March 17, 2006
CONTRARY TO HIS COMMITMENTS:
New Documents from Saddam Hussein's Archives Discuss Bin Laden, WMDs (ABC News, March 16, 2006)
Following are the ABC News Investigative Unit's summaries of four of the nine Iraqi documents from Saddam Hussein's government, which were released by the U.S. government Wednesday.The documents discuss Osama bin Laden, weapons of mass destruction, al Qaeda and more.
The full documents can be found on the U.S. Army Foreign Military Studies Office Web site: http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/products-docex.htm [...]
"Hiding Docs from the U.N. Team"
Document dated March 23, 1997
A letter from the Iraqi intelligence service to directors and managers advising them to follow certain procedures in case of a search by the U.N. team, including:
Removing correspondence with the atomic energy and military industry departments concerning the prohibited weapons (proposals, research, studies, catalogs, etc.).
Removing prohibited materials and equipment, including documents and catalogs and making sure to clear labs and storages of any traces of chemical or biological materials that were previously used or stored.
Doing so through a committee which will decide whether to destroy the documents.
Removing files from computers.
The letter also advises them on how they should answer questions by U.N. team members. It says the intelligence service should be informed within one week about the progress made in discarding the documents.
(Editor's Note: This document is consistent with the Report of the Special Advisor to the Director of Central Intelligence, which described a pattern of deception and concealment on the part of Saddam Hussein's government towards the U.N. inspectors in the mid to late 90's. Hussein halted all cooperation with those inspectors and expelled them in October 1998.)
Case closed. Posted by Orrin Judd at March 17, 2006 4:05 PM
You do realize that these documents are all a plant by the neocons and Halliburton to justify Bush's war for oil and empire? That's why they waited so long, they had to write them.
/removes tinfoil beanie/
(I'm joking, I'm joking.) :)
Put that beanie back on, Mikey, and wear it proudly, because you are ABSOLUTELY CORRECT, this is disinformation and propaganda designed to justify this immoral and illegal invasion of an already-neutered sovereign nation.
And believe me, I know disinformation and propaganda, those being the tools of my craft.
Posted by: Harold Pinter at March 17, 2006 9:19 PMHarold:
For a moment there, I thought your name was Harry.
Forgive me.
By November, the left is going to regret that Saddam and the Ba'athists were as addicted to documentation as the Nazis were.
But I'll bet Howard Dean tries this disinformation line of attack within the next few weeks. It's his only defense, really. But impugning the army of translators (to paraphrase Prof. Instapundit) is not a good idea.
Perhaps the release of these documents has always been an ace up Bush's sleeve. He didn't use in 2004, but now he can, and is.
Posted by: jim hamlen at March 17, 2006 10:08 PM"always been an ace up Bush's sleeve. He didn't use in 2004, but now he can, and is"
Excuse me Jim, but if that is the case then Bush's sense of timing isn't worth d*mn. Why wouldn't he use them in 04, or 03?
Sorta like the Syracuse players saying they were saving their efforts for the 2nd round.
Posted by: h-man at March 18, 2006 6:32 AM