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Congress's Secret Saddam Tapes
BY ELI LAKE - Staff Reporter of the Sun
February 7, 2006
http://www.nysun.com/article/27110
The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is studying 12 hours of audio recordings between Saddam Hussein and his top advisers that may provide clues to the whereabouts of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
The committee has already confirmed through the intelligence community that the recordings of Saddam's voice are authentic, according to its chairman, Rep. Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, who would not go into detail about the nature of the conversations or their context. They were provided to his committee by a former federal prosecutor, John Loftus, who says he received them from a former American military intelligence analyst.
Mr. Loftus will make the recordings available to the public on February 17 at the annual meeting of the Intelligence Summit, of which he is president. On the organization's Web site, Mr. Loftus is quoted as promising that the recordings "will be able to provide a few definitive answers to some very important - and controversial - weapons of mass destruction questions." Contacted yesterday by The New York Sun, Mr. Loftus would only say that he delivered a CD of the recordings to a representative of the committee, and the following week the committee announced that it was reopening the investigation into weapons of mass destruction.
The audio recordings are part of new evidence the House intelligence committee is piecing together that has spurred Mr. Hoekstra to reopen the question of whether Iraq had the biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons American inspectors could not turn up. President Bush called off the hunt for those weapons last year and has conceded that America has yet to find evidence of the stockpiles.
Mr. Hoekstra has already met with a former Iraqi air force general, Georges Sada, who claims that Saddam used civilian airplanes to ferry chemical weapons to Syria in 2002. Mr. Hoekstra is now talking to Iraqis who Mr. Sada claims took part in the mission, and the congressman said the former air force general "should not just be discounted." Mr. Hoekstra also said he is in touch with other people who have come forward to the committee - Iraqis and Americans - who claim that the weapons inspectors may have overlooked other key sites and evidence. He has also asked the director of national intelligence, John Negroponte, to declassify some 35,000 boxes of Iraqi documents obtained in the war that have yet to be translated.
"I still believe there are key individuals who have not been debriefed and there are key sites that have never been investigated. I know there are 35,000 boxes of documents that have never been translated. I am frustrated," Mr. Hoekstra said.
He added, "Right now, it's not my job to investigate the specific claims. We are doing this a little with Sada. But we still don't fully understand what happened in Iraq three years after the invasion, three years after we control the country. There are enough people coming to the committee, Sada is not the only one, saying, 'you really ought to look under this rock.' This gives me cause to take up the issue again."
Mr. Hoekstra is one of many who believe the question of what happened to Saddam's weapons of mass destruction is still unresolved. Last week Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld voiced similar doubts at the National Press Club. "We have not found them. We also have found a number of things we didn't imagine. We found a bunch of jet airplanes buried in Iraq. Who buries airplanes? I mean, really. So I don't know what we'll find in the months and years ahead. It could be anything," he said.
The former chief of the State Department's Iraq Intelligence Unit, Wayne White, and Mr. Rumsfeld's former undersecretary of defense for policy, Douglas Feith, have told the Sun they believe the question of what happened to the weapons is still open. The former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Force, Moshe Ya'alon, told the Sun in December that he believed Saddam sent chemical weapons to Syria before the war in 2002. The last chief American weapons inspector, Charles Duelfer, said in the preamble to his final report that looting of sites may have severely weakened his team's ability to piece together a complete picture of Iraq's weapons program.
Mr. Hoekstra said he is not yet prepared to say President Bush was premature in calling off the hunt for the weapons last year, but conceded that his inquiries may lead him to that conclusion if some of the leads offered to his committee check out. He also said the White House has been supportive of his inquiry.
The chairman of the House intelligence panel said he is frustrated with the American intelligence community's lack of curiosity on following up these leads, particularly the story from Mr. Sada. "I talked to one person relatively high up in DNI, and I asked him about this and asked are they going to follow up, and he looked at me and said, 'No we don't think so.' At this point, I guess you guys don't get it.
"I am trying to find out if our postwar intelligence was as bad as our pre-war intelligence, " Mr. Hoekstra said.
Bill Tierney's Powerpoint Presentation at The Intelligence Summit can be found Here. (http://www.intelligencesummit.org/WMD/Tapes.ppt)
For anyone who could translate for IH, the original tapes in Arabic are here:
1 (http://www.intelligencesummit.org/WMD/3922.wmv)
2 (http://www.intelligencesummit.org/WMD/3978.wmv)
3 (http://www.intelligencesummit.org/WMD/3997.wmv)
4 (http://www.intelligencesummit.org/WMD/4244.mp3)
5 (http://www.intelligencesummit.org/WMD/4667.mp3)
6 (http://www.intelligencesummit.org/WMD/4923.mp3)
7 (http://www.intelligencesummit.org/WMD/5955.mp3)
8 (http://www.intelligencesummit.org/WMD/7379.mp3)
There is some controversy as to the accuracy of the ABC translation. (http://americanthinker.com/comments.php?comments_id=4493)
Here is the main point I want to make that may be shocking. Mr. Tierney may very well be the first person to listen to the entire tapes and recognize the value of them. I know it is hard to conceive, but without going into details, the linguists were generally not intelligence experts but were hired merely because they spoke Arabic. One linguist I worked with worked at a liquor store before coming to ISG and had no military or even state department experience. This is not to disparage them; they were great Americans for the most part.
The Iraqi WMDs and the Russians. (http://www.canadafreepress.com/2006/dastych022706.htm)
Secret agreements, signed between the Iraqi Intelligence and the Russian GRU, provided for a "clean up" operation, conducted by Russian and Iraqi military personnel, to remove some WMDs, materials for production, technical documentation etc. from Iraq, so that the Saddam regime could announce that Iraq was "WMD free". This operation began after the 1991 Gulf War and lasted until weeks before the outbreak of the 2nd war (March 19-20, 2003).
But it is even more interesting that the author received a report (from Israel), after the 2d Gulf War, stating that the Iraqi regime had purchased a large quantity of RM 20/20 and some Russian ADM’s (Atomic Demolition Munitions). As to the RM 20/20, it might be transferred to Libya or to Syria. But the ADMs were under Spetsnaz control, and certainly were withdrawn by Russians from Iraq before March 19-20, 2003.
Almost to the "last minute", before the Coalition invaded Saddam’s Iraq, the Russian Government tried to prevent the war and to stop the US-led attack on the Iraqi regime. The Russians could have blocked the United States, if the USG would put the final decision about the war into the hands of the members of the UN Security Council. But the USG decided to bypass the UN and strike first. President Vladimir Putin and the Russian military leaders decided to take preventive measures to avoid the blame in case the Coalition forces run into big depos of Russian-produced WMDs or components for their production, stored in Iraq. At the same time, saving their own face, they could accuse the Americans of "fabricating" WMD evidence as a "casus bellum".
The carefully planned Russian "cleaning up" operation was confided to the GRU (Military Intelligence), Spetsnaz (Special Troops) and Russian military and civilian logistic personnel in Iraq, under the command of two experienced ex-Soviet generals, Col.Gen. Vladislav Achalov and Col.Gen. Igor Maltsev, both retired and posing as civilian commercial consultants
Read the whole thing ...
Things could get interesting. (http://www.newsone.ca/westfallweeklynews/stories/index.php?action=fullnews&id=157232)
The Bush administration on Monday said it was preparing to release prewar Iraqi government material from a trove of documents and tape-recordings captured after the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq .
The office of U.S. intelligence chief John Negroponte decided in recent days to fund a review and release process for an estimated 48,000 boxes of documents and hundreds of recorded conversations, including many involving Saddam Hussein himself, officials said.
The material, removed from Iraq to Qatar, has already been reviewed by the CIA ‘s Iraq Survey Group and continues to be scrutinized for intelligence by the U.S. military, officials said.
But officials said Negroponte‘s Office of the Director of National Intelligence, or ODNI, is expected to move quickly to release as much of the material as possible.
"The ODNI is committed to expediting the review and release of the materials," a Negroponte spokeswoman said.
The news was greeted with enthusiasm by U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, who has strongly urged the administration to release the material.
He suggested some of the information could shed light on prewar U.S. intelligence reports that Saddam possessed weapons of mass destruction.
The WMD allegation provided President George W. Bush President George W. Bush with a central justification for the war in Iraq. But no such weapons have been found, and the Iraq Survey Group discovered no new evidence of WMD in its review of the prewar material.
"With so many questions about prewar Iraq unanswered, I‘m glad to see there is finally the sense of urgency to get this done," Hoekstra said in a statement.
Below is an unofficial translation of CMPC-2003-001488 (http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/documents-docex/Iraq/CMPC-2003-001488.pdf) posted on the Pentagon website ( Arabic only).
Text of the document in English translated from Arabic.
In the Name of God the Merciful
Presidency of the Republic
Intelligence Apparatus
To the respectful Mr. M.A.M
Subject: Information
Our source in Afghanistan No 11002 (for information about him see attachment 1) provided us with information that that Afghani Consul Ahmad Dahestani (for information about him see attachment 2) told him the following:
1. That Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban in Afghanistan are in contact with Iraq and it that previously a group from Taliban and Osama Bin Laden group visited Iraq.
2. That America has proof that the government of Iraq and Osama Bin Laden group have shown cooperation to hit target within America.
3. That in case it is proven the involvement of Osama Bin Laden group and the Taliban in these destructive operations it is possible that American will conduct strikes in Iraq and Afghanistan.
4. That the Afghani Consul heard about the subject of Iraq relation with Osama Bin Laden group during his stay in Iran.
5. In light of this we suggest to write to the Commission of the above information.
Please view… Yours… With regards
Signature:……, Initials : A.M.M, 15/9/2001
Foot note: Immediately send to the Chairman of Commission
Signature:………….
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f218/sono001/ArteJohnsonVerrrryInteresting.jpg
Since this translation is Unofficial (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1597459/posts?page=33#comment), it would be useful to get another translation from the membership ...
Declassified Truth (http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=20&issue=20060316)
The government is finally getting around to unloading some of Saddam Hussein's secret documents. A look at just a few pages already leads to some blockbuster revelations.
In the early stages of the war that began three years ago, the U.S. captured thousands of documents from Saddam and his spy agency, the Mukhabarat. It's been widely thought the documents could shed light on why Saddam behaved as he did and how much of a threat his evil regime represented.
Yet, until this week, the documents lay molding in boxes in a government warehouse. Now the first batch is out, and though few in number, they're loaded with information.
Among the enduring myths of those who oppose the war is that Saddam, though murderous when it came to his own people, had no weapons of mass destruction and no terrorist designs outside his own country. Both claims now lie in tatters.
Perhaps This (http://www.rogerlsimon.com/mt-archives/2006/03/does_pajamas_me.php) had something to do with the release of these documents ...
Since this translation is Unofficial (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1597459/posts?page=33#comment), it would be useful to get another translation from the membership ...
Omar from IraqTheModel blog provides his translation Here. (http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/translated%20document%20001.pdf)
From Rantburg:
Saddam's Philippines Terror Connection. (http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/011/990ieqmb.asp)
SADDAM HUSSEIN'S REGIME PROVIDED FINANCIAL support to Abu Sayyaf, the al Qaeda-linked jihadist group founded by Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law in the Philippines in the late 1990s, according to documents captured in postwar Iraq. An eight-page fax dated June 6, 2001, and sent from the Iraqi ambassador in Manila to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Baghdad, provides an update on Abu Sayyaf kidnappings and indicates that the Iraqi regime was providing the group with money to purchase weapons. The Iraqi regime suspended its support--temporarily, it seems--after high-profile kidnappings, including of Americans, focused international attention on the terrorist group.
The fax comes from the vast collection of documents recovered in postwar Afghanistan and Iraq. Up to this point, those materials have been kept from the American public. Now the proverbial dam has broken. On March 16, the U.S. government posted on the web 9 documents captured in Iraq, as well as 28 al Qaeda documents that had been released in February. Earlier last week, Foreign Affairs magazine published a lengthy article based on a review of 700 Iraqi documents by analysts with the Institute for Defense Analysis and the Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Virginia. Plans for the release of many more documents have been announced. And if the contents of the recently released materials and other documents obtained by The Weekly Standard are any indication, the discussion of the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq is about to get more interesting.
I should say so ...
Saddam's Tapes, WMD's, and the Osama Connection (http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=21711)
Transcript of an interview with Lt. Gen. ( Ret) Tom McInerney:
Some Excerpts -
McInereny: I just reviewed this additional release of documents. This release continues to confirm that Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda were in contact with Iraq intelligence for sanctuary, training, and plans for acts of terrorism against the US and in the US.
This just supports the 12 hours of tapes we heard of Saddam Hussein’s that discussed using proxies (Al Qaeda) to attack the US with WMD i.e. nuclear or biological.
And further -
FP: So the evidence appears to suggest the Russians moved the WMD’s out of Iraq, correct?
McInerney: Yes -- to three locations in Syria and one in Lebanon (Beka Valley) in the Sept – Dec 2002 time frame. This information was provided by Jack Shaw, the former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for international technology security. He charged that Saddam’s stockpiles of WMDs were moved by a Russian Spetznatz team headed by Yevgeny Primakov, the former Russian Intelligence Chief, who came to Iraq in December 2002 to supervise the final cleanup.
Mr. Shaw found this out through a meeting in London with the head of MI–6 (UK CIA), the Ukrainian Intelligence Chief and others in the summer of 2003. The Ukrainians were very close and supportive of the Russians at that time.
Besides translation, the major issue surrounding this potential treasure trove of info is: Authentication ... There's always a catch, isn't there?
No Connection?
Below is an admittedly unofficial translation of a part of ISGZ-2004-009247 (http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/documents-docex/Iraq/Released-20060320/ISGZ-2004-009247-original.pdf), clearly laying out a relationship between Saddam and Osama dating back to 1995.
Translation of Part of Page 1)
In the Name of God the Most Merciful and the Most Compassionate.
The Saudi Opposition and Achieving the Relation and Contact With Them
(Translation of part of Page 4)
2. The Comission of Reform and Advise
Lead by the Saudi Osama Bin Laden who belongs to a wealthy Saudi family with her roots go back to Hadramoot and connected strongly with the ruling family in Saudia, and he is one of the leaders of the Arab Afghan who volunteered for Jihad in Afghanistan, and after the expulsion of the Soviets he moved to stay in Sudan in the year 1992 after the arrival of the Islamists to power in Sudan.
And because of his stands against the Saudi Royal family because of the foreign presence inside it, the Saudi authorities made a decision to withdraw his Saudi citizenship, and we moved toward The Comission from our side and through the following:
Translation of page 5
A. During the visit of the Sudanese Dr. Abrahim Al Sanoosi to the country and his meeting with Mr. Uday Saddam Hussein on 13/12/1994 and with the presence of the respectful Sir the Director of the Apparatus he indicated that the opposition person Osama Bin Laden who is staying in Sudan and who was cautious and fears that he will be accused by his opponents that he became an agent for Iraq, is ready to meet with him in Sudan (The results of the meeting were written to the Honorable Presidency according to our letter 872 on 17/12/1994).
B. The approval of the Honorable Presidency was granted to meet with the opposition person Osama Bin Laden by the Apparatus according to letter 128 on 11/1/1995 (attachment 6) and the meting with him was completed by Mr. M.A ex-4th Directory in Sudan and with the presence of the Sudanese Dr. Abrahim AL Sanoosi on 19/2/1995 and a discussion occurred about his organization, and he requested the broadcasting of Sheikh Sleiman AL Awada (who has influence in Saudia and outside since he is a known and influential religious personality) and dedicate a program for them through the station directed inside the country and make joint operations against the forces of infidels in the land of Hijaz ( the Honorable Presidency has been notified with the details of the meeting according to our letter 370 in 4/3/1995 attachment 7).
Translation of page 6
C. The approval of Mr. President the Leader God protect him was granted to dedicate and program for them through the station directed and we leave to develop the relation and cooperation between the two sides what open in front of it in discussion and agreement through other cooperation doors. The Sudanese side was informed about the approval of the Honorable Presidency above through the representative of the respectful Sir the Director of the Apparatus our ambassador in Khartoom.
