Iran offered to swap Al Qaeda prisoners for dissidents exiled to US: repor

[Judi Lynn]

Iran offered to swap Al Qaeda prisoners for dissidents exiled to US: report
(AFP)

6 September 2003



BERLIN - Iran repeatedly offered to exchange Al Qaeda suspects in its custody for Iranian opposition leaders exiled to the United States, a German newspaper reported on Saturday.

Tehran proposed to swap Al Qaeda leaders for members of the Iranian People’s Mudjahedeen opposition group, the German weekly Welt am Sonntag reported in its edition to be published on Sunday.

Quoting “German and Iranian intelligence services”, the paper said Iran wanted the deal to be kept secret and to include its own removal from Washington’s “axis of evil” list of countries that support terrorism.

But US authorities “did not take them seriously”, the paper said, despite receiving several such offers between October 2002 and February this year, some using Germany as an intermediary. (snip/...)

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[KellyW]

1. Remeber, that Clinton could have gotten bin Laden

from Sudan anytime he wanted. He just wanted to suport terrorism.
So, I guess if Bush does not want to get terroists from Iran, he must support terrorism too !

[demdave]

2. I don't recall the swap in Clinton's deal. Exactly who was it?

Who did Clinton have to give to the Sudan in exchange for Osama?

[Gunit_Sangh]

3. re: "I don't recall the swap in Clinton's deal. Exactly who was it?"

From what I've read in various articles ...

In the mid 90's the Sudan offered to arrest bin laden if the U.S. would take them off our "nation's supporting terrorist list" and end economic sanctions. The only catch was that they would only turn bin laden back to the saudis.

I believe I read an article that quoted Sandy Barger (Clinton's head of the NSC) as saying the U.S. was agreeable to this deal. But the saudis said no. The saudi's had already revoked bin laden's citizenship. If they accepted him the only thing they could do with him was chop his head off, but they feared that would make him a martyr and the execution would cause massive protests from the huge following bin laden has in saudi.

By the time the saudi's got around to rejecting the deal, one of bin laden's buddies got wind of what was going on and tipped bin laden off. He immediately fled back to Afghanistan.

repugs tell a shortened version of this story ... they just say Clinton could have gotten bin laden and didn't cuz he was too busy getting b.j.'s in the oval office and didn't have time to deal with terrorists.

[newyawker99]

4. Hi Gunit_Sangh!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast: