Don’t these guys in the Administration ever learn?
You may recall that prior to the Iraq War, the Bush Administration tried to foist the idea on the American people that Saddam’s Iraq was a training ground for terrorists.
Thanks to our brilliant intelligence services and the untiring efforts of left wing liberals, this dangerous lie was exposed and found to be utterly, completely, totally, and without question a prevarication.
Now there’s word that the Bush Administration is once again trying to promote this lie. Are these guys stupid or something? I mean, in order for anyone to believe them, they would have to have a huge amount of documentary evidence with pictures and testimony from Saddam’s henchmen. The evidence would have to be incontrovertible.
Thank goodness that kind of thing could never happen, right? RIGHT?
THE FORMER IRAQI REGIME OF Saddam Hussein trained thousands of radical Islamic terrorists from the region at camps in Iraq over the four years immediately preceding the U.S. invasion, according to documents and photographs recovered by the U.S. military in postwar Iraq. The existence and character of these documents has been confirmed to THE WEEKLY STANDARD by eleven U.S. government officials.The secret training took place primarily at three camps—in Samarra, Ramadi, and Salman Pak—and was directed by elite Iraqi military units. Interviews by U.S. government interrogators with Iraqi regime officials and military leaders corroborate the documentary evidence. Many of the fighters were drawn from terrorist groups in northern Africa with close ties to al Qaeda, chief among them Algeria’s GSPC and the Sudanese Islamic Army. Some 2,000 terrorists were trained at these Iraqi camps each year from 1999 to 2002, putting the total number at or above 8,000. Intelligence officials believe that some of these terrorists returned to Iraq and are responsible for attacks against Americans and Iraqis. According to three officials with knowledge of the intelligence on Iraqi training camps, White House and National Security Council officials were briefed on these findings in May 2005; senior Defense Department officials subsequently received the same briefing.
The photographs and documents on Iraqi training camps come from a collection of some 2 million “exploitable items” captured in postwar Iraq and Afghanistan. They include handwritten notes, typed documents, audiotapes, videotapes, compact discs, floppy discs, and computer hard drives. Taken together, this collection could give U.S. intelligence officials and policymakers an inside look at the activities of the former Iraqi regime in the months and years before the Iraq War.
That thud you just heard was the collective sound of liberals hitting their heads on the floor after fainting.
I wrote here of Mr. Hayes’ herculean efforts to examine these non-classified documents. The fact was that at the time, the Pentagon seemed singularly unconcerned about the political ramifications of some of the things that might be found. They had a assigned a pitifully small number of researches to the task and were giving journalists like Mr. Hayes the runaround when they volunteered to go through some of the documents themselves. If what Mr. Hayes says here is true, that attitude may be changing:
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has convened several meetings in recent weeks to discuss the Pentagon’s role in expediting the release of the information. According to several sources familiar with his thinking, Rumsfeld is pushing aggressively for a massive dump of the captured documents. “He has a sense that public vetting of this information is likely to be as good an astringent as any other process we could develop,” says Pentagon spokesman Larry DiRita.The main worry, says DiRita, is that the mainstream press might cherry-pick documents and mischaracterize their meaning. “There is always the concern that people would be chasing a lot of information good or bad, and when the Times or the Post splashes a headline about some sensational-sounding document that would seem to ‘prove’ that sanctions were working, or that Saddam was just a misunderstood patriot, or some other nonsense, we’d spend a lot of time chasing around after it.”
This is a view many officials attributed to Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Steve Cambone. (Cambone, through a spokesman, declined to be interviewed.) For months, Cambone has argued internally against expediting the release of the documents. “Cambone is the problem,” says one former Bush administration official who wants the documents released. “He has blocked this every step of the way.” In what is perhaps a sign of a changing dynamic within the administration, Cambone is now saying that he, like his boss, favors a broad document release.
What this cache of information about the training of 8,000 terrorists in Iraq shows is that our intelligence agencies aren’t worth spit. What can you say about a culture that would rather be wrong about the facts than change their cherished, long held and flawed analyses?
This represents an extraordinarily troubling dysfunctionality at the top levels of our intelligence apparatus. Even with the most technologically sophisticated satellites and signals intercept equipment known to man, our “analysts” at the CIA were still unable to uncover a training program from which 2,000 hardened jihadists graduated every year. Could they have been blind to this danger because of stupidity? Or was there something more at work here?