D. Due to the latest conditions in Sudan and accusing her harboring of supporting and harboring terrorism it was agreed with the opposition person the Saudi Osama Bin Laden to leave Sudan to another place where he left Khartoom in the month of July 1996 and the information indicate that he is Afghanistan at the present moment. There is stil relation with him through the Sudanese side and we work in the present moment to activate this relation with him through a new channel in light of the current place where he stays.
ISGQ 2004-00224003 (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1603696/posts): Partial translation ( unofficial)
The Republic of Iraq
The Intelligence Apparatus
Date: 7/2/2001
No 1687
In the Name of God the Merciful the Most Compassionate
Secret
To the respectful Mr. Director of the Fourth Directory
Your letter secret and immediate numbered B 264 on 2/4/2001
1. No information is available to us about the Mass Graves in the Southern Region.
2.We see to achieve the observation the following matters:
A. Inspect the graves to confirm the existence of Nuclear Radiations.
B. Were they buried alive or their death was by suffocation.
C. Are they military personnel or civilians.
D. Are there tombstones that carry the names of the martyrs
E. Identify accurate marks and proofs of the graves and the possibility to reach it quickly and identify it.
3. We do not agree that the declaration about it through a direct Iraqi media in the first stage at least and not to cause public and party reaction so that the subject will take as a priority an international interest, and we should work on the following direction during this stage:
A. Leak the news through reliable sources.. News agencies or Satellite stations.. and that there is confusion, and indications from the members of the Coalition forces about the existence of mass graves civilians and military personnel in the South of Iraq.
B. The attempt to search for soldiers from the Coalition forces in a serious way to mention these truth through the agencies.
(1-3)
C. Ask some of the friendly countries with good technology to find these graves and for sure it will be asked from some news agencies in these countries to humanly participate in this effort and in case it is discovered there will be media reactions internationally and foreign and this media must be given a big space to repeat it and leak it to take its natural form of influence on the countries that made this bad deed and give it to the international general opinion.
D. Not to dig these grave by the Iraqi side… and it is possible to make a dialogue with the CNN channel to give them a priority on this subject to have an influence over the international arena and it will be accepted more than the Iraqi media.
So Saddam's Iraq viewed CNN as an ally?
ISGZ-2004-028179 (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1603917/posts):
Partial translation ( unofficial)
In the Name of God the Most Compassionate The Most Merciful
The Republic of Iraq
The Intelligence Apparatus
The respectful Mr Director of the Apparatus
Subject: The Frenchman Le Floch and the German Dieter Holzer
In the date of 10/1/2003 the two mentioned above arrived to the country in visit for two days only and they did during their stay with the following activities:
1. They met with the deputy of the Industry and minerals ministry and they spoke with him about the possibility of building the non working factories since the year 1991 and provide the country with the spare parts that the ministry needs in the domain of industry.
2. They met with Mr. Ghazi Faysal the chairman of the department First Political Department in the foreign ministry and they spoke with him about the following subjects:
A. The German Holtzer confirmed that Chancellor Shroeder does not like the Leader President but he still oppose the war and it is because of his stand on this he won the latest elections and in case his stand changes this will lead to his loss of the Chancellery and that he hot replacement is ready to win the position and he is the economy minister the German Clement from the ruling Socialist German Party.
B. He mentioned that a meeting in Beijing in the beginning of this month was held between the Prime minister of China and the German Chancellor Schroeder in the occasion of the opening project for the fast train and the latter was asked about the information that was obtained by the Chinese intelligence and it says that Iraq has moved his mass of destruction weapon to Syria and the German Chancellor told him that the German intelligence did not indicate this. And after two days the US state secretary went to Damascus to check on this with the Syrian government that in turn denied this news..
C. He suggested the idea of bringing the Pope John Paul II to visit the country because this visit cause Bush Junior to lose his balance and that he has good relation with the originally German (Ratzinger) in the Vatican and that the latter has influence has influence through waving the card of the financial support that Germany give to the Vatican and it is estimated to be (around 6 billions dollars yearly).
D. He indicated that Chirac became a honorary President of Europe not through elections but through popularity since most of the countries of Europe oppose the war but this man is not courageous and he needs the support of Iraq and for example present what proves that his weapons of mass destruction were destroyed.
C. He express the readiness of French and German companies to execute projects in Iraq as long as the necessary moneys are guaranteed to execute these projects because its revenue decreased lately due the decrease of oil exports.
3.In our meeting with the German Holzer he spoke about the following subjects:
A. He was shown a secret report prepared by the French Army Chief of Staff who presented to Jacques Chirac warning him of the losses that the French troops suffered in Spain and Germany during Napoleon campaigns because the participation of France in the possible war against Iraq will let her suffer huge human losses because it is impossible getting the Iraqi President by aerial bombing and that the entering in street fights will be a disaster for them
B. He intend to buy a residential house in Baghdad under the name of his wife where as his wife is Palestinian and that he visited one of the houses in Arsat and he paid the house own (150) 150 thousand dollars but the latter asked for 300 thousand dollars.
4. Opinion:
A. There phone has been wiretapped for surveillance and they were followed and also the there was phone wiretap of the Syrian Jamal Saba for surveillance because they vist him and to control their relations and we will show the results later.
B. The Paris station informed us that they were coming to the country to prepare for a visit by the ex-German economy minister with a delegation of German companies to the country for commercial purposes and their visit to the country was shortened because this is not the first time we have doubts about their real intentions toward the country.
C. We prpose to continue in following them inside the country and direct the Paris station with the necessity to put them under an operation of check up and verification and observe their connections.
For your review Yours… with regards
The Assistant for the Director of Intelligence
23/1/2003
Government turns Iraq documents over to Bloggers. (http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/technology/8298354/detail.html)
"Let's unleash the power of the Internet on these documents," said House Intelligence Chairman Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich. "I don't know if there's a smoking gun on WMD or not. But it will give us a better understanding of what was going on in Iraq before the war."
Hoekstra said it took months of arguing with intelligence officials before he and John Negroponte, the new Director of National Intelligence, agreed to make the documents public. None contain current information about the Iraqi insurgency, and U.S. intelligence officials say they are focusing their limited resources on learning about what's happening on the ground now.
There are up to 55,000 boxes, with possibly millions of pages. The documents are being posted a few at a time -- so far, about 600 -- on a Pentagon Web site, often in Arabic with an English summary.
Regardless of what they reveal, open-government advocates like the decision to make them available.
It's a "radical notion," said Steve Aftergood at the Federation of American Scientists government secrecy project, which tracks work by U.S. intelligence agencies. That "members of the public could contribute to the intelligence analysis process. ... That is a bold innovation."
An Army of Translators indeed ...
How to be Incognito in Afghanistan. (http://rayrobison.typepad.com/ray_robison/2006/03/iraqi_memo_abou.html)
This whole 7 pages document 2RAD-2004-600760-ELC reads like intelligence instructions to a group of Arabs (including women and children) living in Afghanistan and specifically Kandahar.(sounds like a delegation!)
3) Kandahar was the capital of the Taliban regime. It is mentioned 3 times in the document (twice in page 3 and once in page 7)
4) The Arabs are called “brothers” in the documents. This is a typical way of calling between islamists.
5) This group of Arabs is running “hosting places” (as per translation) that look more like safe houses for other Arabs. Moreover they are instructed to hide their arab identity and to look like Afghanis.
6) Even though Afghanistan was teeming with boasting Arab volunteers the instructions given to the “brothers” is to keep a very low profile and they are told to behave as if enemies would strike at any moment.
6) They are running some kind of “work” with multiple intelligence precaution instructions.
7) It could be that the Iraqi intelligence Service has established a secret base in Kandahar (and other cities) under the cover of families. I am saying “has established” because anybody reading arabic can tell from the first sentence of the paragraph of “Public meetings security” (page 7) that the “brothers” are already present in Kandahar:” Al Maoujoudin Fi Kandahar”. Therefore this document is targeting people already in Afghanistan and not people that would probably go there.
