER THAN 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

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 : (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 : (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

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 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 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.

1999 : (UNSCOM REPLACED BY UNMOVIC) It was replaced the next year by a new arms control body that has been acting under chief disarmament inspector Hans Blix since March 2000 and is now called the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC). - Agence France-Presse Two weeks would be enough to begin Iraq inspections- Blix

1999 : (GERMANY, SCIENTIST KARL-HEINZ SCHAAB CONVICTED OF TREASON FOR SALES TO IRAQ) Schaab had spent time in Rio de Janeiro while eluding German authorities. He was captured returning to Germany and convicted of treason in 1999. He had been sought by German authorities since 1990 on charges of selling German uranium enrichment technology to Iraq before the Gulf War.- "Brazil uranium sales to Iraq stir debate ," by Carmen Gentile, United Press International 9/25/02

1999 to present : (NO MONITORING OF TRADE ACROSS INTERNATIONAL LAND BORDERS WITH IRAQ) After 1999 there has been no monitoring of trade across the international land borders with Iraq. "King Abdallah [of Jordan] threw Lloyds of London out of the port of Aqaba, where they were supposed to monitor Iraqi imports," the former Iraqi intelligence officer says. "There are regular convoys of trucks to Baghdad from Jordan, and now a direct rail link from Syria carrying military spare parts and production gear, including equipment needed in Iraq's nuclear- weapons plants." - "How Saddam Got Weapons of Mass Destruction" By Kenneth R. Timmerman, Insight Magazine via WorldNetDaily.com , Tuesday, October 1, 2002 ,

JANUARY 1999 : (IRAQ TRAINS MORE AL QAEDA OPERATIVES AT ADDITIONAL CAMPS AROUND BAGHDAD) In addition to the al-Nasiriyah and Salman Pak training camps, by January 1999, bin Laden and al Qaeda operatives were being trained by Iraqi intelligence and military officers at other training camps on the outskirts of Baghdad. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda

JANUARY 1999 : (IRAQI AGENT ISMAIL BECOMES LIASON BETWEEN AL QAEDA, TALIBAN & IRAQ) In January 1999, Iraq began reorganizing and mobilizing Iraqi intelligence front operations throughout Europe in support of bin Laden and al Qaeda. Haqi Ismail, believed to be a member of the Iraq's Mukhabarat Secret Service, left Iraq to train in an Afghanistan al Qaeda camp. Ismail was believed to be a liason between Iraq, the Taliban and al Qaeda and was rewarded with a position in the Taliban Foreign Ministry. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda

JANUARY 3, 1999 : (SADDAM OFFERS BOUNTY FOR DOWNING AN ALLIED JET) Saddam declares no-fly zones as “illegal” and says his people will resist them with “bravery and courage”. Offers $15,000 bounty to any unit that succeeds in downing an Allied jet.- 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

APRIL 1999 : (NEC CASE : INDIAN COMPANY HELPS INSTALL EQUIPMENT IN IRAQI CHLORINE PLANT) The former head of NEC engineering Private Ltd, Hans Raj Shiv, who allegedly led a technical team to Fallujah II in April 1999 to help install equipment that can be used to produce chemical agents. - Saddam’s first smoking gun traced to India (Also discussed on FOXNEWS Special Report) , by Bob Drogan, the Indian Express, Jan 19, 2003

JANUARY 2000 : (MALAYSIA, 911 HIJACKER AL MIDHAR, IRAQI SHAKIR) When hijacker Khalid al Midhar arrived in Malaysia in January of 2000 for a meeting of key al Qaeda operatives, he was met at the airport by an Iraqi named Ahmad Shakir, who worked part-time greeting VIPs, a job he got with the help of someone in the Iraqi Embassy. One week later, al Midhar flew to the United States, and 18 months later he was aboard the airliner that crashed into the Pentagon. He is considered one of the most important hijackers because he was in charge of the so-called muscle – the young Saudi men responsible for subduing the passengers. - "9/11 Bombshell: New Evidence Of Iraq-Al Qaeda Ties?," by David Martin, CBS News Oct. 1, 2002 David Martin

JANUARY 2000 : (IRAQI AHMAD HIKMAT SHAKIR, MALAYSIA) U.S. officials said Shakir was present at a January 2000 al Qaeda "summit" in Malaysia that was attended by two of the 9/11 hijackers. Authorities believe the summit may have been a planning session for both the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole and 9/11. - "Iraqi a Missing Link," by Aly Sujo, NY Post

JANUARY 2000 : (MALAYSIA HIJACKERS, ALMIHDHAR, MILLENIUM PLOT) Meeting in Malaysia, probably the hatching point of the 9/11/2002 plot. Two of the 9/11 hijackers, including Almihdhar, met with senior al-Qaida officials who had flown in from Pakistan,a counterterrorism official said. Investigators believe the meeting was called to review failed operations to bomb LA Int'l Airport and targets in Jordan during millennium celebrations, and to plan both the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen and the 9/11/2001 attacks in the US. A Saudi analyst said officials in Riyadh believe that bin Laden had a direct role in picking the Saudi hijackers, 11 of whom were recruited into al-Qaida while fighting in Chechnya or Bosnia and came from families and tribal areas that led him to believe they were reliable.

2000 spring : (911 HIJACKERS JARRAH & AL-SHEHHI MET WITH IRAQI INTELLIGENCE AGENTS) According to U.S. and foreign intelligence officials, in the spring of 2000, Iraqi intelligence agents met with September 11 th pilot hijackers Zaid Samir Jarrah and Marwan al-Shehhi in Dubai, UAE in order to advance the hijacking of U.S. aircraft to commit terrorist acts. Not long after the meeting, al-Shehhi entered the United States on May 29 and Jarrah entered on June 27, to begin preparations for attacks. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda

MAY 2000 : (SCOTT RITTER MEETS IRAQI) In May 2000, appearing at a Congressional briefing, he said Saddam was incapable of ''world or regional domination'' and admitted that ''a lot of the blame for the perceptions'' to the contrary could ''be laid at my doorstep.'' That briefing proved significant, not for what Ritter said but for whom he met. Shakir al-Khafaji, a wealthy Iraqi-American businessman, was in the audience. The two men struck up a conversation. Within weeks, Ritter was telling al-Khafaji about a documentary he hoped to make, a film about Unscom that might find the audience that ''Endgame'' had missed. The two agreed to become partners in Ritter's production company, with al-Khafaji's real-estate development firm, the Falcon Management Group of Southfield, Mich., investing $400,000. While the businessman did not have any control over the editorial content, both men say, al-Khafaji would be supplying his connections as well as his money, easing Ritter's way back into Iraq. As a veteran intelligence officer, Ritter knew he ought to be wary of this deal. The F.B.I. probe had not resulted in any charges, but here he was, about to receive cash from a wealthy Iraqi with important friends in Baghdad. Ritter said he went to great lengths to check things out, though on this score he is less than convincing. Where did he get his information? ''I called a reporter who has sources in the C.I.A.'' Does he know where the $400,000 came from? ''They showed me the stocks and bonds that were being liquidated.'' Was al-Khafaji getting any quid pro quo from the Iraqi government? ''Shakir said he didn't,'' Ritter told me on one occasion. On another he said, ''That was always in the back of my mind, that the Iraqis have an interest in funding the movie.'' Before going to Baghdad, Ritter informed the F.B.I., he said. This candor was a supposed safety net. ''I raised our profile so high that the F.B.I.'s got us dead to rights. If he is getting a quid pro quo, you'd think the F.B.I. would know about it.''- "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

MAY 2000 : (IAEA DISCOVERS IRAQI CENTRIFUGE) The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency, which also carried out inspections on Iraq until Dec 1998) discovered and destroyed an Iraqi nuclear centrifuge which had been stored in Jordan.- 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

AUGUST 2000 : (CIA REPORTS IRAQ ON IRAQI BIOCHEM DRONE DEVELOPMENT) The CIA reports to US Congress that Iraq is converting an L-29 trainer jet into an unmanned aircraft which could spread chemical and biological weapons. Work was suspected to be carried out at the Al-Faris factory, where Iraq built drop tanks to deliver weapons before the Gulf War.- 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 2000 : (IRAQI AGENTS VISIT AFGHANISTAN) Israeli sources claim that for the past two years Iraqi intelligence officers have been shuttling back and forth between Baghdad and Afghanistan. According to the Israelis, one of the intelligence officers, Salah Suleiman was captured last October by the Pakistanis near the border with Afghanistan. - Janes

2001 : (IRAQ BUYS AEROSIL) U.N. documents show that Iraq's Samarra Drugs Industry sought 25 metric tons of Aerosil this year under the U.N.-run oil-for-food program, and at least some of that order was delivered by October 2002.- "Iraq takes delivery of powder used in chemical arms, " AP via Washington Times, 11/18/02

JANUARY 2001 : (IRAQ REBUILDS BIOCHEMICAL PLANTS) Iraq is reported to have rebuilt two factories in the Falluja complex, which produced chemical and biological weapons before the Gulf War.- 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

FEBRUARY 2001 : (VENEZUELA'S CHAVEZ VISITS LIBYA, IRAQ & IRAN) Chavez paid presidential state visits to Libya, Iraq and Iran in February 2001, signing cooperation agreements with Muammar Qaddafi, Saddam Hussein and Tehran's ruling mullahs. Castro visited Libya, Iran and Syria some months later. - "Terror Threat from Venezuela: Al Queda Involved," by| Martin Arostegui, Militares Democraticos, December 27, 2002 * In 2001, Chavez paid state visits to — and signed "cooperation agreements" with — Libya, Iraq, and Iran. - "Chavez Bombshell? - A defector’s testimony links the Venezuelan strongman to international terror," by Ivan G. Osorio , www.nationalreview.com , January 8, 2003

FEBRUARY 2001 : (SALEM, IRAQ, WEST BANK) But in February 2001, Saddam Hussein's pro-Iraqi "terror banker" on the West Bank, Rakad Salem, 58 - who personally met with Saddam in Baghdad - boasted he had handed out nearly $4 million- to Palestinian suicide bombers and that there was more where that came from. "Even if there were 2,000 martyrs, His Excellency would continue to pay," he said of Saddam. "At a time when the Arab states are failing to make good on their promises of assistance to us, Iraq is offering considerable moral and financial support," he added. But Salem said Iraq was praised because it is the only Arab nation that had not "abandoned the option of war" with Israel. Israeli officials said the cash payouts explain Saddam's popularity in Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank and Gaza.- "TERROR BANKER" by URI DAN, New York Post , October 9, 2002

FEBRUARY 25, 2001 : (SPIES, IRAQI SPY DETAINED IN GERMANY) Unnamed spy - "Germany holds Iraqi spy suspects," CNN, Reuters contributed to this report.

FEBRUARY 27, 2001 : (SPIES, SECOND IRAQI SPY DETAINED IN GERMANY) Unnamed spy. One of the Iraqis was detained on February 25 and the other on February 27. Neither have been named. - "Germany holds Iraqi spy suspects," CNN, Reuters contributed to this report.. See also (Germany Arrests Two Iraqis Suspected of Spying ) German state prosecutors said on Thursday federal police had arrested two Iraqis on suspicion of spying - Reuters, March 1, 2001

MARCH 2001 : (IRAQ WRITES TO UN CLAIMING IT WANTS TO REBUILD A FACTORY TO PRODUCE 'FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE VACCINE') Iraq writes to the UN giving notice of its plans to asking to reopen the Daura factory, which had been shut down by UNSCOM in 1996 after it was found to make biological weapons. Iraq said it needed to reopen Daura to produce vaccine for foot-and-mouth disease.- 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

