Report: Iraq Planned to Attack U.S.

[lucky wilbury]

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/06/18/012.html

Report: Iraq Planned to Attack U.S.

The Associated Press

Russian intelligence agents shared information with their American counterparts in 2002 that Iraqi secret services were organizing terrorist attacks against U.S. facilities outside the United States, Interfax quoted an unidentified intelligence agent as saying Thursday.

The agent said that Russia had received a report early in 2002 that Iraqi secret agents were planning attacks on U.S. diplomatic and military facilities.

"This information was more than once passed on to our U.S. partners in oral and written form in the fall of 2002," the source said, Interfax reported.

The agent said that "in investigating the causes of the Iraq crisis, it is necessary to take into account all of the aspects, including the direct threat to the United States from the Saddam Hussein regime," Interfax reported.

Russia strongly opposed the U.S.-led war on Iraq, challenging the American administration's claims about the threat from Hussein, and was critical after the war about Washington's failure to find any weapons of mass destruction.

The agent's statement was made in response to a finding by the U.S. federal panel investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that there was no evidence of a "collaborative relationship" between al-Qaida and Hussein. The commission held its final public hearing Thursday.

The agent said that Russia, too, possessed no evidence of a link between Hussein and al-Qaida, but he suggested that the panel's findings failed to "draw a comprehensive picture," Interfax reported.

[Wayne L.]

I think this will at least shut up some of anti-war wackos on the far left about going to war in Iraq if only slightly because they're against President Bush no matter what he does or says or anything else instead of being for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry!

[FORD]

This would seem to contradict what Pooty-poot said here....

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200312/s1013128.htm

Iraq war was unjustified, Putin says

Russian President Vladimir Putin says the US-led war in Iraq was unjustified because it was not authorised by the United Nations Security Council.

"The use of force abroad, according to existing international laws, can only be sanctioned by the United Nations. This is the international law," Mr Putin said in an annual live televised question-and-answer session.

"Everything that is done without the UN Security Council's sanction cannot be recognised as fair or justified.

"I am being as restrained as I can be when I choose these words," he said.

The comments came only hours before Mr Putin was due to meet in Moscow with US envoy James Baker, who is trying to convince the international community to write off Iraq's crushing $US120 billion debt.

Mr Putin, who opposed the war in Iraq, described the United States as a partner, but said the Iraqi campaign should not be lumped in with the broader international war on terrorism.

"We are do not want the United States to lose their war on terrorism - we are US partners in the fight against terrorism," Mr Putin said.

"But as for Iraq, this is a separate matter. There were no international terrorists under Hussein. This is a separate problem," he said.

He also suggested that the United States may be suffering from over-confidence on the international sphere, warning that "empires" had fallen before from feeling too strong and using their military might indiscriminately.

"I must say that in all times, great countries, empires, always suffered a series of problems that complicated their situation - this was a feeling of invulnerability, a feeling of grandeur, and a feeling that it never sins," Mr Putin said.

"This always hurt countries that tried to call themselves empires. I very much hope that this does not happen to our American partners."

Moscow has been furious with Washington in recent days for barring countries that opposed the Iraqi war in participating in the lucrative first phase of reconstruction projects in the war-torn country.

Russia warned the United States on Tuesday that it was "unacceptable" to make such a decision.

-- AFP

[lucky wilbury]

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040618/D839DV0O1.html

Putin: Russia Gave Bush Iraq Intelligence


Email this Story

Jun 18, 8:26 AM (ET)

By BAGILA BUKHARBAYEVA


ASTANA, Kazakhstan (AP) - Russia gave the Bush administration intelligence after the September 11 attacks that suggested Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq was preparing attacks in the United States, President Vladimir Putin said Friday.

Putin said he couldn't comment on how critical the Russians' information was in the U.S. decision to invade Iraq. He said Russia didn't have any information that Saddam's regime had actually been behind any terrorist acts.

"After Sept. 11, 2001, and before the start of the military operation in Iraq, the Russian special services, the intelligence service, received information that officials from Saddam's regime were preparing terrorist attacks in the United States and outside it against the U.S. military and other interests," Putin said.

He said the United States had thanked Russia for the information. There was no immediate comment from U.S. officials.

"It's one thing to have information that Saddam's regime is preparing terrorist attacks, (but) we didn't have information that it was involved in any known terrorist attacks," Putin said in the Kazakh capital Astana after regional economic and security summits.

Putin said the intelligence didn't cause Russia to waver from its firm opposition to the war.

"Despite that information about terrorist attacks being prepared by Saddam's regime, Russia's position on Iraq remains unchanged," Putin said.

Putin didn't elaborate on any details of the terror plots or mention whether they were tied to the al-Qaida terror network.

A commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States reported this week that while there were contacts between al-Qaida and Iraq, they did not appear to have produced "a collaborative relationship."

President Bush, however, insisted Thursday that Saddam had "numerous contacts" with al-Qaida and said Iraqi agents had met with the terror network's leader, Osama bin Laden, in Sudan.

Saddam "was a threat because he had terrorist connections - not only al-Qaida connections, but other connections to terrorist organizations," Bush said.

[FORD]

Sounds like Junior's "soulmate" needs to get his story straight. Since Pooty is ex KGB, I'd take anything he said with a pinch of salt - and a pint of Stoli.

[John Ashcroft]

How about John Kerry's urging of President Clinton to take force to remove Saddam before he attacks the U.S.? I've posted the joint resolution of Congress here before...

You know, the one that a strong majority of Democrats signed...

[lucky wilbury]

how about kerry on crossifre in 1998 urging clinotn to go into iraq?

[John Ashcroft]

Grain of salt...

[FORD]

Originally posted by John Ashcroft
Grain of salt...

I knew that didn't sound right when I typed it.... besides, a pinch of salt would be with tequila, not vodka. So that applies to anything Sammy Hagar says, not Pooty-poot.

[John Ashcroft]

[Guitar Shark]

I'm not sure I see the relevance of this story. The Bush Administration NEVER cited this Russian intelligence as a justification when it was making its case for the Iraq war.

[FORD]

Originally posted by lucky wilbury
how about kerry on crossifre in 1998 urging clinotn to go into iraq?

The "intelligence" being quoted in 1998 probably came from the PNAC letter to President Clinton and the follow up letter to Newt Gingrich & Trent Lott.

At the time, Clinton and Kerry, among others, probably operated on the assumption that this collection of people, many of whom were members of the Reagan & Bush administrations and/or intelligence community, were advocating a legitimate discussion about a real threat, and not a deliberate lie, constructed as part of a global fascist agenda, which turned out to be the true motivation.

[John Ashcroft]

Originally posted by Guitar Shark
I'm not sure I see the relevance of this story. The Bush Administration NEVER cited this Russian intelligence as a justification when it was making its case for the Iraq war.

But he did state that Iraq was a threat to the United States itself.

[Guitar Shark]

Agreed. But, it's kinda silly for Bush and his supporters to say "See! We were right!!!" when they knew this info but didn't use it to support their case at the time.

[John Ashcroft]

I don't know. I've always supported the ousting of Saddam for a whole host of reasons. This is just another one.