Russian Intelligence, Belarus & Highway 11
The 1990-2003 War Against Saddam has millions of untold stories. Perhaps one of the most important happened at the onset of the invasion. On the evening of March 22 there are several reports that Russians were witness to an American airborne assault near the Syrian/Jordanian/Iraq border, on or near Highway 11, and in the vicinity of Akashat. Allegedly American airborne troops and/or Special Forces were trying to seize some of Saddam’s WMD on its way into Syria. They were detected by Iraqi forces, surrounded, and as many as 30 were killed or captured. Forces from Jordan were sent to provide air support and rescue for the survivors.
There are no reports of this incident in the mainstream media, but Russian intelligence reports that were remarkably published on the internet during the invasion were generally close to the mark in accuracy (albeit embellished with a distinct political slant), and the Department of Defense has affirmed that the reports do seem credible and accurate-particularly the ones that reference radio intercepts. This report of the border incident stems from such radio intercepts. It's also echoed in Yossef Bodansky's book, The Secret History of the Iraq War, and he cites several Russian eyewitnesses as well.
That the casualties are not listed in the DoD's casualty list is not unusual since the words "Ranger" and "Green Beret" are missing from that list entirely. It seems Special Forces casualties are not generally reported in the same manner as conventional forces. If true, the presence of American forces captured and taken into Syria perhaps might be one of the reasons why more pressure hasn't been exerted on the Assad Regime.
In any event, on March 24th President Bush called Russian President Vladamir Putin and there can be no doubt that the issue of Russian support for Saddam's regime was discussed. That the phone call (widely reported by the press at the time) came immediately in the wake of the border incident is interesting and poignant.
More... (http://www.therant.us/guest/pender/04052006.htm) Read the whole thing.
Another translation from jveritas -
March 2001 Document: Saddam Regime Recruits Suicide Terrorists to Hit US Interests (Translation)
Beginning of the translation of page 6 from document BIAP 2003-000654
In the Name of God the Merciful The Compassionate
Top Secret
The Command of Ali Bin Abi Taleb Air Force Base
No 3/6/104
Date 11 March 2001
To all the Units
Subject: Volunteer for Suicide Mission
The top secret letter 2205 of the Military Branch of Al Qadisya on 4/3/2001 announced by the top secret letter 246 from the Command of the military sector of Zi Kar on 8/3/2001 announced to us by the top secret letter 154 from the Command of Ali Military Division on 10/3/2001 we ask to provide that Division with the names of those who desire to volunteer for Suicide Mission to liberate Palestine and to strike American Interests and according what is shown below to please review and inform us.
Air Brigadier General
Abdel Magid Hammot Ali
Commander of Ali Bin Abi Taleb Air Force Base
Air Colonel
Mohamad Majed Mohamadi.
End of translation of page 6
More Damning Documents (http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=20&artnum=1&issue=20060407) on Saddam.
Though little noticed by the press, during a July 2004 visit to Kazakhstan the Russian president said that between 9-11 and the U.S. invasion of Iraq, "Russian special services and Russian intelligence several times received . . . information that official organs of Saddam's regime were preparing terrorist acts on the territory of the U.S. and beyond its borders, at U.S. military and civilian locations."
This new document, said Darling, "would seem to refute a long-standing contention among members of the U.S. intelligence community that Iraq ceased its involvement in international terrorism after its failed 1993 plot to assassinate former President George H.W. Bush." Darling cites former National Security Council official Richard Clarke's book "Against all Enemies," which contends that the NSC, the CIA and the FBI all agreed Iraq posed no terrorist threat to the U.S.
Equally embarrassing to our spies is another newly released document from 1999 detailing plans for a "Blessed July" operation.
According to the English translation on the Foreign Military Studies Office's Joint Reserve Intelligence Center Web site, Saddam's older son Uday ordered 50 members of the fanatical "Fedayeen Saddam" group to stage bombings and assassinations in Iraq and Europe — including London, where 10 people were assigned.
There's more but wait ... isn't this leaking?
Another translation from jveritas -
March 2001 Document: Saddam Regime Recruits Suicide Terrorists to Hit US Interests (Translation)
Saddam Targeted American Assets For Terrorism: Case Closed: Bumped (http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/006710.php)
The Timing of the Iraq Airforce Memo (http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/006711.php)
CMPC-2003-00013038 (http://70.169.163.24/released/04-06-06/CMPC-2003-00013038.pdf)
Translation by JVeritas
Beginning of Translation of Page 107:
Subject: Pledge
I am the signatory below, I pledge not to store any information related to the Prohibited Weapons on any computer that we have installed and evacuate the related numbered magnetic discs to outside the location. And for this I sign
Signature
Name: Issam Shaker
Position: Director of Administration in the Fourth Directory
Directory: The Forth Directory
Date: 26/3/1997
End of translation of Page 107
In the document, there are many letters with the same text as in page 107 signed by other employees of the Iraqi intelligence service.
Beginning of the Translation of Page 115:
A visit was made to the Computer Center of the Third Directory Storage and search it and inform the person who is directly in charge of it to remove all the information related to the Prohibited Matters and what is related to the committees of inspection and industrialization and that he will be held responsible for this.
Signature
29/3/1997
End of translation of Page 115
In the document, there are many letters with the same text as in page 115 that inform different departments in the Iraqi intelligence service to remove all the information related to WMD.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1611976/posts
CMPC-2003-002284 (http://70.169.163.24/released/04-04-09/%20CMPC-2003-002284.pdf)
by JVeritas
Partial translations of Pages 63 and 64.
Secret and Confidential
Committee Meeting
16/9/1998
Following the meetings of the committee formed per the Presidential-Secretary order numbered 1392 on 11/8/1998, and the committee achieved its meeting on 16/9/1998 and below is the most important of what the meeting included:
1. Review the previous meeting and what was achieved from measures related to the documents that were obtained… Where the documents that does not have a reason to exist (became no value) were destroyed and keeping the portion (in safe place) that the committee believe that its needs will be revealed in the future… and the task was done under very tight and very detailed security measures and that operation lasted (7) seven continuous days.
2. Through the meetings of the committee with a number of the specialized staff that worked previously in the Prohibited Programs (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical, and Rockets) the following was found:
A. There are still a number of different documents with the Senior Staff that worked on the previous Prohibited Programs. The committee with continue to verify the non existence of any Special Document with the concerned people.
B. It was clear that there is another branch committee from the Industrial Committee headead by Dr. Mahdi Shakr Ghali that currently evaluate the Researches That Cannot Be Declared (Researches with relation to the previous Prohibited Programs) through presenting the Specialized Staff that ask to evaluate its researches, to conclusion related to these researches. This is an important subject and it is dangerous in case these information are leaked one way or another. We suggest that one of the specialized in our committee represented in that committee or these researches will be presented to our committee before approving it.
Signature… General, Engineer Hoosam Ahmad Amin Committee Chairman 16/9/1998
Signature… Mr. Moothana Mohamada Ahmed The Representative of the Intelligence Apparatus
Signature… Mr. Maatook Abel Al Satar The Representative of the Atomic Energy Organization.
Yet another document that proves without any doubt that Saddam Regime never stopped working in his WMD programs and Research and they were just waiting for the opportune moment to produce these WMD again on a large scale. Also remember that in September 1998 the UN inspectors were still in Iraq and they were kicked later on that year after some US air and missile strikes. So most definitely these Secret Research Programs related to WMD were still in existence and may have reached a more advanced stage from late 1998 to late 2002 where during this period of time there were no UN inspectors in Iraq.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1613509/posts
Melanie Phillips interviews George Sada: Saddam's Secrets. (http://www.melaniephillips.com/diary/archives/001665.html)
But in Britain, I say, people now firmly believe that there were no WMD and that we were taken to war on a lie. Sada looks utterly flabbergasted. ‘How can they possibly think that?’ he asks in bewilderment and anger, and puts his head in his hands.
Read the whole thing.
CMPC-2003-002284 (http://70.169.163.24/released/04-10-06/CMPC-2003-002284.pdf)
by jveritas, freerepublic.com
Memos in document CMPC-2003-002284 that are dated in June and August 2002 present another great evidence of Saddam Regime deceptions to hide his WMD programs and this time by destroying the WMD files or hiding them in a secure location. Saddam knew that summer that the UN inspectors are coming back to Iraq so he ordered these actions hoping that he will fool them ...
