Searching for evidence of Bush/Pentagon/Zarqawi links

[SoCalDemocrat]

I'm searching for evidence that will document the three dates that the Pentagon went before Bush and requested permission to bomb Zarqawi and the Ansar Al Islam base in NE Iraq and was refused.

This is all I have to go on right now.

al-Zarqawi, on whose behalf President Bush interceded three times to protect him from Pentagon air strikes intent on destroying Zarqawi and his camp.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4431601 /

If anyone can locate evidence of the meetings, when they took place, transcripts, etc. PLEASE post them here and email me!

[Gelliebeans]

1. I might be over my head

but did you look up information about Roger Cressey?

[SoCalDemocrat]

2. thank you!

...NBC News has learned that long before the war the Bush administration had several chances to wipe out his terrorist operation and perhaps kill Zarqawi himself — but never pulled the trigger.

In June 2002, U.S. officials say intelligence had revealed that Zarqawi and members of al-Qaida had set up a weapons lab at Kirma, in northern Iraq, producing deadly ricin and cyanide.

The Pentagon quickly drafted plans to attack the camp with cruise missiles and airstrikes and sent it to the White House, where, according to U.S. government sources, the plan was debated to death in the National Security Council.

‘People were more obsessed with developing the coalition to overthrow Saddam than to execute the president’s policy of pre-emption against terrorists.’

— Roger Cressey
Terrorism expert
“Here we had targets, we had opportunities, we had a country willing to support casualties, or risk casualties after 9/11 and we still didn’t do it,” said Michael O’Hanlon, military analyst with the Brookings Institution.

Four months later, intelligence showed Zarqawi was planning to use ricin in terrorist attacks in Europe.

The Pentagon drew up a second strike plan, and the White House again killed it. By then the administration had set its course for war with Iraq.

“People were more obsessed with developing the coalition to overthrow Saddam than to execute the president’s policy of preemption against terrorists,” according to terrorism expert and former National Security Council member Roger Cressey.

In January 2003, the threat turned real. Police in London arrested six terror suspects and discovered a ricin lab connected to the camp in Iraq.

The Pentagon drew up still another attack plan, and for the third time, the National Security Council killed it.

Military officials insist their case for attacking Zarqawi’s operation was airtight, but the administration feared destroying the terrorist camp in Iraq could undercut its case for war against Saddam.

The United States did attack the camp at Kirma at the beginning of the war, but it was too late — Zarqawi and many of his followers were gone. “Here’s a case where they waited, they waited too long and now we’re suffering as a result inside Iraq,” Cressey added.

And despite the Bush administration’s tough talk about hitting the terrorists before they strike, Zarqawi’s killing streak continues today.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4431601/

[SoCalDemocrat]

3. And the hits keep right on coming

“Here we had targets, we had opportunities, we had a country willing to support casualties, or risk casualties after 9/11 and we still didn’t do it,” said Michael O’Hanlon, military analyst with the Brookings Institution.

Four months later (Sept 2002), intelligence showed Zarqawi was planning to use ricin in terrorist attacks in Europe.

The Pentagon drew up a second strike plan, and the White House again killed it. By then the administration had set its course for war with Iraq.

“People were more obsessed with developing the coalition to overthrow Saddam than to execute the president’s policy of preemption against terrorists,” according to terrorism expert and former National Security Council member Roger Cressey.

In January 2003, the threat turned real. Police in London arrested six terror suspects and discovered a ricin lab connected to the camp in Iraq.

The Pentagon drew up still another attack plan, and for the third time, the National Security Council killed it.

Military officials insist their case for attacking Zarqawi’s operation was airtight, but the administration feared destroying the terrorist camp in Iraq could undercut its case for war against Saddam.

The United States did attack the camp at Kirma at the beginning of the war, but it was too late — Zarqawi and many of his followers were gone. “Here’s a case where they waited, they waited too long and now we’re suffering as a result inside Iraq,” Cressey added.

And despite the Bush administration’s tough talk about hitting the terrorists before they strike, Zarqawi’s killing streak continues today.