MARCH 1, 2001 : (GERMANY ORDERS IRAQI SPIES TO BE HELD) Berlin - Two Iraqi nationals have been arrested in Germany on suspicion of spying. Officials said both had been brought before a federal judge who ordered them to be held on "urgent" suspicion of spying in a number of German towns. "They are suspected of carrying out missions for an Iraqi intelligence service in a number of German towns since the beginning of 2001," a spokesman for the prosecutors said on Thursday. He would not comment on German television reports that the Iraqis had been detained in the south west town of Heidelberg, where the U.S. Army in Europe has its headquarters. The army's Fifth Corps, made up of armoured and infantry divisions, is also stationed in the town. - "Germany holds Iraqi spy suspects," CNN, Reuters contributed to this report.

APRIL 2001 : (GERMAN COMPANIES CAUGHT TRYING TO DELIVER COMPONENTS TO IRAQ) August Hanning, head of the BND (German’s Federal Intelligence service), gives an interview to a German Sunday newspaper. “New chemical weapons are being developed in Iraq. German companies apparently tried to deliver important components for the production of poison gas to Iraq’s Samara plant.” (Interview published by Welt am Sonntag, a German Sunday newspaper, on 22 April 2001, entitled: “The spy who came in from Westphalia”) This is compatible with Mr Saeed’s evidence.- 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

MAY 2001 : (IRAQ, OVER US PROTESTS, TAKES OVER UN CROP-DUSTING HELICOPTERS) Iraq takes over several crop-dusting helicopters from the UN, against US protest that they may be used for a biological weapons attack.- 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

North Korea on the other hand- has sent numerous commando raids into South Korea. Had numerous naval battles with South Korea. Outright lied to us and continued to develop a nuke program while we fed them (that was Clinton), fired an intermediate range missle over Japan, sold missle technology to Pakistan and Syria, and threatened to incinerate Seol South Korea. Meanwhile we want war with Iraq which has less to do with Al Queda than most of our Middle East "allies". Sorry- I don't quite get it.

JULY 21, 2001 : (IRAQ, FOREWARNING) On July 21, approximately six weeks before the September 11 th attacks, Iraqi columnist Mulhalhal reported that bin Laden was making plans to “demolish the Pentagon after he destroys the White House.” Mulhalhal’s July 21 article further informed that bin Laden would strike America “on the arm that is already hurting.” Upon information and belief, this references a second Iraqi sponsored attack on the World Trade Center. This interpretation is further bolstered by another reference to New York as “[bin Laden] will curse the memory of Frank Sinatra everytime he hears his songs.” (e.g., “New York, New York”) identifying New York, New York as a target. Mulhalhal further indicated, “The wings of a dove and the bullet are all but one and the same in the heart of a believer.” (Emphasis supplied) This appears to be a reference to the use of commercial aircraft as a weapon. The information was reported in an Iraqi newspaper who’s editor-in-chief serves as secretary to Uday Hussein’s Iraqi Syndicate of Journalists. The article expressed Iraqi admiration and support for bin Laden’s plans and its appearance in the newspaper would clearly have to be endorsed by Saddam Hussein himself. All Iraqi news media is strictly controlled and censored by the government of Saddam Hussein and is under the direct oversight of Uday Hussein. Various members of Iraqi intelligence work at and control the content of each and every newspaper published inside Iraq. The information contained in Mulhalhal’s published statements were known prior to the events of September 11 th , and that Mulhalhal has ties to Iraqi intelligence, demonstrates foreknowledge of the planned attacks by bin Laden and indicates support by Iraqi co-conspirators. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda

JULY 24, 2001 : (IRAQ FIRES AT U-2) Iraqis fire a missile at U2 aircraft; defence sources say it came close to hitting it.- 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

JULY 31, 2001 : (IRAQ STEPS UP EFFORTS TO SHOOT DOWN COALITION PLANES) US defense department reports Iraq’s “considerably more aggressive stance in trying to bring down allied aircraft.”- 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