Translation of Page 3
In the Name of God the Merciful The Compassionate
Subject: Destruction
On Friday that coincides on 23/8/2002 were destroyed the primary archives for the Atomic Energy Commission according to the instructions issued regarding this and it was destroyed (burned) in the outside warehouses and it was carried on Compact Discs and the destruction operation was achieved by the presence of:
1. Mr. Director of Energy Security- Mr. Saher Nassif Jasem
2. The Representative of the National Monitoring Department; General Kamal Abed Mohamad
3. Mr. The Director of the Disarmament Section- Mr. Maatook Abed Al Satar
4. Mr. Director of Monitoring Section in the Organization- Mr. Hani Hassan Ahmad
And according to this the document was signed (Remark: The remaining of the documents that are related to the purchasing of the Nuclear Program and that is 22 steel boxes will be received from the Monitoring Department to be dealt with)
Signatures…
Mr. Hani Hassan Ahmad, General Kamal Abed Mohamad, Mr. Maatook Abed Al Satar; Mr. Saher Nassif Jasem 23/8/2002
23/8/2002.
End of Translation of Page 3
Now on 4 you see a memo about the transfer of Top Secret and Very Important WMD documents from the Iraqi National Monitoring Agency (the agency that is supposed to discuss and report Iraq WMD issues with the UN) to more secure locations where it will be harder for the UN inspectors to find it.
Translation of page 4
Subject: Receiving documents
The documents preserved by the National Monitoring Department were accounted for and received by Mr. Ayad Kihtan Talab, the representative of The Military Industrial Security Agency and its details are shown in the attached tables and its numbers (12) are twelve pages and in (9) nine cardboard boxes
The Representative of the National Monitoring Department.. Signature… General Kamal Abed Mohamad 17/6/2002
The Representative of the Intelligence Apparatus.. Signature… Hamood Awde Salem 17/6/2002
The Representative of the Industrial Military Security.. Signature.. Ayad Kihtan Talab 17/6/2002.
End of translation of page 4
Now page 6 and 7 are two of the 12 pages of documents list shown above it and refers to a “Very Important file about Chemical Equipments” and “Special Equipement”.
Beginning of partial translation of Page 6
Box number 4 (Chemical-K)
1. Document folder of the Air Force Equipment in the Glorified Qadisya Saddam, correspondences regarding the Chemical Equipments (all assembled in a Red folder mark on it Very Important) 16. File regarding the examination of the Special Equipment
End of partial translation of page 6 and 7.
Special Equipment are designated by the Iraqi as Chemical Weapons and it is the same term they used in the already translated document when they attacked the Kurds with Chemical Weapons (Special Equipment or Special Ammunition) back in 1987.
Memos in document CMPC-2003-002284 that are dated in June and August 2002 present another great evidence of Saddam Regime deceptions to hide his WMD programs and this time by destroying the WMD files or hiding them in a secure location. Saddam knew that summer that the UN inspectors are coming back to Iraq so he ordered these actions hoping that he will fool them ...
ISGP-2003-0001498 (http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/documents-docex/Iraq/Released-20060317/ISGP-2003-00001498.pdf)
Beginning of partial translation of Pages 85-96 in document ISGP-2003-0001498
In the Name of God the Merciful The Compassionate
Top Secret
Ministry Of Defense
Chairmanship of the Army Staff
Al Mira Department
No. 4/17/ammunition/249
Date 16 March 2003
To: The Command of the Western Region
Subject: Transfer of Ammunitions
The secret and immediate letter of the Chairmanship of the Army Staff 4/17/308 on 10 March 2003
1. The approval of the Army Chief of Staff was obtained to transfer THE SPECIAL AMMUNITIONS in the ammunition depots group of Najaf and according to the following priorities:
A. The first priority
First. Ammunition (122 mm)
Second. Ammunition (130 mm)
Third. Ammunition (155 mm)
To the depots and storage of the Second Corp and the two ammunition depot groups Dijla/2/3
B. Second priority.
First. Ammunition (23 mm)
Second. Ammunition (14.5 mm)
To the ammunition depots of the air defense and distributed to the ammunition depot groups in (Al Mussayeb- Al Sobra- Saad).
2. To execute the order of the Chief Army Staff indicated in section (1) above, we relate the following:
A. Duty
Transfer of the ammunitions shown in sections (A) and (B) from the ammunitions depots of Najaf to the ammunition depots in (Dijla 2/3, and Al Mansor, and Saad, and Al Mussayeb, and Sobra and Blad Roz and Amar Weys from March 16 till April 14 2003.
Signature…
General Rasheed Abdallah Sultan
Assistant to the Army Chief of Staff- Al Mira
March 2003
End of Partial translation
The remaining pages of this 9 pages top secret memo talk about getting the special vehicles to transfer the SPECIAL AMMUNITION and the people assigned to supervise and execute the transfer and they were top Iraqi Army and Military Intelligence officers.
SPECIAL AMMUNITION was used by Saddam Regime to designate CHEMICAL WEAPONS as another translated document has already shown. For example in document CMPC 2004-002219 where Saddam regime decided to use “CHEMICAL WEAPONS against the Kurds” they used the term “SPECIAL AMMUNITION” for chemical weapons. What is also interesting is that these “SPECIAL AMMUNITION” were listed as 122 mm, 130 mm, and 155 mm caliber shells which are not by itself SPECIAL unless it contain CHEMICAL WEAPONS. In fact the Iraqi have always used 122 mm, 130 mm, and 155 mm caliber shell as a main delivery tool for Chemical Weapons Agents by filling these type of shells with Nerve Gas, Sarin, Racin, Mustard gas and other Chemical Agents.
Translation and comment from jveritas
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1616468/posts
From Bill Tierney:
Excerpts of Saddam Tapes - translations posted Here (http://www.intelligencesummit.org/IRCG-2003-M0003997withcomments.htm) and Here. (http://www.intelligencesummit.org/saddamtapeexcerptstierney.php)
Simon666
04-20-2006, 09:14 AM
SPECIAL AMMUNITION was used by Saddam Regime to designate CHEMICAL WEAPONS as another translated document has already shown. For example in document CMPC 2004-002219 where Saddam regime decided to use “CHEMICAL WEAPONS against the Kurds” they used the term “SPECIAL AMMUNITION” for chemical weapons. What is also interesting is that these “SPECIAL AMMUNITION” were listed as 122 mm, 130 mm, and 155 mm caliber shells which are not by itself SPECIAL unless it contain CHEMICAL WEAPONS. In fact the Iraqi have always used 122 mm, 130 mm, and 155 mm caliber shell as a main delivery tool for Chemical Weapons Agents by filling these type of shells with Nerve Gas, Sarin, Racin, Mustard gas and other Chemical Agents.
You see that 14.5 mm and 23 mm shells are also listed, albeit second priority. What makes these special exactly? Why would the Iraqis fire WMD at enemy fighter aircraft? And bullets containing chemicals? No, I don’t think so. A more logical explanation would be that this "special" ammunition was reserved for a state of emergency, such as an impending invasion.
You see that 14.5 mm and 23 mm shells are also listed, albeit second priority. What makes these special exactly? Why would the Iraqis fire WMD at enemy fighter aircraft? And bullets containing chemicals? No, I don’t think so. A more logical explanation would be that this "special" ammunition was reserved for a state of emergency, such as an impending invasion.
You've raised a good question asked by others ... I'll see what I can dig up for you.
Update:
Here's what I found so far:
UPDATE: Reader Bill Wiese is skeptical:
14.5mm is for machine guns (mainly) and 23mm is for anti-aircraft guns (mainly). What's special about them? Nothing. And yet, they get the "special" tag as well in the memo.
Good question, but hardly dispositive. Clearly there was something "special" about this ammunition; if it wasn't WMD, what was it? It wouldn't take an order from the Army Chief of Staff or "special" vehicles to move ordinary machine gun ammunition, nor would such a routine supply issue be the subject of a top secret memo.
I don't know whether shells as small as 14.5 mm or 23 mm can be used for delivery of WMD; do any of our readers? And, if that seems unlikely, can anyone suggest an alternative reason why these shells were "special"?
FURTHER UPDATE: We've gotten lots of reader responses. The consensus is that small caliber shells couldn't be used for WMD delivery per se for what, I guess, are obvious reasons. Some readers, though, think it's plausible that the Iraqis might have added a dash of poison to make such ammunition more deadly. (One reader reminds us that the Symbionese Liberation Army used bullets poisoned with cyanide when it assassinated the Oakland School Superintendent.) Or, as to the smaller caliber ammunition, "special" may have referred to some other quality, such as armor-piercing.
On the broader question of the memo's significance, Steve Hayes, who knows as much about this subject as anyone, writes:
Interesting. I hadn't seen it. I find generally persuasive the narrative laid out by LTC Kevin Woods, et. al. in the Iraqi Perspectives Project. Their thesis is, basically, that Saddam Hussein didn't have what we thought he had because he didn't have what HE thought he had. In mid-December 2002, according to their narrative, SH tells top regime officials that he doesn't have large quantities of WMD.
I don't know whether the Army Chief of Staff was among the senior regime officials who were told that the WMD was gone. If he wasn't, it could be that these are genuine orders, contained in an authentic
document, for materials that simply weren't available to them. The document certainly seems to suggest that the author believed that they had them on March 16, 2003.
That said, it's certainly possible that he (or his subordinates) retained some small capability in the chemical area. I think that's the reason that the ISG quite deliberately left open the possibility that some materials could have been transferred to Syria or elsewhere.
I'm not sure where the recent revelations about Naji Sabri fit into this picture. Sabri, the former Iraqi foreign minister, apparently told the CIA (through the French) in January 2003 that Iraq had retained some chemical capability but that the weapons were no longer under military control.
http://powerlineblog.com/archives/013790.php#013790
Received this from jveritas ...
These two small calibers ammunitions were considered by the document as "SECOND PRIORITY" so it may not be special, but the heavier caliber ammunitions 122 mm, 130 mm, 155 mm, were considered FIRST PRIORTIY and these are the ones that will be considered SPECIAL AMMUNITION because they are used to be filled with Chemical Agents.
Simon666
04-21-2006, 08:11 AM
These two small calibers ammunitions were considered by the document as "SECOND PRIORITY" so it may not be special, but the heavier caliber ammunitions 122 mm, 130 mm, 155 mm, were considered FIRST PRIORTIY and these are the ones that will be considered SPECIAL AMMUNITION because they are used to be filled with Chemical Agents.
Rather "could be filled with".
Document ISGQ-2004-00060580 (http://70.169.163.24/released/03-17-06/ISGQ-2004-00060580.pdf)
translation by jveritas
In the Name of God the Most Merciful The Most Compassionate
Republic Of Iraq
Directorate of the General Military Intelligence
No 9/39/1/
Date: 4 April 2003
Secret
To: The 8th Directorate
Subject: Order
The secret and urgent letter of the Presidential Secretariat K-1997 on 29/3/2003 including… The order of The President The Leader to the armed forces God protects him and according to the following:
The Volunteers Arab Feedayeen will be treated the treatment of the solider in the army (Special Forces) regarding the salary and benefits.
Please review and take what is necessary.
Signature
Staff General
Director of the General Military Intelligence
April 2003
End of the Translation
So who were these Arab Fedayeen? More to follow ...
Interesting report based on German sources. (http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EB05Ak02.html)
Over the years, well over half of the precursor materials and a majority of the tools and know-how for their conversion into weapons were sold to Iraq by German firms - both prior to and after the 1991 Gulf War. The BND has the details.
In the summer of 1994, the BND conducted a major study to estimate the magnitude of the - as at that time - still undeclared and concealed Iraqi WMD arsenal, relying on sales records in its possession of post-Gulf War German, Austrian, and Swiss exports of technologies, sub-systems and strategic materials to Iraq. It concluded that these exports pointed to several specific weapons programs, ranging from ballistic missile upgrades to poison gas manufacture, which Iraq had not declared and UN inspectors were unaware of and hence, not surprisingly, had failed to discover. While the magnitude of the current (1994) Iraqi weapons program "is difficult to assess", said the BND, there is no doubt that "some of the material and equipment" has eluded discovery and certain projects "are being revived and run clandestinely".
In February 2001, the BND compiled a further report and intelligence chief August Hanning told Spiegel magazine that, "Since the end of the UN inspections [December 1998], we have determined a jump in procurement efforts by Iraq," adding that Saddam was rebuilding destroyed weapons facilities "partly based on the German industrial standard".
According to the report:
# Iraq has resumed its nuclear program and may be capable of producing an atomic bomb in three years;
# Iraq is developing its Al Samoud and Ababil 100/Al Fatah short-range rockets, which can deliver a 300kg payload 150km. Medium-range rockets capable of carrying a warhead 3,000km could be built by 2005 - far enough to reach Europe;
# Iraq is capable of manufacturing solid rocket fuel;
# A Delhi-based company, blacklisted by the German government because of its alleged role in weapons proliferation, has acted as a buyer on Iraq's behalf. Deliveries have been made via Malaysia and Dubai. Indian companies have copied German machine tools down to the smallest detail and such equipment has been installed in numerous chemicals projects. [Note that such Indian cooperation with Iraq is something of a tradition: during the Iran-Iraq war India delivered precursors for warfare agents to Iraq - and later was found to have delivered quantities of the same materials to Iran. Baghdad's middleman at the time, an Iraqi with a German passport, founded a company in Singapore expressly for this purpose.]
# Since the departure of the UN inspectors, the number of Iraqi sites involved in chemicals production has increased from 20 to 80. Of that total, a quarter could be involved in weapons production.
More ...
Testimony of former Iraqi General Ali Ibrahim Al-Tikriti’ (http://worldthreats.com/AliFilm.wmv)
As far as the weapons inspections were concerned we devised very lucrative measures to hide our ongoing nuclear projects. For instance we were under strict orders to destroy all materials, memos, and reports pertaining to such projects. Immediately after completion of the orders, we were also given orders at random to abandon nuclear facilities and sites where nuclear, chemical, or biological research was being conducted and to move them to future facilities that were not known about until the materials were ready for transport. Many of the workers used for such transport were immediately purged as to leave few witnesses.
As for foreign involvement in our programs, much of this can be attributed to the Russian Federation. Moscow directed many programs around the world, Iraq being one of them where chemical weapons and scientists were sent to further develop unconventional munitions. Contingency plans were developed though, in the event that the host nation was compromised, as in the case of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Spetsnaz forces were sent to retrieve the munitions as well as any materials related to Russian involvement. These programs were designed to build stronger relations with countries that were discordant with the west.
Simon666
05-11-2006, 09:20 AM
Testimony of former Iraqi General Ali Ibrahim Al-Tikriti’ (http://worldthreats.com/AliFilm.wmv)
Well, he sure is identifyable. Anyone can make that claim.
Simon666
05-11-2006, 09:23 AM
Upon checking up on this figure, apparently the guy defected BEFORE 1991. His claims are pure bunk. :add09:
More on the Butcher of Basra Here. (http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=20043)
Simon, any background on Sam Pender? (http://www.therant.us/guest/pender/04052006.htm)
Simon666
05-11-2006, 10:03 AM
More on the Butcher of Basra Here. (http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=20043)
In short, he couldn't possibly know since he defected before the Gulf War, before it even remotely looked like Iraq was ever going to have to deal with UN inspectors and would have to go into hiding its WMD.
Simon, any background on Sam Pender?
Writes good fiction.
In short, he couldn't possibly know since he defected before the Gulf War, before it even remotely looked like Iraq was ever going to have to deal with UN inspectors and would have to go into hiding its WMD.
Writes good fiction.
I've written Pender - asking for sourcing ... if and when I get a reply, will post here. I will say that Gen. Sada corroborates some of this stuff. Of course he's also selling a book ...
Simon666
05-11-2006, 10:25 AM
Allegedly American airborne troops and/or Special Forces were trying to seize some of Saddam’s WMD on its way into Syria. They were detected by Iraqi forces, surrounded, and as many as 30 were killed or captured. Forces from Jordan were sent to provide air support and rescue for the survivors.
