May 26, 2004

Links?
Posted by Jon Henke

(Via RantingProfs) This story about the US redoubling efforts to get Musab al-Zarqawi contains a pretty big sub-story...

According to the official, Zarqawi had direct ties to the millennium bombing plot of December 1999 to blow up buildings in Jordan, Israel and the United States. The group leader of the millennium plot was said to be acting on direct orders from Zarqawi.

During the 1990s, Zarqawi trained under bin Laden in Afghanistan. After the fall of the Taliban, he fled to northwestern Iraq and worked with poisons for use in potential attacks, officials say.

During the summer of 2002, he underwent nasal surgery at a Baghdad hospital, officials say. They mistakenly originally thought, however, that Zarqawi had his leg amputated due to an injury.

In late 2002, officials say, Zarqawi began establishing sleeper cells in Baghdad and acquiring weapons from Iraqi intelligence officials.

So that's, let's see...
...a high-ranking associate of Bin Laden.
...who was behind attempted attacks inside the United States.
...and was operating from within Iraq.
...including sleeper cells in Baghdad.
...which acquired weapons directly from Hussein's Intelligence agency.
...in 2002. Before the war.

Does that qualify as "links to Al Qaeda"?

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Comments

"Does that qualify as "links to Al Queda"?

No, because there was no "stockpile" of links to Al Queda, therefore it doesn't count.

/sarcasm off

Posted by: Jim G. at May 26, 2004 10:48 AM

"Does that qualify as "links to Al Qaeda"?

You talkin' to me? I say - uh - yes.

But if you are talking journalists, nothing short of finding Bin Laden hiding in the hole with Saddam would convince them of a link...

Posted by: John Rogers at May 26, 2004 01:36 PM

John Rogers, you forget that two people found hiding in the same hole are not necessarily connected. I mean, it could just be a totally incredible coincidence if they ended up in the same hidey-hole. There are more wanted terrorists than there are hidey-holes around, and so by the Pigeonhole Principle we would naturally expect to find more than one in the same hole.

;)

Posted by: Wacky Hermit at May 26, 2004 08:37 PM

No, because there was no "stockpile" of links to Al Queda, therefore it doesn't count.

Suit Claims Iraq Ties To Al Qaeda (John O'Neill)
Sept. 11 Plaintiffs Win Case Against Iraq
US GRAND JURY INDICTMENT AGAINST USAMA BIN LADEN (Search on Iraq)
Running list of Iraq terrorism articles & more...
Sleuthing The Iraq-Bin Laden Connection (Redone)

Posted by: Tim at May 27, 2004 03:17 PM

Prague: April 2004 (Edward Jay Epstein)

Posted by: Tim at May 27, 2004 03:33 PM