AUGUST 27, 2001 : (IRAQ SHOOTS DOWN US PREDATOR DRONE) Iraqi downs its first US aircraft – an unmanned USAF RQ1B Predator, or “drone”- 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 2001 : (REPORTS OF IRAQI CHEMICAL WEAPONS EXERCISE) Iranian reports say 20 Iraqi soldiers based in Zaafarniyah region had died and 200 suffered severe breathing problems after taking part in chemical weapons exercise around June.- 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 2001 : (IRAQI AHMAD HIKMAT SHAKIR, JORDAN) The Iraqi, Ahmad Hikmat Shakir, 37, was picked up October 2001 in Amman, and his passport showed he had recently traveled to Pakistan, Yemen and Malaysia, all key terror trouble spots. A search of one of his apartments turned up telephone records linking him to suspects in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing as well as a 1994 Philippine-based plot to blow up civilian airlines over the Pacific Ocean. - "Iraqi a Missing Link," by Aly Sujo, NY Post

NOVEMBER 2001, early : (ATTA, CZECHOSLAVAKIA, RADIO FREE EUROPE PLOT) Czech PM Milos Zeman says his country believes Atta and the Iraqis discussed a truck bomb attack on Radio Free Europe. A diplomatic source also told the Observer that Iraqi spies may have held at least two other meetings with yet more members of the 19-member hijacking team in Prague this year (2001). The Observer (London paper) also reported that Iraqi defectors claim Baghdad has been conducting terrorist training camps for years - New York Post, "2 (3) More September 11 Hijackers Tied To Iraq" November 12, 2001, by WILLIAM NEUMAN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/587611/posts

DECEMBER 2001 : (IRAQI SCIENTIST SAYS IRAQ HAS REACTIVATED LABS, HIDDEN FACILITIES IN CIVILIAN AREAS, WMD STORAGE IN APPARENT WELLS, MADE PORTABLE, GERMAN MATERIALS MADE THEIR WAY INTO WEAPONS PROGRAM) A former Iraqi nuclear scientist, Adnan Ihsan Saeed al-Haideri, who has defected to the US, gives an interview to the New York Times from a safe destination in Bangkok (An interview with Mr Saeed was arranged by the Iraqi National Congress, an exiled opposition group to Saddam, whom had helped him escape. It appeared on p1 of the New York Times on 20 December 2001, entitled: “A nation challenged: Secret sites.”). His evidence is described as “plausible” by Richard Butler, an Australian former head of UN Iraq inspections. Mr Saeed said that:-
• Iraq has reactivated 300 secret weapons laboratories since the withdrawal of UN weapons inspectors
• Nuclear production and storage facilities are being hidden to the rear of government companies and private villas in residential areas.
• Weapons are being stored underground in what are made to look like water wells, lined with lead-filled concrete.
• Several empty facilities have been prepared, so projects can be on the move and withstand the bombing of one facility.
• Material from Leycochem, a German construction company, had arrived for under UN-approved schemes, but then redirected to nuclear development.- 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 2001 : (IRAQI DEFECTOR SAYS IRAQ USED A HOSPITAL AS COVER FOR BIOWEAPONS AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS DEVELOPMENT, BIOCHEM WEAPONS WERE TESTED ON KURDISH ANS HSIITE PRISONERS) Adnan Ihsan Saeed al-Haideri, an Iraqi defector, gives evidence saying that:-
• Biological weapons were being developed at the back of the Saddam Hussein hospital in Baghdad. (This was later corroborated by Khidhir Hamza, another defector, who told US congress that “the computer we used for nuclear weapon design is now located in a hospital at the outskirts of Baghdad.”)
• Biological and chemical weapons were tested on Kurdish and Shiite prisoners in 1989 and 1992.- 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

2001 - 2002 winter : (IRAQI SUPERGUN INSTRUCTIONS FOUND IN AL QAEDA CAMPS) Instruction documents on an artillery weapon known as the “Super Gun” were found in al Qaeda camps when they were captured by U.S. forces in the winter of 2001-2002. Iraq is the only state known to have purchased and assembled the super gun, a weapon so large it must be constructed in segments. It has a range of several hundred miles. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda