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911 Title: Iraq and 9/11: What the Judge Said [ From 2004 ] In light of Thursday's Wall Street Journal report detailing new evidence tying Iraq to the 9/11 attacks, it's worth noting that the only time the question of an Iraq-9/11 connection has been legally tested, the verdict was affirmative. In a woefully underreported decision on May 8, 2003, Manhattan U.S. District Court Judge Harold Baer ruled in favor of two 9/11 victim families who had sued Iraq and others claiming they were culpable in the attacks. The court awarded plaintiffs $104 million based on the Baer's findings. The ruling by Judge Baer - a Carter appointee, by the way - was quite detailed. In fact, we suspect that the reason for the media's near-blackout on the case is because most Americans would consider his findings to be very persuasive. Here, in part, is what Judge Baer had to say about the Iraq-9/11 connection: "The opinion testimony of the plaintiffs' experts is sufficient to meet plaintiffs' burden that Iraq collaborated in or supported bin Laden/al Qaeda's terrorist acts of September 11. . . "Their opinions, coupled with their qualifications as experts on this issue, provide a sufficient basis for a reasonable jury to draw inferences which could lead to the conclusion that Iraq provided material support to al Qaeda and that it did so with knowledge and intent to further al Qaeda's criminal acts." Judge Baer continued: "[Former CIA] Director [James] Woolsey reviewed several facts that tended in his view to show Iraq's involvement in acts of terrorism against the United States in general and likely in the events of September 11 specifically. "First, Director Woolsey described the existence of a highly secure military facility in Iraq where non-Iraqi fundamentalists [e.g., Egyptians and Saudis] are trained in airplane hijacking and other forms of terrorism. Through satellite imagery and the testimony of three Iraqi defectors, [he] demonstrated the existence of this facility, called Salman Pak, which has an airplane but no runway. "The defectors also stated that these fundamentalists were taught methods of hijacking using utensils or short knives. Plaintiffs contend it is farfetched to believe that Iraqi agents trained fundamentalists in a top-secret facility for any purpose other than to promote terrorism. "Second, Director Woolsey mentioned a meeting that allegedly occurred in Prague in April 2001 between Mohammad Atta, the apparent leader of the hijackings, and a high-level Iraqi intelligence agent. According to James Woolsey, the evidence indicates that this was an 'operational meeting' because Atta flew to the Czech Republic and then returned to the United States shortly afterwards. The Minister of Interior of the Czech Republic, Stanislav Gross, stated on October 26, 2001: "'In this moment we can confirm, that during the next stay of Muhammad Atta in the Czech republic there was the contact with the official of the Iraqi Intelligence, Mr. Al Ani, Ahmed Khalin Ibrahim Samir, who was on 22nd April 2001 expelled from the Czech Republic on the basis of activities which were not compatible with the diplomatic status . . . ' "Third, Director Woolsey noted that his conclusion was also based on 'contacts,' which refer to interactions between Hussein/Iraq and bin Laden/al Qaeda that are described in a letter from George Tenet, the Director of Central Intelligence, to Senator Bob Graham on October 7, 2002. Director Tenet's carefully worded letter included in substance the same allegations, but with less detail, that Secretary of State Colin Powell made before the U.N. Security Counsel on Feb. 5, 2003, in his remarks about 'the potentially much more sinister nexus between Iraq and the al-Qaida terrorist network. . . .' "Both Director Tenet and Secretary Powell mentioned 'senior level contacts' between Iraq and al Qaeda going back to the early 1990s [although both acknowledged that part of the interactions in the early to mid-1990s pertained to achieving a mutual non-aggression understanding]; both mentioned that al Qaeda sought to acquire poison gas and training in its use from Iraq; both mentioned that al Qaeda members have been in Iraq, including Baghdad, after September 2001. . . . "Finally, plaintiffs also place considerable weight on an article that appeared in a regional Iraqi newspaper in July 2001, two months before the disaster of September 11. This article, a paean to bin Laden, mentions that bin Laden 1] 'will try to bomb the Pentagon after he destroys the White House,' 2] 'is insisting very convincingly that he will strike America on the arm that is already hurting,' and 3] 'will curse the memory of Frank Sinatra every time he hears his songs.' See Exs. 16-18, Naeem Abd Muhalhal, America, An Obsession Called Osama Bin Ladin, Al-Nasiriya, July 21, 2001 [original, translation, and certificate of accuracy of translation]. "Because, according to Director Woolsey, 'all publications in Iraq really appear at the sufferance of and with a full vetting by the Iraqi regime,' see Tr. 158, and because of the coincidences and the fact that '[t]here is a certain propensity, I think, on bin Laden's part and on Saddam's part ... to try to communicate in somewhat vague terms,' Director Woolsey concluded that there is a probability of a vague foreknowledge of what was contemplated. See Tr. 159." [End of Excerpt] Judge Baer also found the testimony of terrorism expert Dr. Laurie Mylroie persuasive, writing: "Dr. Mylroie described Iraq's covert involvement in acts of terrorism against the United States in the past, including the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993. Dr. Mylroie testified to at least four events that served as the basis for her conclusion that Iraq played a role in the September 11 tragedy: "First, she claimed that Iraq provided and continues to provide support to two of the main perpetrators of the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993. Specifically, Abdul Rahman Yasin returned to Baghdad after the bombing and Iraq has provided him safe haven ever since. See Tr. 175-76. Also, Ramsey Yusef arrived in the United States on an Iraqi passport in his own name but left on false documentation - a passport of a Pakistani who was living in Kuwait and whom the Kuwaiti government kept a file on at the time that Iraq invaded Kuwait. See Tr. 174. "Second, she noted bin Laden's fatwah against the United States, which was motivated by the presence of U.S. forces in Saudi Arabia to fight the Gulf War against Iraq. See Tr. 177. "Third, she noted that threats by bin Laden in late 1997 and early 1998 which led up to the bombing of the U.S. embassies [on August 7, 1998] were 'in lockstep' with Hussein's threats about ousting the U.N. weapons inspectors, which he eventually did on August 5, 1998. See Tr. 178-79. "Dr. Mylroie concluded that 'Iraq, I believe, did provide support and resources for the September 11 attacks. I agree with [Iraqi defector] Captain [Sabah] Khodada when he said that ... it took a state like Iraq to carry out an attack as really sophisticated, massive and deadly as what happened on September 11.' See Tr. 182." [End of Excerpt] To be sure, Judge Baer also noted that the case for Iraq's involvement in 9/11 is far from a slam dunk, concluding, "Plaintiffs have shown, albeit barely, 'by evidence satisfactory to the court' that Iraq provided material support to bin Laden and al Qaeda." Nevertheless, that's a far cry from media claims - not to mention President Bush's incredibly ill-advised statement last fall - that there's no evidence tying Iraq to 9/11.
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List of newspaper article in the 90's which mention the world's concern regarding the growing relationship between OBL and Saddam: Son of Saddam coordinates OBL activities: The AQ connection (excellent): Western Nightmare: Saddam's link to OBL: NYT: Iraq and AQ agree to cooperate: Document linking them: Iraq and terrorism - no doubt about it: A federal judge rules there are links: Wall Street Journal on Iraq and AQ: Iraq and Iran contact OBL: More evidence: Saddam's AQ connection: Further connections: What a court of law said about the connections: Some miscellaneous stuff on connections: Saddam's Ambassador to Al Qaeda: (February 2004, Weekly Standard) Yes - it's NewsMax but loaded with interesting bullet points. Saddam's Fingerprints on NY Bombing (Wall Street Journal, June 1993) Colin Powell: Iraq and AQ Partners for Years (CNN, February 2003) The Iraq-Al Qaeda Connections (September 2003, Richard Miniter) Oil for Food Scandal Ties Iraq and Al Qaeda (June 2003) Saddam and OBL Make a Pact (The New Yorker, February 2003): Al Qaeda's Poison Gas (Wall Street Journal, April 2004): Wolfowitz Says Saddam behind 9/11 Attacks: Saddam behind first WTC attack - PBS, Laurie Mylroie: Growing Evidence of Saddam and Al Qaeda Link, The Weekly Standard, July 2003: Qusay Hussein Coordinated Iraq special operations with Bin Laden Terrorist Activities, Yossef Bodansky, National Press Club The Western Nightmare: Saddam and Bin Laden vs. the Rest of the World, The Guardian Unlimited: Saddam Link to Bin Laden, Julian Borger, The Guardian, February 1999 The Al Qaeda Connection, The Weekly Standard, July 2003 Cheney lectures Russert on Iraq/911 Link, September 2003: No Question About It, National Review, September 2003 Iraq: A Federal Judges Point of View Mohammed's Account links Iraq to 9/11 and OKC: Free Republic Thread that mentions some books Freepers might be interested in on this topic: The Proof that Saddam Worked with AQ, The Telegraph, April 2003: Saddam's AQ Connection, The Weekly Standard, September 2003 September 11 Victims Sue Iraq: Osama's Best Friend: The Further Connections Between Al Qaeda and Saddam, The Weekly Standard, November 2003 Terrorist Behind 9/11 Attacks Trained by Saddam, The Telegraph, December 2003 James Woolsey Links Iraq and AQ, CNN Interview, March 2004, Also see Posts #34 and #35 A Geocities Interesting Web Site with maps and connections: Bin Laden indicted in federal court, read down to find information that Bin Laden agreed to not attack Iraq and to work cooperatively with Iraq: Case Closed, The Weekly Standard, November 03 CBS - Lawsuit: Iraq involved in 9/11: Exploring Iraq's Involvement in pre-9/11 Acts, The Indianapolis Star: The Iraq/AQ Connection: Richard Minister again Militia Defector says Baghdad trained Al Qaeda fighters in chemical weapons, July 2002 The Clinton View of Iraq/AQ Ties, The Weekly Standard, December 2003 Saddam Controlled the Camps (Iraq/AQ Ties): The London Observer, November 01 Saddam's Terror Ties that Critics Ignore, National Review, October 2003: Tape Shows General Wesley Clark linking Iraq and AQ: The Missing Link (What the Senate Ingelligence Report Said about Iraq/AQ Connections) Credit to Peach for the above info. Credit to joesbucks for the following links: Dozens of links here: Just a few of those links include: The Clinton Justice Department's indictment against OBL in federal court which mentions the terrorist's connections to Iraq. November 4, 1998. The federal indictment: Iraq and AQ agree to cooperate. The federal indictment against OBL working in concert with Iraq and Iran is mentioned. November 1998. The New York Times Saddam reaching out to OBL January 1, 1999. Newsweek ABC news reports on the Osama/Saddam connections January 14, 1999. ABC News Western Nightmare: Saddam and OBL versus the World. Iraq recruited OBL. February 6, 1999. The Guardian Saddam's Link to OBL February 6, 1999. The Guardian Saddam offered asylum to bin Laden February 13, 1999. AP Video coverage from drzz: Saddam- Al Qaeda VIDEOS library (MUST SEE) And kabar submitted these two little gems showing Bin Laden supported Iraq and its struggle against the US and the West. 1996 Fatwa: "Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places."
You put a lot of effort into this.
No I stole it from TOS. Maybe here we should call it the TOOS.
(laughing)
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