[Gelliebeans]

4. veryyyyy kewl

:thumbsup:

[SoCalDemocrat]

5. ding ding ding

According to the U.S. pre-Iraq party line, Zarqawi used his "base" in Iraq to stage bombings and terrorist attacks in Turkey and Morocco. Powell told the U.N. that Zarqawi received medical treatment during a stay in Baghdad in May 2002. This was supposed to illustrate Saddam's alliance with al Qaeda. (No one ever talks about the fact that Ramzi Yousef received medical treatment from a hospital in New Jersey after a minor car accident in 1993. Did Bill Clinton personally fluff his pillow?)

As it turns out, the report of medical treatment wasn't even credible to begin with. According to U.S. intelligence, Zarqawi had a leg amputated in Baghdad. Except that most sources now believe Zarqawi is equipped with two working legs. As Newsweek colorfully put in in early 2004, "The stark fact is that we don’t even know for sure how many legs Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi has, let alone whether the Jordanian terrorist, purportedly tied to al Qaeda, is really behind the latest outrages in Iraq."http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/crime/terrorists/abu-musab-al-zarqawi/

[Gelliebeans]

6. put it in the favorites

[SoCalDemocrat]

7. Bush blames Zarqawi for Berg beheading

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=5152646
http://in.news.yahoo.com/040515/137/2d3ln.html

MEQUON, Wis. (Reuters) - President Bush on Friday blamed al Qaeda supporter Abu Musab al-Zarqawi for beheading American Nicholas Berg and cited him as an example of Saddam Hussein's "terrorist ties" before the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

Bush's revival of accusations linking Saddam to terrorism comes as the president faces growing doubts among Americans over his Iraq policy.

[Gelliebeans]

9. and HOW many times did he drop the ball????

Oh how I hate them.....<sigh>

[SoCalDemocrat]

8. Jason Lefkowitz comments

"So let me get this straight. We have a known terrorist, manufacturing biological weapons, who the Pentagon asks three times for permission to take out — and they’re told that Iraq (which had no WMDs, and no connection to al Qaeda, remember) is more important? So we should just let this guy keep cooking up his batches of ricin in peace while we get down to the business of taking out Saddam Hussein?" -- Jason Lefkowitz 3/4/2004

[Gelliebeans]

11. come on you are smart

how do we push this??

[auburngrad82]

28. buy a domain name and post all the information

www.zarqawi.org is available. Last I heard it was about $35 per year to buy a domain name. Plus hosting fees. Not too expensive.

[SoCalDemocrat]

29. Hmm

That might work.

I may just write an editorial myself and try and get it published.

[SoCalDemocrat]

10. Zarqawi likely behind Madrid attacks

"Via Hesiod, the AP is reporting that Zarqawi was likely behind the Madrid attacks that cost the lives of 190 Spaniards:


Investigator Jean-Charles Brisard said Spanish officials told him some suspects held in the March 11 attacks were in contact with al-Zarqawi as recently as a month or two before the bombings, which killed 190 people and wounded more than 1,800.
"They believe today he was the mastermind," Brisard, who is probing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, said in a telephone interview from Geneva, Switzerland."

[SoCalDemocrat]

12. List Failures: 9-11, super mole, Zarqawi, ...

Here are FOUR MAJOR terrorist failings by Bush. Add more!

1. Bush failed to protect us from 9-11, completely ignoring terrorism.

2. Bush failed to protect us from Zarqawi.

3. Bush administration botched or leaked the identity of the Al Qaeda super mole which could of led us to Bin Laden, as well as rooted out every operating cell in the world.

4. Bush had Bin Laden trapped at Tora Bora, but then contracted Afghan Warlords who had been fighting for the Taliban a week earlier to go in and capture or kill Bin Laden. They of course were bought off and Bin Laden and many Al Qaeda escaped.

"One of the greatest coups in Washington's nearly three-year war against al-Qaeda has suddenly turned sour with reports the White House prematurely exposed the identity of a key source whose contacts and communication with the terrorist group's operational masterminds had yet to be fully exploited.

The source, 25-year-old computer wizard Mohammed Naeem Noor Khan, had been cooperating with Pakistani police and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) since he was quietly detained in Lahore on July 12, until the New York Times published his name last Monday after receiving a "background" briefing by the White House.

The Bush administration, which had elevated the terror-warning level in three U.S. states on the basis of information acquired from Khan, set up the briefing to dispel public skepticism about the terrorism threat, particularly after it was disclosed that much of the information on which it was based was several years old. "

Amazingly Republicans are deluded into thinking this incompetent chimp is the best we can do to fight the war on terror?