Given the war being waged by the CIA over the last 3 years against this Administration, is it too farfetched to believe that the threat Saddam posed as a terrorist trainer and enabler was deliberately downplayed in order to try and convince the Administration not to go for regime change? How could they have missed this? It will take a tall amount of convincing for me to believe that somewhere in our National Reconnaissance Office – the top secret headquarters that analyzes intel from our spy satellites – that there aren’t pictures detailing exactly what is going on at those sites mentioned in Mr. Hayes article. Are we to believe that trained professionals were unable to spot these terrorist sites?
Someone at the CIA has some explaining to do.
8:07 pm
Bigger-Better-Faster-More
Today’s dose of NIF - News, Interesting & Funny … limited blogation weekend starting (+ Open Trackbacks)
8:10 pm
Seriously, what could W be thinking??
/TJ
9:27 pm
As usual I am reading your article with my mouth hanging open. Will this ever become public? How can the MSM ignore this info. We’ll see. This is amazing info. Rick, what do you know about Cambone? And why is he now in favor of coming forward? What tricks does he now have up his sleeve to deal with this info. Why now a “broad document dump”? Amazing how blind CIA have been, or are they?
Will all this be made clear in my life time, they better hurry!
9:31 pm
Cambone has been a thorn in the side of the CIA since before the Iraq war. He headed up a group in the Pentagon that vetted their OWN intel because they didn’t trust the CIA to give staright dope on Iraq.
It’s not his fault. Rummy never assigned enough assets to vet the info in the first place – apparently until now.
Hayes thinks there might be more bombshells in there – maybe even direct evidence of Saddam cozying up to Bin Laden. We’ll see.
9:14 am
I have a friend who is a Vietnam veteran. His theory is that the real intelligence work is done by NSA, DIA, etc. and that the CIA is only a front, explicitly designed to distract attention away from the other groups by behaving stupidly. I have to admit that the evidence seems to bear this out.
9:26 am
SADDAM’S TERROR TRAINING CAMPS
“Iraq was not a breeding ground for terrorism. Our invasion has made it one.‗Sen. Ted Kennedy “Iraq was not a terrorist haven before the invasion.”—Sen. John Kerry Accoding to a new report in the Weekly Standard by Stephen Hayes, new…
10:12 am
How ironic is it that the Left now trusts the CIA?
10:32 am
Saddam’s Terror Camps
Wow! This could be big. The Weekly Standard has an explosive story on Saddam Hussein’s Terror Training Camps. Here’s the opening paragraph to wet your appetite: THE FORMER IRAQI REGIME OF Saddam Hussein trained thousands of radical Islamic terrorists…
11:11 am
Utterly Inadmissible Evidence
That sneaky Shrub Mc Chimpy has done it again. Just when we’d finally got everyone but a few malcontents agreed that “Bush Lied About Iraq” his minions dig up a load of dodgy evidence to the contrary. I mean, who do they think they are kidding? Obvi…
11:35 am
Confusing the MSM ignorance with FACTS
The other day this little “blurb” appeared on the Newsweak portion of the MSNBC site, on their article “A Special White House Slide Show
1:43 pm
[...] ight Saddam’s ties to terrorism. But we in the Blogosphere, including Power Line, RightWingNutHouse and AJ Strat [...]
2:11 pm
Let’s See The Left Explain This
But Iraq wasn’t a threat to us at all, right? Wrong:
THE FORMER IRAQI REGIME OF Saddam Hussein trained thousands of radical Islamic terrorists from the region at camps in Iraq over the four years immediately preceding the U.S. invasion, according …
2:20 pm
[...] ions located in northern Africa. My friends at Power Line are on the story here and here. Rick Moran weighs in. This is important news. [...]
4:25 pm
It seems that someone in Clinton’s administration thought there was a connection between Iraq and al Qaeda; enough to state that there was in the indictment of OBL for the Arican embassy bombings. So my question to liberals is – how did Bush manage to lie about that intelligence to the FBI .. back in 1998?
“In addition, al Qaeda reached an understanding with the Government of Iraq that al Qaeda would not work against that government and that on particular projects, specifically including weapons development, al Qaeda would work cooperatively with the Government of Iraq,” the indictment said.
5:56 pm
Rogue CIA “defense contractors”
target of Rep Cunningham wire??
Then Bush/Goss/Gonzales GOT EM!
Click here: The Strata-Sphere » Blog Archive » Rep Cunningham Wore A Wire?
(snip)
The Los Angeles Times revealed on June 14, 2005 that Murtha, as the top Democrat on House Defense Appropriations, has been funneling tens of millions of taxpayer dollars into KSA Consulting, the lobbying company of his brother, Kit Murtha, and KSA clients. Last year, Murtha strongarmed the Navy into transferring the Hunters Point Shipyard to the city of San Francisco, which had a contract with a company called Lennar, Inc. to “redevelop†the 500-acre site bringing millions in profits to Lennar. The Senior Vice-President of Lennar is Laurence Pelosi, Democrat House Leader Nancy Pelosi’s stepson. This year, Murtha inserted several “earmarks†(specifically designated appropriations) into various defence bills giving millions of federal research dollars to companies owned by the children of Democrat Congressman Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania’s 11th district adjoining Murtha’s 12th. Crooked enough for you? Welcome to Washington. This is the way “business†is conducted here. There are – trust me on this – a significant number of Congressmen and Senators of both parties who have integrity and don’t sell their votes for personal gain to themselves, family, or friends. But they are – trust me on this as well – not in the majority. The corruption on Capitol Hill is so rampant that exposure of it is odd – and indeed, there are some exceedingly odd aspects to the bribery of Randy Cunningham. Let’s start with this: the company that bribed Cunningham, MZM, Inc., is a CIA front company. Until the Pentagon canceled its contract with MZM as the bribery charges surfaced, MZM was doing hundreds of millions of dollars of private intelligence work for the Pentagon and the CIA. It even had a contract to buy $140,000 worth of office furniture for the Bush White House. Cunningham was on the defense intelligence committee, so could steer lucrative contracts to MZM. In return, MZM Chairman Mitchell Wade bribed Randy with over $2 million worth of real estate, cars, and luxury stuff. MZM execs made a big public deal of making large contributions to Randy’s election campaigns – and those of several other Repubicans such as Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Virgil Goode (R-VA) and Katherine Harris (R-FL). No Democrats. Only donations to Republicans. Hidden from public view was MZM’s donations to a liberal activist group called Summit PAC which raises money exclusively for Democrats and the Democrat National Committee. In other words, MZM was setting up Republicans with public donations and secretly laundering donations to Democrats. The question immediately arises: Was nailing Randy Cunningham a CIA sting operation? The answer is no – it was a CIA Rogue Weasel sting. Under George Tenet, the CIA waged a covert war against the Bush Presidency. Under Porter Goss, it is not. Porter has been ever since he took over Langley in September of last year. MZM was set up by and is riddled with RWs. I first told you about the Rogue Weasels a year ago in The CIA in Deep Qaaqaa. Before then, I explained how the CIA is a left-wing agency in Porter At The Pass. Here’s an excerpt: “Most folks think the CIA is a right-wing outfit. It is not. The CIA has been dominated by incompetent left-wing hyper-liberals for years. The worst mistake of George Bush’s presidency was not replacing Clinton holdover George Tenet as CIA Director. This is a guy responsible for the single greatest intelligence failure in US history (being unaware of 9-11), who sweet talked his way into Bush’s confidence and was able to keep his job because he named the CIA Headquarters after his father. “The CIA doesn’t simply live in a pre-September 11 world where terrorism is only a “nuisance†– it is that the CIA lives in a left-wing world, the same left-wing world as the State Department. Both worship at the Shrine of Accommodation, Appeasement, and Compromise. Both Langley and Foggy Bottom bureaucrats hate George Bush for alienating the Euroweenies and taking the fight to the Moslem terrorists. Both are working overtime to do what they can to secure Bush’s defeat.†This is the key to understanding the “Plamegate†CIA leak scandal, the leak of the CIA “secret prisons,†the Randy Cunningham sting, and so much else. Left-wing CIA Rogue Weasels are continuing their covert war on George Bush – and now Porter Goss’s CIA. This in no way excuses Cunningham. To get stung you must be willing to be stung. Randy’s a crook and he’s going to do time. But will John Murtha? Will MZM Chairman Mitchell Wade? Yes, we have a grand monumental conspiracy conducted by CIA RWs, the Democrat leadership, and the BNM (Bad News Media) left-wing media cabal, all working in concert to create scandals demonizing Bush in particular and Republicans in general. The goal is clear: for the Democrats to seize control of the House and Senate in 2006, the White House in 2008, at which time the RWs will all be back running the CIA. The conspiracy is being pulled off right under the American public’s nose – and so far, it’s working. Ps: In case you’re wondering about the MZM White House furniture contract. The CIA makes very special furniture, like chairs that record the biometrics (heart rate, etc.) of the person sitting in it. Obviously now, one wonders if the info recorded wasn’t being channeled to RWs. Also, MZM had extensive contracts for translation services in Iraq. Just think of the mischief RWs could cause with that. Pss: You might consider contacting the office of Congresswoman Jean Schmidt to thank her for demonstrating more moral courage on the floor of Congress than Crooked John “Cut and Run†Murtha: 238 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515-3502 (202) 225-3164
Last Updated ( Friday, 02 December 2005 )
SBD
Left by sbd on January 7th, 2006
http://strata-sphere.com/blog/index.php/archives/1151#comments
ME:
SBD
Great info which makes some of the comments on cable news last
night make very good sense.