There are no reports of this incident in the mainstream media, but Russian intelligence reports that were remarkably published on the internet during the invasion were generally close to the mark in accuracy (albeit embellished with a distinct political slant), and the Department of Defense has affirmed that the reports do seem credible and accurate-particularly the ones that reference radio intercepts. This report of the border incident stems from such radio intercepts. It's also echoed in Yossef Bodansky's book, The Secret History of the Iraq War, and he cites several Russian eyewitnesses as well.
That the casualties are not listed in the DoD's casualty list is not unusual since the words "Ranger" and "Green Beret" are missing from that list entirely. It seems Special Forces casualties are not generally reported in the same manner as conventional forces. If true, the presence of American forces captured and taken into Syria perhaps might be one of the reasons why more pressure hasn't been exerted on the Assad Regime.
So now there are 30 KIA or MIA missing and Americans might be held captive in Syria without the US even mentioning a word about it. Sure. Holding Americans captive has always led to administrations exerting LESS pressure on the governments doing that. :rolleyes:
The exodus from Iraq to Syria by Saddam's allies and the highest ranking members of Saddam's regime didn't end on April 9th, but it was fully brought to the attention of the world when American Special Forces intercepted a Russian convoy headed into Syria. The Russians said that the convoy was on a diplomatic mission following a convoy that carried Primakov himself. To this day no one knows for sure. Some reports claim that Primakov's convoy carried Russian WMD people, documents, and equipment that could not be left to fall into the hands of the Coalition.
Kind of difficult to fill all those people plus documents plus all of Iraq's WMD equipment in just eight ordinary vehicles, which were on top of that seen up close and personal by Australian SAS troops, including confirming the identification of those in it. :D
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/04/08/1049567671101.html
On March 29 and 30, Saddam contacted Belarus. The former Soviet Republic had been one of many that offered Saddam exile in the days just prior to the war. Instead of accepting the offer, Saddam had a Belarusian IL-76 transport plane flown to Baghdad, allegedly loaded with "sensitive cargo" and immediately flown back to Belarus.
Slight problem, the war began on March 20. We are to believe that with American total air superiority, a plane managed to slip through the best the US Navy and Airforce have to offer. :rolleyes:
On April 5th, CENTCOM reported spotting a large column of Iraqi vehicles, and braced for a possible counterattack. Rather than race south to certain defeat and death, the column slipped into Syria.
Again, not bloody likely with US troops already entering Baghdad at the time. :rolleyes:
Simon666
05-11-2006, 10:30 AM
I've written Pender - asking for sourcing ... if and when I get a reply, will post here. I will say that Gen. Sada corroborates some of this stuff. Of course he's also selling a book ...
And General Sada has no evidence for his claims either and has never named his sources, unidentified Iraqi pilots who never spoke up themselves. I don't know what his current job is, but Sada used to be spokesperson for Iyad Allawi and hence well versed in telling the press nice stories that the right likes to hear.
And General Sada has no evidence for his claims either and has never named his sources, unidentified Iraqi pilots who never spoke up themselves. I don't know what his current job is, but Sada used to be spokesperson for Iyad Allawi and hence well versed in telling the press nice stories that the right likes to hear.
At least One Skeptic (http://www.exposetheleft.com/2006/03/22/georges-sada-thedailyshow/) was somewhat convinced by Gen. Sada's sincerity.
Simon666
05-11-2006, 12:03 PM
At least One Skeptic (http://www.exposetheleft.com/2006/03/22/georges-sada-thedailyshow/) was somewhat convinced by Gen. Sada's sincerity.
Considering the location and condition of Iraq's airforce (http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_247.shtml), not bloody likely. And what do you expect from a website called "expose the left" but to be convinced of whatever this man puts forward. This man was further only a two star general and never "the number two in the airforce".
The video, however, was of Jon Stewart's interview ... not exactly a Bushbot. We are still left with this quote from David Kay: “We know from some of the interrogations of former Iraqi officials that a lot of material went to Syria before the war, including some components of Saddam’s WMD program.” Close quote? [David Kay, “quoted” by Con Coughlin, in “Saddam’s WMD hidden in Syria, says Iraq survey chief”
It's true that what was in those trucks, etc headed across the Syrian border is a matter for conjecture. However, Saddam's Iraq declared a certain amount of material at the end of the Gulf War and could only account for a fraction of it. Perhaps it all evaporated in the heat of the desert sun.
I've not had a chance to examine the material I received from Pender as of yet, by the way.
Media mum on new evidence of Saddam's terror ties
Ask even news-savvy Americans what they know about Saddam’s plans to deploy suicide bombers against the West, and the most common response will be blank stares. Ditto for asking about how Saddam’s thugs trained thousands of terrorists from around the Arab world, right up through 2002.
Both stunning revelations surfaced recently, one in Congressional testimony last month and the other in the current issue of Foreign Affairs magazine. The Pentagon has known about these items on Saddam’s terrorist agenda since the end of 2003, which is when it received the after-action analysis report it had commissioned. (It served as the basis for the testimony and the magazine article.)
Now declassified, the book-length report analyzed thousands of Iraqi documents and interviews with over 100 officials of Saddam’s regime to piece together what was going on in the tyranny’s final days. Much of it is darkly humorous, such as the lengths to which minions would go to deceive Saddam or how the despot actually appeared to believe the ridiculous propaganda spewed by Baghdad Bob.
To the extent the report or its summaries were covered by the mainstream media, attention mostly was focused on the finding that Saddam apparently behaved himself in late 2002 and early 2003 in a vain attempt to stave off the invasion. Yet entirely ignored by the supposedly objective news outlets were the rather newsworthy items indicating that, in fact, Saddam was interested in exporting terror.
According to a Nexis search, only four news outlets have even mentioned “Blessed July,” which was, in the words of the Foreign Affairs article, “a regime-directed wave of ‘martyrdom’ operations against targets in the West.” All nine articles were editorials or opinion pieces. The New York Times essentially avoided covering the report or the magazine summary of it, as the paper instead excerpted a book co-authored by one of its reporters that relied heavily on the report. Even the Associated Press declined to print a quick mention that preparations for “Blessed July,” again quoting from the magazine article, “were well under way at the time of the coalition invasion.”
http://www.townhall.com/print/print_story.php?sid=196845&loc=/opinion/columns/joelmowbray/2006/05/10/196845.html
CMPC-2004-006626 (http://70.169.163.24/released/05-09-06/%20CMPC-2004-006626.pdf)
Partial translation:
Beginning of the translation of page 1
In the name of God the Most Merciful the Most Compassionate
Presidency of the Republic
Military Industrialization Commission
Ibn Rushd General Company
Number 10025611018
Date 11/11/2002
To: Military Industrialization Commission/Department of Projects
Subject: Investment Plan for the year 2003
In regards from the letter singed with you on 12/10/2002 regarding our company investment plan to the year mentioned above, included is the technical report according to the letter showing its details below:
1. Develop and enlarge existing laboratories, 178,000,000 Dinars
2. Prepare MOBILE LABORATORIES , In Iraqi Dinar 128,413,00 + 273,445 Euros with 10 Dinar/Euro, 27,344,500, 155,757,500 Dinars.
Total 333,757,500 Dinars
Remark: The cost of the vehicles related to the Mobile Laboratories is not determined yet.
Please review and do what is necessary… with regards
Attachements:
1.Table fof quantity+ The plan related of developing the Laboratories
2.
Signature…
Noor Al Din Abed Al Hadi
The General Director
11/11/2002
End of translation of page 1
Partial translation of page 2
Table of electrical equipments and devices of the Mobile Laboratory
Partial translation of page 3
Table of electrical equipments and devices of the Mobile Laboratory
Measurement device for the speed of vibration
Measurement device for the speed of rotation
Ultrasonic wave test device
Different pressure measurement devices
Mobile testing device for metals
X-Ray testing device
20 Kilovolt electric generator
End of partial translation of page 3
Joseph ( jveritas) points out the following:
he Iraq Survey Group (ISG) indicated in their 2004 report ( http://www.cia.gov/cia/reports/iraq_wmd_2004/chap6_annxC.html ) that the Iraqi Mobile Laboratories were used for agricultural purposes “Seed Purification Project” that concluded in 1997. In fact I found a document dated 1997 (Document CMPC-2004-005680 ) that talks about a Mobile Seed Laboratory. However the year 1997 indicated in the ISG report as the concluding phase of the “Seed Purification Project” and the Mobile Laboratories related to it can be an important date since this document about a plan to build Mobile Laboratories is dated November 2002.
Captain Ed has More. (http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/006981.php)
Simon666
05-16-2006, 03:59 AM
Seems like there were multiple mobile laboratories around and the one cited doesn't look remotely useful for WMD but rather to test machinery parts, considering devices to measure speed and rotation, as well as ultrasonic and x-ray tests (both useful to find small cracks in metals or composites). The 20 kilovolt electric generator could be for the x-ray device.
Two intriguing items are the connection with the Iraqi MIC and the investment in these labs long after the 1997 Seed Purification Project. To be sure, there is no proof of nefarious doings but more questions than answers. Also, might not Speed, Vibration, and Rotation measurement be useful for say ... centrifuges? Just asking ...
Simon666
05-17-2006, 08:39 AM
Also, might not Speed, Vibration, and Rotation measurement be useful for say ... centrifuges? Just asking ...
Sure. Not that he had those.
Former PM reveals Iraq Secret Service Data on Birth of Al Qaeda in Iraq (http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.169852178&par=0)
The number two of the al-Qaeda network, Ayman al-Zawahiri, visited Iraq under a false name in September 1999 to take part in the ninth Popular Islamic Congress, former Iraqi premier Iyad Allawi has revealed to pan-Arab daily al-Hayat. In an interview, Allawi made public information discovered by the Iraqi secret service in the archives of the Saddam Hussein regime, which sheds light on the relationship between Saddam Hussein and the Islamic terrorist network. He also said that both al-Zawahiri and Jordanian militant al-Zarqawi probably entered Iraq in the same period.
"Al-Zawahiri was summoned by Izza Ibrahim Al-Douri – then deputy head of the council of the leadership of the revolution - to take part in the congress, along with some 150 other Islamic figures from 50 Muslim countries," Allawi said.
According to Allawi, important information has been gathered regarding the presence of another key terrorist figure operating in Iraq - the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
"The Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi entered Iraq secretly in the same period," Allawi affirmed, "and began to form a terrorist cell, even though the Iraqi services do not have precise information on his entry into the country," he said.
Allawi's remarks come after statements to al-Hayat by King Abdallah II of Jordan over Saddam's refusal to hand over al-Zarqawi to the authorities in Amman.
ISGQ-2003-00000847 (http://70.169.163.24/released/05-16-06/%20ISGQ-2003-00000847.pdf)
Beginning of partial Translation of Page 40 of document ISGQ-2003-00000847.
Zoo AL Fikar Factory
Number 499
Date 26/10/2002
To: The Directorate of Planning and Followup
Subject: Need
Your memo number 384 on 3/10/2002 we submit to you below our need of Chemical Materials to the year 2003 to take what is necessary with regards.
1. Name of material: Nitric Acid. Unit: Liter. Quantity: 600. Origin: Iraqi.
2. Name of material: Third Oxide of Chrome. Unit: KG. Quantity: 500. Origin: English/Chinese.
3. Name of material: Dye . Unit: KG. Quantity: 25. Origin: Western.
4. Name of material: HCL. Unit: Ton. Quantity: 15. Origin: Iraqi.
5. Name of material: Hylite Zinc. Unit: KG. Quantity: 500. Origin: Western.
6. Name of material: SODIUM CYANIDE. Unit: KG. Quantity: 500. Origin: Western.
17. Name of material: SULFURIC ACID. Unit: Ton. Quantity: 30. Origin: Iraqi.
End of Partial Translation of page 40.
Simon666
05-29-2006, 04:47 AM
Those are standard industrial chemicals needed by any country not living in the stone age.
And interestingly,
sodium cyanide
hydrogen cyanide
phosgene
can all be found on the UN List (http://www.un.org/Depts/unmovic/documents/S-2002-515.pdf) of Approved chemicals for export to Saddam's Iraq.
Phosgene?
Simon666
05-31-2006, 04:21 AM
Phosgene?
Absolutely necessary for some plastics, polyurethanes among others if I remember my chemistry correctly. Yes, it is toxic too.
I guess they never heard of alternatives. (http://www.umich.edu/~nppcpub/resources/ResLists/chem.html#ALT)
ISGQ-2003-00000847 (http://70.169.163.24/released/05-16-06/%20ISGQ-2003-00000847.pdf)
Beginning of partial Translation of Page 40 of document ISGQ-2003-00000847.
Zoo AL Fikar Factory
Number 499
Date 26/10/2002
To: The Directorate of Planning and Followup
Subject: Need
Your memo number 384 on 3/10/2002 we submit to you below our need of Chemical Materials to the year 2003 to take what is necessary with regards.
1. Name of material: Nitric Acid. Unit: Liter. Quantity: 600. Origin: Iraqi.
2. Name of material: Third Oxide of Chrome. Unit: KG. Quantity: 500. Origin: English/Chinese.
3. Name of material: Dye . Unit: KG. Quantity: 25. Origin: Western.
4. Name of material: HCL. Unit: Ton. Quantity: 15. Origin: Iraqi.
5. Name of material: Hylite Zinc. Unit: KG. Quantity: 500. Origin: Western.
6. Name of material: SODIUM CYANIDE. Unit: KG. Quantity: 500. Origin: Western.
17. Name of material: SULFURIC ACID. Unit: Ton. Quantity: 30. Origin: Iraqi.
End of Partial Translation of page 40.
This list suggests metal cleaning and plating operations.
Declassified document outlines WMD's Found (http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=/Nation/archive/200606/NAT20060621e.html) in Iraq.
True, these 500 Chem Weapons shells are pre- Gulf War, but wasn't Saddam to have destroyed these as part of the cease fire agreement?
Additionally, despite the years between the end of the Gulf War and OIF, the UN found little evidence of degradation (http://www.freerepublic.com/%5Ehttp://www.un.org/Depts/unmovic/documents/6mar.pdf) of these agents.
Finally, Chester has some thoughts on why we're only learning of this now. (http://www.theadventuresofchester.com/archives/2006/06/the_reasons_wer.html)
Saddam was hiding Chemical Weapons Facilities (http://powerlineblog.com/archives/014620.php) in 1999.
CMPC-2003-00011084-HT-DHM2A.pdf, provides some of the most definitive evidence yet that Saddam's government continued its illicit weapons programs long after the conclusion of the Gulf War.
This document is a letter from the Director of the Criminal Department, Na'man Ali Muhammad, to the Director of the Iraqi Intelligence Service, dated September 4, 1999:
Mr. Muhammad indicated that the International Inspection Committee would be inspecting the Al-Rashad location, among other locations, looking for non-conventional weapons and other chemical agents. He added that the following procedures were implemented on the fifth month of this year [TC: May 1999] in order to prevent disclosure of the locations:
1- Relocate all I[raqi] I[ntelligence] S[ervice] documents
2- Relocate all IIS chemical materials and equipment
3- Designate a group of employees from the Ministry of Health to replace the IIS employees
4- Relocate some of the officers and employees, whose job descriptions are not compatible with the Ministry of Health to Al-Rashidiah, and implement other appropriate concealment procedures.
Oh ... and look at the guys who got Bonuses. (http://powerlineblog.com/archives/014621.php)
Another just-released Project Harmony document is BIAP-2003-003488.pdf. It is one of those dry, bureaucratic lists, titled "Bonus Record for 2003." So it must have been created shortly before the Iraq war began.
This eight-page document is a list of employees in various categories who received bonuses listed as "5,000"--dinars, I assume. Most of the categories are what you would expect: "Office of the General Director," "Finance," "Consultant Office," etc. Presumably the names under each of these headings are the employees in those departments who received bonuses.
But then we have these categories: "Chemical;" twelve employees got bonuses. "Nuclear;" nine employees got bonuses. "Missiles;" seven employees got bonuses. "Biological;" nine employees got bonuses. I suppose those words might mean something other than the obvious. But what?
Our friends ...The Russians. (http://70.168.46.200/Released%5C07-05-06/CMPC-2003-000878.pdf)
Captain Ed has more Here. (http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/007417.php)
What did the President know... and When did he know it? (http://www.austinbay.net/blog/index.php?p=1387)
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