CIA ReportCasts Doubt On Quaeda-Sadaam Link

[Algorem]

http://www.iht.com/articles/542214.htm

[Moderator]

1. Kick

:kick:

[struggle4progress]

7. and again

:kick: In another report, to be made public in congressional testimony Wednesday, the top American weapons inspector in Iraq outlines new details of attempts by Saddam's government to undermine United Nations sanctions as part of a plan to produce illicit weapons if those sanctions were lifted, according to Bush administration officials.

The report by the arms inspector, Charles Duelfer, makes it clear that Iraq did not possess stockpiles of illicit weapons at the time of the U.S. invasion, and that it had not begun any large-scale program for weapons production by the time of the invasion, the officials said. :kick:

[Moderator]

2. From the article

CIA report casts doubt on Qaeda-Saddam link
Douglas Jehl NYT
Wednesday, October 6, 2004

WASHINGTON A new assessment by the Central Intelligence Agency has cast doubt on a central piece of evidence used by the Bush administration before the invasion of Iraq last year to draw links between Saddam Hussein's government and the Qaeda terrorist network, government officials said Tuesday.

The CIA report, sent to policy makers in August, says it was not clear that Saddam's government harbored members of the extremist group led by the Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the officials said.

The assertion that Iraq harbored Zarqawi had been the primary basis for the administration's prewar assertions connecting Iraq to Al Qaeda terrorism. A United States official said that the new report "doesn't make clear-cut assertions one way or another" about whether Iraq harbored Zarqawi.

In early 2003, both George Tenet, the director of central intelligence, and Secretary of State Colin Powell stated flatly that Iraq had provided refuge to what Powell described as Zarqawi's "deadly terrorist network."

[Carla in Ca]

3. Well, it seems just about everyone but Cheney

agrees...Hopefully his persistant attempts at this will sound even more desperate tonight.

[indie_voter]

4. I am stunned. Shocked and Awed even.

How many millions of lives have,are and will be destroyed by this misdaventure? We will be paying a price for generations to come.

[daa]

5. Goss will take care of this nt

[Algorem]

6. Saw it on ABC news at 6:30p.m. originally,but wasn't on their site,now is:

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/WNT/World/Saddam_alQaeda_041005-1.html "report delivered to Cheney last week":just disinfo meant to give them excuse or what?