Looks like there was an al-Qaeda-Iraq connection after all. Not only that, but an Iraq-Ansar al-Islam connection as well:

14. According to a sensitive reporting [from] a "regular and reliable source," [Ayman al] Zawahiri, a senior al Qaeda operative, visited Baghdad and met with the Iraqi Vice President on 3 February 1998. The goal of the visit was to arrange for coordination between Iraq and bin Laden and establish camps in an-Nasiriyah and Iraqi Kurdistan under the leadership of Abdul Aziz. [..]

One report states that "in late 1999" al Qaeda set up a training camp in northern Iraq that "was operational as of 1999." [..]

38. According to sensitive reporting, a contact with good access who does not have an established reporting record: An Iraqi intelligence service officer said that as of mid-March the IIS was providing weapons to al Qaeda members located in northern Iraq, including rocket propelled grenade (RPG)-18 launchers. According to IIS information, northern Iraq-based al Qaeda members believed that the U.S. intended to strike al Qaeda targets during an anticipated assault against Ansar al-Islam positions.

The memo further reported pre-war intelligence which "claimed that an Iraqi intelligence official, praising Ansar al-Islam, provided it with $100,000 and agreed to continue to give assistance."

Which seems to confirm the Kurdish allegations that Ansar al-Islam cooperated with Hussein. Ansar was created in 2001, but the 1998 and 1999 reports may have referred to some of the groups that merged to form it. It all puts Mullah Krekar's support for the Iraq peace movement here in Norway in a different light. Here's what he said in February:

Mullah Krekar, former leader of Ansar al-Islam, who the US claims is the connection between Iraq and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, had brought his wife Rokhos Ahmed and his brother Faraj Ahmad Khalid to the peace protest.

- I came here for the same reason as everyone else. I say no to war and yes to peace. I believe it means something when the whole world says no. And I believe in putting pressure on Bush, said a smiling Mullah Krekar as he got a pat on the back from a bypasser.

Is there a better illustration of what the Iraq peace movement stood for than the image of Mullah Krekar, who worked with both Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda, receiving a pat on the back from his fellow protesters?

Good points. The recent Steve Hayes article in the Weekly Standard makes some pretty telling points here too. We need to keep the pressure up on these stories.

Let me guess, Bjorn, your countrymen are shocked, SHOCKED by this, aren't they?????

Islamism is a hydra. While the Saudis are the money, Iran is it's heart.

You may get told that the Department of Defense has said the memo is wrong. Nope. They say it is a compilation of the "raw" data from several departments (CIA, FBI, NSA) without the analysis and conclusions and should be taken as such. Quite a number of the points can be easily verified, however, by searches for news articles near the dates mentioned. The DoD release does not say any of the data is correct or incorrect (although the leaked memo itself pointed out, for example, that there is no support for one of the Prague meetings).

I guarantee that there will be headlines soon that say something like, "Pentagon says leaked memo not accurate", or something like that, which is not true. The Pentagon has basically said, we can't confirm or deny the accuaracy of the memo.

It should be noted that there is already an investigation being pursued by a Senate committee, which tacitly proves the authenticity of the memo if not the factual accuracy.

In the end, I wouldn't be surpirsed if all those "stupid, ignorant Americans" who believe Saddam and Al Quaeda were co-conspirators turn out to be fairly prescient, and fairly correct.

Especially the dummies who watch FoxNews.

Whose income is above the average/median working American, I might add.

But the lefties will just move the goalposts back again. I figure those posts are at about Hawaii right now, the starting point being NYC.

It amazes me that the issue of Saddam, Al-Queda, and WMD has consumed the press for so many months. Imagine their outrage if a cloud of radioactive materials appeared over an American or European city. Or maybe a real outbreak of anthrax or smallpox. Is the press so stupid that they would be surprised?

My goodness, what will it take for the press to understand the dangers of Islamofascism?

Totoro: An "outbreak of anthrax"?

Exactly how do you think Anthrax spreads?

Trying to find out about this terro camp in n Iraq, Inside the No Fly zone Controled by the Kurds, that Al queda was Supposed to be runing. Wher was the PKK, siting on their hands? Maybe the camp was Invisable.

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