DOD report: No Saddam-Al Qaeda link

There was a link: Saddam Hussein paid suicide bombers $25,000 bonuses to ply their craft.
He also brought an injured AlQuaeda operative to Irag and got him medical care before he returned to battle our soldiers this is just another driveby media story to bash W. Jerry White, Springfield, IL

I didn't believe Dubya, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and a lot of lesser players - but I did believe Colin Powell.

When Powell gave his speech to the U.N. saying Saddam had or was developing various WMD, I believed him.

The question I (and a lot of other people) wanted to ask, but knew Powell couldn't answer was, what is inside these semi-trailers you said were mobile weapons labs? And how did you know it?

But we knew you couldn't and shouldn't divulge sources and methods so many of us took your word for it.

Former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Colin Powell - you had the highest security clearance the U.S. Government has. You had access to all the intel - so, how did this (at best) faulty information come to be?

For all the neo-cons whose argument for the war is 9/11.

What do you say now?

Old news!! Only the War Hawks keep saying otherwise.

But..but..but...The government said so and they'd never ever lie to us.

Further evidence of the left-liberal bias in the Pentagon.

I know I'm shocked! No WMD's...say it isn't so!

All the guys itching for a war never fought in a war. Colin Powell was set up and that's why he left. They used him. If there was a draft, more people would take more time to oppose it. The college kids would be marching. The me generation would turn into the not me generation. It is the poor and middle class who dying in the war now. Rember 1968? That's why as a Vietnam Veteran, I am voting for Obama.

In a companion report, the committee also divulged that American Civil War prisoners were mistreated!

Saddam did not have direct links to Al Qeada, correct. However, the report you refer to clearly states that Saddam's Iraq was a clear state sponsor of terrorism. When did the Bush Administration say that Saddam was linked to Al Qeada? Again you distort the truth. The Bush administration stated that Saddam was a state sponsor of terrorism, which is absolutely true.

It has been 5 years since this war began and yet the press continually distorts the truth in order to meet their template of conservative hatred. This war would have been over a long time ago, yet the Liberals, Democrats and the press lend aid and comfort to the enemy from lies, distortions and half-truths.

Who is lying to the American public?

Whenever someone uses the term "drive-by media" you know their rely upon such unquestionably honest and unbiased sources like Rush Limbaugh or Bill O'Reilly... Please, for the sake of our national security, do tell what the link was between Saddam and Al Qaeda. Please do so with complete with independently verifiable sources that prove the DOD (remember, this in a department staffed by Bush appointees) is wrong. Quotations of the unsupported opinions of Limbaugh, O' Reilly, and their ilk does not count. Thank you.

A "drive-by media story?"

Hey Jerry - it's an official report from the Pentagon you worship. If the same report concluded that a link DID exist, you would be treating it like your bible.

You'll never convince the other 70%+ of America that knows this "war" was illegal, unjustified, and most-importantly, a calculated, self-serving scam by W and his Haliburton cronies.

ps - Where is bin Laden..?

terrorism, 9/11,WMD, paying suicide bombers, any excuse real or contrived to attack iraq. if it's contrived as most of these reasons are attack your critics, delay the truth until we can get in there. fooling powell was a real coup. the plan was already drawn up by the wolfiwitz and feith. feith already let it slip out because he's an unwise fool. this was a grab for oil plan by the neo-cons that bush listened to. they didn't know what they were doing. the pentagon did, but the pentagon can't stop the civilians in the defense department. they warned them. they had war gamed it. it fell on deaf ears.this report is no surprise. it's only those that can't go back on their party affiliation that keep trying to defend/ make excuses for this fiasco.

Andy,
I am glad you linked the report. Maybe YOU should read it.

It talks of Saddam funding and training EIJ (who experts say is indistinguishable from al Qaeda, makes up 2/3 of al Qaeda's leadership and is Ayman al Zawahiri's group) and working with a number of other terrorist groups including over then that TOOK ORDERS from the former regime. It's a shame the media can't be bothered with putting apart their biases and reading the report and honestly talking about it.

Here is some of what you missed guys:http://regimeofterror.com/archives/2008/03/media_swings_and_misses_on_ida_1/

You also "forgot" to mention that the regime planned and attempted terror attacks on Americans, had large scale production of IED's, carbombs and a recruiting/training program for thousands of Iraqi and non-Iraqi suicide bombers.

No terror links though, right?

So then why the headline that focuses in on Al Qaeda? Why not headline: "Pentagon finds extensive links between Saddam and Worldwide Terrorism." A little Beltway bias creepin in here at the Swamp, perhaps?

What difference would it make to discover a few hundred thousand Americans were killed by a terrorist organization not named Al Qaeda?
Which is more important; punishing the particular gang that kills an innocent bystander during a gang war or crippling them both?

Mark, who expected reporter Andrew Zajac to actually read the report he wrote about?

He was only interested in passing along a Left-wing fantasy, not the facts.

And the facts as set forth in the report make clear the links between Saddam Hussein, terrorists in general, and al-Qaeda in particular.

Mark, who expected reporter Andrew Zajac to actually read the report he wrote about?

He was only interested in passing along a Left-wing fantasy, not the facts.

And the facts as set forth in the report make clear the links between Saddam Hussein, terrorists in general, and al-Qaeda in particular.

the war in iraq wrong the neocons are wrong the bush people are wrong god help us

If I were a betting man, and I am not, I would say that someone, somewhere, is going to file a claim in the World Court against someone. I would hazard a guess that the charge will be centered in the area of war crimes or abuse of power. The Congress has been too chicken livered to impeach someone. I personally would not want to see any of that happen, but an apology to us is in order.

Right or wrong, here is the pre-war take from the CIA:

Early Al Qaeda - Iraq Connection
Clinton appointee, CIA Director George Tenet, described an Al Qaeda - Saddam connection in a letter to congress dated 10/7/02. In that letter, Tenet makes the following observations:

-Our understanding of the relationship between Iraq and Al Qaeda is evolving and is based on sources of varying reliability. Some of the information we have received comes from detainees, including some of high rank.
-We have solid reporting of senior level contacts between Iraq and Al Qaeda GOING BACK A DECADE. Credible information indicates that Iraq and Al Qaeda have discussed safe haven and reciprocal nonaggression.
-Since Operation Enduring Freedom, we have SOLID EVIDENCE of the presence in Iraq of Al Qaeda members, including some that have been in Baghdad.
-We have credible reporting that Al Qaeda leaders sought contacts in Iraq who could help them acquire W.M.D. capabilities. The reporting also stated that Iraq has provided training to Al Qaeda members in the areas of poisons and gases and making conventional bombs.
-Iraq's increasing support to extremist Palestinians coupled with growing indications of relationship with Al Qaeda suggest that Baghdad's links to terrorists will increase, even absent U.S. military action.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iraq/2002/ir aq-021007-cia01.htm

Wow...A report from the DOD comes out and says there was no link and a flood of extremists come out and prove differently from I guess doing a little Google search. You guys could have Googled us the truth a little while ago and saved all of this wondering. TMB has a little guilt over it all and decides he'll try and share some blame with the democrats by blowing a little smoke up your butt with a mention of a Clinton APPOINTEE. Did you see the date of the letter TMB? 10/7/02. Who was the president then TMB? The republicans have screwed the pooch big time and they don't have the guts to admit it.

Sorry, Billy, didn't even notice the "Clinton APPOINTEE" detail. Don't really care, but thanks for pointing that out. You may also want to follow the link to see the slew of other democrats involved.

Guilt? Share the blame? More like giving these democrats credit for stepping up to the plate. I know your a big fan of terrorism and genocide, Billy, but it's not my thing.

Yes, the date of 10/07/02 is important, because that's where our intelligence stood at that time. No need for Google except to remind the people with selective memory loss.

The study lead author told reporter Richard Miniter (PJ media) that the "no ties" line was not a product of the report and that some DC beaurocrat had added it and leaked it. In fact the report shows extensive ties to al Qaeda and associated movements (AQAM).

My book Both In One Trench: Saddam's Secret Terror Documents examines many of these same documents in detail (and more) in greater historical context. It is quite clear that Saddam was deeply involved in Islamic terrorism and had many connections to al Qaeda core leadership. There is even evidence that he directly influenced al Qaeda and the Taliban and at the very least funded those groups.

http://www.bothinonetrench.com