[Gelliebeans]

14. do u have the link to the reuters statement

by bush regarding the beheading?

[SoCalDemocrat]

25. I have an alternate source

Reuters link is here but it's dead.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&s...

http://in.news.yahoo.com/040515/137/2d3ln.html

[SoCalDemocrat]

13. Maybe Kerry is afraid of this counter attack by Rice? :p

Rice claims it's an "urban legend" because the CIA could not confirm that Zarqawi was physically in the camp at the precise time the Pentagon was planning one of the three attacks. (I'm doing my best) At least that is the SPIN that the Conservative News Network, aka CNN, spewed forth in this journalist dog dropping.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/07/01/iraq/

"Unlike the cautious responses by the Defense and CIA officials, Rice's flat denial might make it more difficult to keep the urban legend going through the campaign.

Jim Miklaszewski told me he stands by his story, and pointed to House Armed Services Committee hearings April 21. Congressman Snyder brought the NBC story up to retired Gen. John Keane, and asked why the attack was rejected.

"I don't know," the former Army acting chief of staff replied. "We looked at it the weekend of the Fourth of July the summer before we went into Iraq."

That confirmed an attack on Zarqawi's camp was considered. It did not confirm the Iraqi urban legend spread by Hillary Clinton and friends. "

[Gelliebeans]

18. looking for stuff

in senate arms committee transcripts

[SoCalDemocrat]

15. more

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES: Lt. Gen. Ricardo told reporters today "it appears Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, an associate of Osama bin Laden believed to be behind a wave of suicide bombings in Iraq," was responsible for killing Nicholas Berg (Wall St Journal).

According to NBC, the Bush administration had "several chances to wipe out" Zarqawi's operation and "perhaps kill Zarqawi himself — but never pulled the trigger" before the war. The push to go into Iraq halted that effort, though. "People were more obsessed with developing the coalition to overthrow Saddam than to execute the president's policy of preemption against terrorists," said terrorism expert and former National Security Council member Roger Cressey.

[SoCalDemocrat]

16. From Rolling Stone

Sure, unless preventing a terror attack could upset your march to war. According to NBC News, prosecuting the real War on Terror took a back seat to the administration's obsession with ousting Saddam. The network reported this week that Bush could have taken out our new enemy number one in Iraq -- the terrorist Abu Musab Zarqawi, the man who apparently beheaded young Nick Berg -- but decided not to because snuffing out the terrorist would have weakened the case for war with Iraq.

The U.S. knew in 2002 that Zarqawi had a chemical weapons lab in Kurdish-controlled, No-Fly-Zone Iraq -- that is to say, the region of the country already removed from Saddam's oversight. The Pentagon knew where he was, knew he was plotting attacks, and had a plan to get him. But the White House wouldn't back the attack.

"Military officials insist their case for attacking Zarqawi's operation was airtight," Jim Miklaszewski reported, "but the administration feared destroying the terrorist camp in Iraq could undercut its case for war against Saddam." When we finally hit the camp, post invasion, Zarqawi was long gone.

"Here's a case where they waited, they waited too long and now we're suffering as a result inside Iraq," former National Security Council member Roger Cressey told Miklaszewski.

[norml]

17. Are you familiar with the Nostradamus predictions concerning Mabus?

Some have noticed that Musab could be the third leader,to follow Napoleon,and Hitler,predicted by Nostradamus,who he called Mabus.

[SoCalDemocrat]

22. No, do you have the citation?

According to Nostradamus, the first two anti-Christs were extremely evil, and history has shown this to be so; however, Nostradamus speaks of a third anti-Christ who is more hideous than all the others combined. Some say Sadaam Hussein, the dictator from Iraq, could be this evil tyrant. Others say that he has not yet appeared. What does Nostradamus say about this third anti-Christ? First, Nostradamus tells us he will come from the Middle East.

Out of the country of Greater Arabia
Shall be born a strong master of Mohammed...
He will enter Europe wearing a blue turban.
He will be the terror of mankind.
Never more horror.

Here, Nostradamus says that a man from Greater Arabia will lead his forces on an invasion through Europe. This invasion will start a third world war that will be far worse than all the other wars put together (Guentte). When will all this take place? In one quatrain Nostradamus gives us an exact date in which the war will be well under way.

In the year 1999 and seven months
From the sky will come the great King of Terror.
He will bring back to life the King of the Mongols;
Before and after war reigns.

Nostradamus predicts the war will begin shortly before the year 1999 (Roberts 191). He also tells us how long the war will last.

The war will last seven and twenty years. (Guentte)

Nostradamus says that the war will be so terrible that the world will come face to face with final annihilation. Here, he implies that the war might involve some kind of horrible weapon, possibly nuclear. Nostradamus tells what the first target will be.

The sky will burn at forty-five degrees.
Fire approaches the great new city.

In this phrase, Nostradamus refers to a great city in the new world of America near forty-five degrees latitude. Experts agree this could only be New York.

By fire he will destroy their city,
A cold and cruel heart,
Blood will pour,
Mercy to none. (Guentte)

Although Nostradamus 's predictions for our future sound frightening he does give us some hope by telling us how this third world war will end. He says it will end as a result of an unexpected alliance.

When those of the Northern Pole are united,
In the East will be great fear and dread...
One day the two great leaders will be friends;
Their great powers will be seen to grow.
The New Land will be at the height of its power:
To the man of blood the number is reported.

The new land was a common term used by Nostradamus to refer to what we now call America. The countries of the northern pole could be Russia and the United States. We have recently seen the breakdown of Communism in Russia and an increasing friendship between Russia and the U.S. (Reader's Digest 515).

Was Nostradamus a fraud or a prophet? There are some who say that the seeming accuracy of his quatrains are a result of their facile interpretations (Guentte). Still, more than four hundred books and essays about his prophecies have been published since his death in 1566, along with a great number of articles and other commentaries, in numerous languages (Randi 5). Even skeptics pay careful attention to Nostradamus' predictions of the three anti-Christs. If Nostradamus truly predicted Napoleon and Hitler we should take heed of his words about the future. Perhaps we can prevent the dismal fate Nostradamus has predicted (Guentte).

[SoCalDemocrat]

19. Zarqawi Al Qaeda link questionable

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0803/080803nj2.htm

"Powell, in his major speech to the United Nations on February 5, cited the presence of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian terrorist who was in Baghdad in May 2002 receiving medical treatment for wounds he received in Afghanistan. Powell referred to al-Zarqawi as "an associate and collaborator of Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda lieutenants."


But several intelligence experts say that Powell overstated these ties. Al-Zarqawi "is at best seen as having linkages to al Qaeda, instead of being a card-carrying member," Cressey said. "There's no question that Zarqawi is a terrorist, but there are real questions about whether he's a member of al Qaeda," said Vince Cannistraro, a former head of counterterrorism operations at the CIA."

[SoCalDemocrat]

20. Zarqawi kills 100+ Iraqi's with bomb attack

"Gen. John Abizaid, the chief of U.S. Central Command, says there's no doubt Zarqawi masterminded the pair of suicide bombings in Iraq on Tuesday that killed more than 100 people during a Shiite Muslim religious observance. And the Washington Post reported yesterday that Zarqawi is looking beyond Iraq and wants to assume a leading, independent role in future terrorist operations in other countries. "

-- Salon

[Gelliebeans]

21. transcript from senate hearing April 21

http://globalsecurity.org/military/library/congress/2004_hr/

[SoCalDemocrat]

24. What should we look for in here?

What did you find in the reports?

[Gelliebeans]

26. sorry didnt refresh page

going through to see what snyder was referring to regarding testimony on april 21st

[Gelliebeans]

27. not finding much that hasn't been already stated

quite a bit of information to sort through.
No wonder it never seems to see the light of day
I copied and pasted
but am knackered now so I will pick up tomorrow
it's been fun digging through bushies dirty laundry
take care

[SoCalDemocrat]

23. No Proof of Al Qaeda link

http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=91081

WEAPONS INSPECTOR SAYS NO PROOF: Former U.S. weapons inspector David Kay shot down the idea that al Qaeda and Saddam were linked. ''At various times Al Qaeda people came through Baghdad and in some cases resided there…But we simply did not find any evidence of extensive links with Al Qaeda, or for that matter any real links at all." Kay went on to say, ''Cheney's speech is evidence-free. It is an assertion, but doesn't say why we should believe this now."

HEAD OF THE CIA SAYS NO PROOF: In testimony before the Senate intelligence committee earlier this year, CIA Director George Tenet flatly stated that, even if Zarqawi operated in the shadows of Iraq, there was no coordination between him and Iraqis. "I did not suggest operational direction and control" of Zarqawi by Iraq, Tenet said. "He thinks of himself as independent and derives sustenance from them."

PRESIDENT BUSH SAYS NO PROOF: In a press conference on 1/31/03, asked if he believed there was a link between Saddam Hussein and 9/11, President Bush admitted, "I can't make that claim."

COLIN POWELL SAYS NO PROOF: In January, Secretary of State Colin Powell announced he had seen no "smoking gun concrete evidence" of ties between Saddam and al Qaeda.

BUSH COUNTERTERRORISM EXPERT SAYS NO PROOF: According to former White House counterterrorism expert Roger Cressey, there was no direct link between Zarqawi and al Qaeda. On MSNBC on 5/12/04, he stated, "I think some of the administration's claims of direct links between Zarqawi and al Qaeda as we knew it, frankly, are not true."

CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR PEACE SAYS NO PROOF: A January assessment of the war by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace debunked the White House claims, saying, "The most intensive searching over the last two years has produced no solid evidence of a cooperative relationship between Saddam's government and Al Qaeda."

THE ZARQAWI LETTER: Vice President Cheney cites a recent letter the U.S. captured, written by Zarqawi to senior leaders of Al Qaeda urging them to help him wage war in Iraq, as proof of his ties to the terrorist group. While the letter shows Zarqawi may have reached out to al Qaeda after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, "it does not speak to the debate about whether there was a Qaeda presence in Iraq during the Saddam Hussein era, nor is there any mention of a collaboration with Saddam loyalists." Moreover, al Qaeda turned him down.

Cheney, in an interview with CNN, said Zarqawi ran an "Al Qaeda-affiliated" group. He cited an intercepted letter Zarqawi wrote to Al Qaeda leaders. But U.S. officials say that the letter contained a plea for help that Al Qaeda rebuffed. The structure of the letter, experts said, suggested Zarqawi considered himself an independent operator and not a part of bin Laden's organization.

http://www.freep.com/news/nw/intel3_20040303.htm

NO PROOF OF ATTA-IRAQ LINK:
The allegation that 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta met in Prague with an Iraqi intelligence officer is now contradicted by FBI evidence that Atta was taking flight training in Florida at the time. The Iraqi, Ahmed Khalil Ibrahim Samir al Ani, is now in U.S. custody and told interrogators that he never met Atta.
CIA Director George Tenet told the Senate intelligence committee last month there is no evidence to support the allegation.


NO WAY TO TREAT A TERRORIST: If the White House truly believes Zarqawi was the link between Saddam and al Qaeda, they sure don't know how to show it. The administration left him off the FBI's 22 Most Wanted Terrorists list. Also, as NBC News has reported, "the Bush administration had several chances to wipe out his terrorist operation and perhaps kill Zarqawi himself — but never pulled the trigger."

WHITE HOUSE ALLAWI SOURCE: The claim that Saddam and al Qaeda terrorists were linked was pushed by Iyad Allawi, the interim prime minister of Iraq. On CNN's American Morning on 12/31/04, he claimed Saddam always had links with terrorist organizations, including al Qaeda, before the war. Allawi has amassed a greatest hits list of false and discredited claims. He is responsible for the claim that Iraqi weapons of mass destruction could be deployed within forty-five minutes of an order, which was proven false. He pushed the theory that 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta had trained in Iraq, also debunked. He also "authenticated" the memo showing that Iraq had sought uranium from Niger, a document which later turned out to be forged.

[welshTerrier2]

30. CIA: no conclusive evidence Saddam harbored Zarqawi

source: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&e=2&u=/nm/20041006/ts_nm/iraq_usa_zarqawi_dc
Title: CIA Report Finds No Conclusive Zarqawi-Saddam Link

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A CIA report has found no conclusive evidence that former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein harbored Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, which the Bush administration asserted before the invasion of Iraq.

"There's no conclusive evidence the Saddam Hussein regime had harbored Zarqawi," a U.S. official said on Tuesday about the CIA findings.

<skip>

ABC quoted an unnamed senior U.S. official as saying that the CIA document raises "serious questions" about Bush administration assertions that Zarqawi found sanctuary in pre-war Baghdad.

"The official says there is no clear cut evidence that Saddam Hussein even knew Zarqawi was in Baghdad," ABC reported.