I had a very good comment left by an anonymous person at Big Dog’s article and found that it would be interesting to expand on Bos’uns analysis of the topic. Anonymous comment was: Good post with one flaw - Al Qaeda wasn’t in Iraq before we invaded and what progress we are making is in serious jeopardy because of this civil war stuff. Either way, wasn't Sheehan's son killed in Afghanistan?? See Big Dog's article posted here.
Anyway, much debate has raged about when al-Qaeda first came to Iraq. Those who hate President Bush want to blame him for everything. The truth is we do not know when al-Qaeda first went in country. And, we are not cleared to hear the official classified version, which may or may not be the truth anyway. Our intelligence apparatus is not known for being accurate. They (our intelligence apparatus) did not connect the dots before 9/11 and may not have done much since except cover their behinds.
Anyway, here is Bos'un analysis. All comments are appreciated and any information to prove or discount Bos'un analysis is also graciously appreciated.
Bos’un Analysis: If you believe MSM, you will believe that al-Qaeda was not in Iraq before we invaded. True, they were not blowing things up under Saddam's reign. However, but they were there and probably had the blessings of Saddam. Nothing moved in Iraq during those days without the blessings of Saddam.
Word has it that after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, when it was clear that an American invasion of Afghanistan terrorists started to bailout and establish cells in their native countries. Zarqawi and his men traveled through Pakistan and Iran. If you recall, February 2002, three at-Tawhid members were captured while crossing from Iran into Turkey on a mission to attack Israel. In April (same year), three at-Tawhid members were arrested in Germany while planning attacks against Jewish targets.
Through some research that I did using open sources, it was suggested to get hold of the Bahraini documentary Al Zarqawi: Min Herat ila Baghdad (Zarqawi: From Herat to Baghdad[1]), by Lahodood. You may learn some things from Bahrain and other Middle Eastern countries that have aligned themselves with the west and have forward thinking pro-western philosophy.
As things heated up in spring 2002, Zarqawi across the border into Iraqi Kurdistan, and the camps of Ansar al-Islam, an al-Qaeda-backed Islamic terrorist organization led by Mullah Krekar.
His organization had a presence in Iraqi Kurdistan since 1998.[2] There have been various claims that Zarqawi was treated in a hospital in Baghdad, that he and Ansar al-Islam were working with Saddam through the alleged mukhabarat agent Abu Wa'il.[3]
Remember the ricin that later surfaced in Europe[4]? It was tied to Ansar al-Islam and I think some of Zarqawi's people.
Now comes the timeline when actually did Zarqawi declared bayat to bin Laden[5][6][7].
I contend, but cannot prove, that Zarqawi had worked with Bin Laden in Afghanistan and made working agreements with the al-Qaeda network eons ago. These guys were all hard core and hated the Russians and West with a passion.
Word has it that Zarqawi received al-Qaeda's blessings in early 2003 and at that time became the terrorist 'Emir' of Iraq[8][9][10].
I would not be so bold as to say that al-Qaeda was not in Iraq until after the fall of Saddam. There are a lot of bedroom deals in the Middle East. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Truth is we do not know when Zarqawi and other al-Qaeda affiliates entered into Iraq.
Saddam may have entered them into the plan. He was a madman and flew his air force to Iran when during Gulf War 1. The jury is still out on weapons of mass destruction ( WMDs), al-Qaeda connections, and much of the war on terror.
MSM and those who hate President Bush, seem to hate Bush more than they do the enemy. Anonymous remember, we have to be 100% right, the terrorists only have to be right one time.
As far as Casey Sheehan being killed in Iraq or Afghanistan, it is all semantics. Both are military actions in the war on terrorism.
Army Spec. Casey Sheehan 24, of Vacaville, Calif.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; killed April 4 when his unit was attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire in Baghdad, Iraq. God Bless your soul, Casey. Peace be with you brother, you made the ultimate sacrifice fighting for what you believed in. (contrary to Cindy's claim)
[1] Background/Profile Zarqawi
[2] Michael Rubin, The Islamist Threat in Iraqi Kurdistan,
December 2001.
[3] PWHCE: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (The Usama bin Laden of Iraq)
[4] Washington Monthly archives
[5] Future of Muslims World
[6] Combating Terrorism: Muslim Brotherhood
[7] Wikipedia
[8] Middle East Intelligence Bulletin
[9] Terrorism Scorecard
[10] Site Institute
Technorati tags: Al-Zarqawi, Terrorists, Al Qaeda In Iraq, Iraq, at-Tawhid, Pakistan, Iran, Herat, , Bagdad, Ansar al-Islam, mukhabarat,bayat, Cindy Sheehan, Big Dog's Weblog, Michael Moore, unbiased, MSM, journalists, al Qaeda
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2 comments:
Good Post Bosun,
I am glad you cleared up where Casey died. I see Cindy Sheehan's name all the time and it is always followed by "whose son was killed in Iraq" or words to that effect.
Some other things people seem not tograsp:
Al-Qaeda, specifically Osama bin Laden, met with Hussein on several occassions to discuss support. Husseing even tried to buy some expensive diamond for OBL. There were terrorist training camps in Iraq. Regardless of what terrorist group they belong to, they were there. This is the war on TERROR, not Al Qaeda and the President made it clear that we would make no distinction between those who commit terror and those who harbor them. Hussein gave refuge to terrorists who were on the run.
As for WMD, at my site there are two articles from Townhall that depict where they went. Hussein sent them to Syria. In addition, the Chinese were building him a nuclear weapon (he did not want to get caught with the components while building his own). This came from one of his top air force generals.
Al Qaeda has become a generic term for terrorist in this country. People generally use it to refer to all the terrorists. It is like the use of the word Kleenex to describe all facial tissue.
One of the problems that we have are our senators and congressmen (and congresswomen) who try to undermine the war efforts and our president. In April, 2005, Senator Carl Levin released documents in which he was trying to throw a damp towel on the Iraq - al-Qaeda connection. http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2005_cr/levin041505.html
Good old liberal Carl used some CIA stuff from 2002 and one report from January 2003 that made the wates murky and gave the libs ammunition to blame our President.
(We really need term limits on our legislators.)
The debate still rages about did Atta meet with Iraqi agents in Prague or not. The folks in Prague say yes. CIA analysts publically are skeptical. Perhaps they are the same folks who did not connect any dots before 9/11.
The closing press release from good old Carl indicated, "As a key part of its case for going to war, the Bush Administration repeatedly suggested that Iraq had a significant cooperative relationship with the people who attacked us on 9/11. The documents provide new, previously classified details demonstrating that Administration statements about the Iraq-al Qaeda relationship were not supported by the underlying intelligence. " Good old Carl also released a 46 page report in 10/2004 that mimiced in detail what his press release in 2005 said. http://www.levin.senate.gov/newsroom/supporting/2004/102104inquiryreport.pdf
I say it is political grandstanding by the left leaning members of our Senate to make things so smokey that nobody is going to see the truth.
National Review has a good article that talks about the murky waters and inconsistencies of the 9/11 report:
http://www.nationalreview.com/mccarthy/mccarthy200406170840.asp
We need to dig into the books further and put the spotlight back on getting the truth. I am looking at more dialog for and against.
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