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No Link Between Saddam Hussein and Zarqawi

By TChris, Section War In Iraq
Posted on Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 10:28:51 AM EST
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by TChris

The president recently told Katie Couric that "[o]ne of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror." Fabricating a nonexistent connection must indeed be a difficult chore, particularly as evidence disputing the connection continues to grow.

There's no evidence Saddam Hussein had a relationship with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his Al-Qaida associates, according to a Senate report on prewar intelligence on Iraq. ... It discloses for the first time an October 2005 CIA assessment that prior to the war Saddam's government ''did not have a relationship, harbor, or turn a blind eye toward Zarqawi and his associates,'' according to excerpts of the 400-page report provided by Democrats. ...

Bush and other administration officials have said that the presence of Zarqawi in Iraq before the war was evidence of a connection between Saddam's government and al-Qaida.

The report, available here, "also explores the role that inaccurate information supplied by the anti-Saddam exile group the Iraqi National Congress had in the march to war."

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    No Link Between Saddam Hussein and Zarqawi | 11 comments (11 topical)
    Re: No Link Between Saddam Hussein and Zarqawi (none / 0) (#2)
    by Che's Lounge on Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 10:53:48 AM EST
    Mickey Mouse probably says they were lovers! Now whose F***ing Goofy? Not Minnie. Maybe Hugh Hewitt. (not that there's anything wrong with that, Hugh)

    Re: No Link Between Saddam Hussein and Zarqawi (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 12:27:22 PM EST
    Fabricating a nonexistent connection must indeed be a difficult chore PeePee Jammies et al should be along here any minute now fabricating their little hearts out, particularly as evidence disputing the connection continues to grow. ---edger

    Re: No Link Between Saddam Hussein and Zarqawi (none / 0) (#5)
    by Sailor on Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 05:21:18 PM EST
    My first reaction was 'well, duh!' which turned out to be the WH's reaction: "White House press secretary Tony Snow said the report was ''nothing new.''" And how worried are the rethuglicans worried about the election?
    Republicans issue report criticizing Bush's decision on Iraq
    Yeeees, they're shocked, shocked I tell you. And another one bites the dust:No Proof Iran Backing Militants in Northeast Iraq: General

    Re: No Link Between Saddam Hussein and Zarqawi (none / 0) (#4)
    by marty on Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 06:10:44 PM EST
    "Bush and other administration officials have said that the presence of Zarqawi in Iraq before the war was evidence of a connection between Saddam's government and al-Qaida." Among the multitude of lies this SOB and his Administration have been allowed to get away with is this one. What too many do not remember and what Shrub is too deceitful to admit is that Zarqawi was in a portion of Iraq NOT CONTROLLED BY SADDAM and could have been attakced whenever out tough terra-fightin' President wanted. It was admitted by an Administration spokesman later that to attack would "have undercut the rationale for war". Had enough lies, America?

    Re: No Link Between Saddam Hussein and Zarqawi (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 06:10:44 PM EST
    Why is this news? The lack of any operational direct connection between Al Qaida and Saddam has been known and repeated almost a dozen times by President Bush in the last four years. It was made clear even as we started pressuring Iraq over a year before we invaded. I really don't understand how anyone could have missed it.

    Re: No Link Between Saddam Hussein and Zarqawi (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 06:10:45 PM EST
    CIA assessment? the same CIA that sent Joe Wilson to investigate the SH regime's attempts to purchase uranium? no connection-but he was there in a totalitarian state? was this without the knowledge of SH? what about the other terrorists we know were living there-were they also secret? again, the lies you have to tell to try to prove that Bush is a liar.

    Re: No Link Between Saddam Hussein and Zarqawi (none / 0) (#7)
    by Sailor on Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 06:56:12 PM EST
    The lack of any operational direct connection between Al Qaida and Saddam has been known and repeated almost a dozen times by President Bush in the last four years.
    funny you should say that when bush and cheney have constantly linked AQ to saddam ... but unlike your post, I have links:
    Bush backs Cheney on assertion linking Hussein, Al Qaeda
    and
    Bush stands by al Qaeda, Saddam link President Bush repeated his administration's claim that Iraq was in league with al Qaeda under Saddam Hussein's rule
    Why you keep defending a liar is beyond me. Even rethuglicans are calling bush a liar

    Re: No Link Between Saddam Hussein and Zarqawi (none / 0) (#8)
    by Sailor on Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 06:59:30 PM EST
    Frankly, with a handle like Ecclesiastes I thought you'd "be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil."

    Re: No Link Between Saddam Hussein and Zarqawi (none / 0) (#11)
    by Aaron on Sat Sep 09, 2006 at 08:32:07 PM EST
    Off CNN's pipeline "Imagine a world in which you had a Saddam Hussein who had the capacity to make a weapon of mass destruction. Who was uhh uhh paying suicide-ers, uhh to uhh kill innocent life. Uhh who would uhh, who had relations with al-Zarqawi" (George W. Bush, August 21, 2006). Here's the president repeating the same talking points from 2004, a statement which the intelligence committee report just released proves false. The recent Bipartisan Senate report states that Saddam Hussein had no relationship with al-Zarqawi, no weapons were provided to Al Qaeda by Iraq, and there was no connection to the 9/11 hijackings. Someone correct me if I'm mistaken in my summary. "Devastating indictment of the White House." The administration "pursued a deceptive strategy prior to the war" using discredited intelligence which the White House's own intelligence people told them was worthless, worse than worthless, much of it was complete fabrication, a constructed faƧade that did not stand up to a moment's scrutiny. So the question is why would the president and his administration use fabricated intelligence, who fabricated this intelligence? And why would the administration rely on sources who our own intelligence people could prove were liars? Exactly what are you guilty of when you undermine the Republic by intentionally deceiving the American people, in order to take us into an unnecessary war? Does the president of the United States have a right to mislead the Congress, the people, and direct the intelligence community to help them fabricate sufficient justification for the invasion of a sovereign nation? Will George W. Bush and his advisers, Cabinet, and the facilitators within the State Department and Pentagon ever be brought to justice for their actions? If not then I think that this really is the beginning of the end for the United States. Historians will be able to mark this administration, as the point at which our democracy began its wane. The start of that long spiral down into decay and despotism. That's something I never wanted to live through, something I never thought I would see. For the sake of the morality and integrity of our Republic, and if democracy is to survive, these criminals must be made to stand and account for their actions, otherwise others who seek power in this country will know that if they can sway the will of the people, by fraudulent and deceptive means, they can do literally anything they want with the US military in pursuit of their geopolitical aims and dreams of global domination. And even if they fail, they're just going to get a pass for their crimes. If this administration gets away with this, other administrations will commit more heinous foul crimes against the people of other nations, and against the people of the United States. It's inevitable.

    Re: No Link Between Saddam Hussein and Zarqawi (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Sep 09, 2006 at 09:27:27 PM EST
    The sad fact here is that Americans are too intested in watching the next episode of American Idol to be concerned with the truth about the war and how we got there. I recently read that some 40% or so still believe that Saddam was involved in 9/11, despite information to the contrary being available for over three years now. Until the people wake up and start getting interested in where this nation is being led, we will, unfortunately, have to put up with more lies, fabrications, a war that cannot be won by military force, our best being sent to die for a trumped up cause, loss of our basic rights, etc., etc. What a shame for this great nation!

    Re: No Link Between Saddam Hussein and Zarqawi (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Sep 09, 2006 at 09:27:27 PM EST
    The word "operational" wasn't just for show. Saddam gave some training support to terrorist organizations, including Al Qaida. Let's see if I can explain this by example: The WTC operation was the big-ticket resume enhancer for Al Qaida to apply for work with Saddam. It proved that Al Qaida could execute a complex covert mission inside the US. Saddam hated the US but was incapable of attacking it directly. *IF* Saddam had "weapons of mass destruction" then he might have given them to Al Qaida, but what Saddam *certainly* had was money, far more than bin Laden. bin Laden only brought $300 million to the table. Saddam had 3 times that much in cold hard cash money ($100 bills). When fighting a war, one of the big strategic opjectives is to cut the enemy's supply lines. Iraq was one of those.

    No Link Between Saddam Hussein and Zarqawi | 11 comments (11 topical)