The consensus was that Cunningham would not have been recording in the House’s cloakroom or on the floor – but that he
would be recording the defense contractors.
If the “defense contractors” recorded are those “rogue weasles”of MZM,Inc. – then Bush/Goss/Gonzales “got em good!” And we can look forward to more departures.
Wonder if MacRanger will have further connections within this to his VIPS?
6:00 pm
Blindness
Suddenly, left-wing see-, hear- and speak-no-evil is besieged by new evidence; the data to date show “the connections between Saddam and terrorists were substantial and significant,” as the Weekly Standard’s Stephen Hayes—explains.
7:26 pm
Iraq’s Training of Terrorists Documented
Saddam’s Terror Training Camps What the documents captured from the former Iraqi regime reveal—and why they should all be made public. by Stephen F. Hayes THE FORMER IRAQI REGIME OF Saddam Hussein trained thousands of radical Islamic terrorists from the
8:37 pm
Proof that Terrorists Trained in Iraq Produced
...not that this is surprising. Anyone that doesn’t hate George W. Bush and isn’t part of the blame-America-first crowd has already known this for a long time. The big story here is that finally the Bush administration is allowing access to some of t…
9:44 pm
The former MSM will ignore this because they are ran by ignorant people. They’re still trying to figure out why they are losing readers/viewers and some are on the verge of closing down. Don’t buy stock in any organization that has anything to do with the ‘News’ (sic).
The Justice department is fillaly doing it’s job and leaving the politics out of it. They have put almost a thousand corporate criminals out of business and most in jail in the past four years and are still digging. I see a lot of politicians running for home very soon, especially considering they will not be able to cover up for long. Haven’t seen the list of Republicans with their hand in John’s pocket but the fact that 40 of 45 democrats in the senate had their hand in his pocket should be an eye opener.
Might as well quit hammering the left wing liberals on Iraq. They have their mind made up and don’t have enough mind to harbor two thoughts. A fact to them is a language in an unknown tongue. I’d hate to be as ignorant and full of hate as they are. We don’t have enough mental facilities in the country to hold them when they break in the next few years.
12:16 am
Saddam’s Ties To Global Terrorism Come To Light
Thanks again to Michelle Malkin for scouring the internet at all hours of the day and night to be the first to report on breaking news.
She has come across an article in The Weekly Standard by terrorism expert Stephen Hayes who has been doggedly pur…
11:43 am
Confirmed: Iraq was a terrorist training center
The media will keep you in the dark about this, but thanks to Stephen Hayes, we now know it’s been confirmed that Iraq was a terrorist training center, which trained at least 8,000 terrorists between 1999 and 2002 – some with ties to Al Qaeda. ...
11:06 am
Saddam Hussein and Islamic Terrorism
Looking through unclassified documents, Weekly Standard writer Stephen Hayes has found evidence for Saddam’s training of Islamic terrorists from across the Middle East:(snip)Salman Pak was the location of the airliner fuselage. And some other gear, p…
12:17 am
Saddam’s terrorist training bases
The Weekly Standard (via IRIS Blog and Austin Bay Blog) presents another very good reason why the dictatorship of Saddam had to be brought down
10:13 pm
[...] My friends at Power Line are on the story here and here. Rick Moran weighs in. [...]