It is "high fashion" these days to insist Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with Osama bin Laden , and to call for forced mental health counselling of anyone who suggests Saddam had any prior knowledge of -or role in - 9/11.
It wasn't always so !
In point of fact , the idea of cooperation between Saddam and Osama was widely reported prior to 9/11 (when the Clinton administration was calling for regime change in Iraq) , and right after 9/11 (when the nation as a whole - media included-was most fearful of its own safety.)
Right after 9/11, Jane's - a rather respectable European publication suggested strongly the Iraqi government was at least a sponsor of 9/11.
It was not that surprising a conclusion. The Guardian , in 1999 , spoke convincingly of strong links between Saddam and Osama . ( The Guardian is "somewhat inclined to the left" , and may have been feeling a mite pettish that day .)
Another British newspaper - The Telegraph-News - reported in 2003 its own reporters had found documents inside the ruins of an Iraqi Secret Service facility, that described meetings between representatives of Osama and Saddam.
Lo, and behold ! Even the 9/11 Commission had information of a relationship between Osama and Saddam , according to this Weekly Standard article.
There is even an account in The Times of India ,concerning ABC's interview of a woman who was Saddam's long-time mistress :
WASHINGTON: A woman claiming to have been Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's mistress for more than 30 years told ABC News that she witnessed at least one meeting between Saddam and top terror suspect Osama Bin Laden.
In an interview to be broadcast Thursday, Parisoula Lampsos, 54, said that during the mid-1980s, Bin Laden, blamed for the terror strike of September 11 that killed more than 3,000, visited one of Saddam's palaces in Iraq.
She alleged that the Iraqi leader's eldest son, Uday, told her the two met again about a decade later, an exchange that saw Saddam giving money to the Saudi-born millionaire exile.
Finally, The Telegraph News provides another nugget: Atta, leader of the 9/11 hijackers underwent training in Iraq during the summer of 2001-according to the Iraqi Provisional Government. ( The article explains that Atta had a number of passports, and was able to enter and leave the US almost at will.)
One might ask : if the media perception of and reporting of available information was colored by political and emotional needs then , are the same factors still at work ?
I'm inclined to think they had it right the first time , and that there was a good reason why the Taliban in Afghanistan contacted their Iraqi Intelligence counterparts to pass the following warning along :
This is the text of a document seized from Iraqi Intelligence files during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
It is one of the translated documents aired by ABC TV in March,2006, and may have been printed in your hometown newspaper.
Please keep in mind it was written on 09/15/01.
In the name of God the merciful the compassionate
Presidency of the Republic
Intelligence Service
2/913/5th directorate
Sir: Director General of the 5th directorate
Subject: Information
Our Afghani source #002 (info on him in paper slip ‘1’) has informed us that Afghani consular Ahmed Dahistani (info on him in paper slip ‘2’) had spoken before him of the following:
1-That Usama Bin Ladin and the Taliban group in Afghanistan are in contact with Iraq and that a group from the Taliban and Usama Bin Ladin’s group had conducted a visit to Iraq.
2-That America possesses evidence that Iraq and Usama Bin Ladin’s group had cooperated to strike targets inside America.
3-In case Taliban and Usama’s group are proven involved in those sabotage operations, it will be possible that America directs strikes at Iraq and Afghanistan.
4-That the Afghani consular had heard about the Iraq connections with Usama Bin Ladin’s group during his presence in Iran.
5-In the light of what preceded we suggest writing to the Intentions Committee about the above information.
Please be informed…..your feedback please…..with appreciation.
)signature) (signature(
Information office send immediately to the
Of the 5th directorate/3 Intentions Committee
9/15/2001
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