Article

2003-12-14 Iraq

Iraqi document ties Saddam to Mohammed Atta

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Posted by Dan Darling 2003-12-14 12:18:53 AM|| || Front Page|| [2 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 "Written in the neat, precise hand of Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti, the former head of the Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS)..."
Handwritten? If the bad guys depended on handwritten docs in their files, would make their paper trail easier to track and harder to fake.

"...16 to 17 known aliases, although American intelligence experts concede that there may have been others."
Odd choice of conjunction for two clauses that don't really disagree? If you've already got 16 Pakistani passports, what's a few more? Okay as long as they don't all fall out at once when you bend over to pick one up.

PS

The UK newspapers would come out about 5 hours ahead of EST. A search of today's online NYT for "Atta" yields two different items, both of which say about the same thing, both of which go out of their way to emphatically gainsay this. WaPo mum. Glenn (Reynolds not me) notes: "Interesting..." I hope he's not overstating. Watch this space.

Posted by Glenn (not Reynolds) 2003-12-14 1:20:33 AM|| 2003-12-14 1:20:33 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 The first paragraph states that "Mohammed Atta, an Egyptian national, came with Abu Ammer (an Arabic nom-de-guerre - his real identity is unknown) and we hosted him in Abu Nidalâs house at al-Dora under our direct supervision. "We arranged a work programme for him for three days with a team dedicated to working with him . . . He displayed extraordinary effort and showed a firm commitment to lead the team which will be responsible for attacking the targets that we have agreed to destroy."
If the planning for the 9/11 plot first began in earnest in 1999, and was supervised directly by the very top leaders of Al Qaeda, like Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama; what could Mohammad Atta have learned in only a few days in Iraq? Wouldn't he have already gone through training in Afghanistan, learnt how to fly the planes etc?
I'm not denying this out of hand, but I would definitely like to see more detail about what went on..

Posted by Paul Moloney 2003-12-14 1:30:04 AM|| 2003-12-14 1:30:04 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 Something regarding anthrax, perhaps?

Call it a hunch ...

Posted by Dan Darling 2003-12-14 1:46:39 AM|| [http://www.regnumcrucis.blogspot.com] 2003-12-14 1:46:39 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 Atta could have gone to Baghdad to pick up a vial of anthrax and a big, fat check, not to mention tips!
(At least one of the major planners of the first WTC bombing in '93 was in Iraq...)
And then there's Salman Pak where Atta could practice hijacking the plane.

Posted by Jennie Taliaferro 2003-12-14 4:17:02 AM|| [http://www.greatestjeneration.com] 2003-12-14 4:17:02 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 Interesting, the cryptic use of the phrase "approved targets" could match either 9-11 or the anthrax attack. Nidal would have been a better resource for hijacking rather than chemical attack.
I find it hard to believe that people deny that Sadaam was involved in international terrorism without denying existence of the 747 used for hijacking practice.

Posted by Super Hose 2003-12-14 1:45:24 PM|| 2003-12-14 1:45:24 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 This kinda clears up the mystery of who plugged Abu Nidal... it was Sammy trying to erase one of his links to 9/11. Case closed?

Posted by Scooter McGruder 2003-12-14 2:28:41 PM|| 2003-12-14 2:28:41 PM|| Front Page Top

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