Ray Robison: Pointing out the obvious to the oblivious

I love it when that happens

AP Wire- newsday

"In the north, a militant was killed when a bomb he was carrying in a cart exploded, apparently accidentally, military officials said."

hehehe

A case study in how our intel system breaks down

How the FBI let 9/11 happen HT Ace

Despite the fact that I disagree with Jeff Taylor about his position on the Patriot Act, (and I don't think "Let it happen" is quite fair) this article contains some interesting information in a time line fashion as to how a diligent FBI agent was rebuffed in his attempt to get at Moussaoui before 9/11.

So? The 9/11 Commission investigation detailed that British intelligence directly told U.S. officials on September 13, 2001, that Moussaoui had attended a training camp in Afghanistan. "Had this information been available in late August 2001, the Moussaoui case would almost certainly have received intense, high-level attention," the commission concluded. As it turns out, Samit had that info in late August 2001 and nobody cared. CIA Director George Tenet was briefed on the Moussaoui threat on August 23. The case received intense, high-level attention. Nobody cared.

Back in 2004, Thomas Kean, the chairman of the 9/11 commission, said he was troubled that Moussaoui's arrest never made it up to the top of the FBI hierarchy.

"If it had maybe there would have been some action taken and things could have been different," Kean was quoted by The New York Times.

Yet now it is clear that senior FBI officials Maltbie and Frasca did know about Moussaoui's arrest. In fact, they knew the case so well that they denied Samit's request for a warrant to search Moussaoui's computer and belongings. Samit also testified that he was told pressing too hard to obtain a warrant on Moussaoui would hurt his career.

This decision to deny a warrant gave rise to the myth that "The Wall" between overseas intelligence and criminal investigations made the PATRIOT Act necessary. To this day this myth is cherished among right-wing radio talkers and has, just now, morphed into a clumsy justification for the White House's sidestepping the FISA court and directing its own wiretap frenzy via the NSA. This is all pure fantasy.

Instead of clueless Carter-era restrictions on domestic spying or insufficient distrust of civil liberties, Samit cited "obstructionism, criminal negligence and careerism" by top FBI officials as what stopped his investigation.

I find this interesting because of all the anonymous government intelligence professionals who are quoted as saying "nothing new" about the Iraq documents.

My work with career intelligence analysts made one thing clear to me. Many are arrogant as hell and if it is not important to what they are working on at the moment (which is of course the most important thing in the world) then it doesn't matter. This article clearly details how this attitude played out in the FBI among counter terrorist professionals.

I can almost hear it "Moussaoui who? I don't have time for that, I am doing my dissertation on how state sponsorship of terrorism is no longer viable."

Around the web

TJ

Roughly one year prior to 9-11, General Tommy Franks headed a meeting of senior CENTCOM officers to discuss options for striking al Qaeda targets in Afghanistan. But, the intelligence simply wasn't there. In American Soldier, General Franks explains:

On a Thursday morning in late September 2000, I gathered the senior CENTCOM staff directors in my Tampa office to review the Command's operational posture toward al Qaeda.

Dumb Looks Still Free has the story

Well, a bit of a pointed set of facts, but I am a results oriented individual. The US Armed Forces are changing into the most powerful fighting force per man that has ever been seen on this planet. This is measured in full-spectrum effectiveness from civilian interface and intelligence gathering all the way to how much firepower can get directed at a single point. Some people would prefer the old architecture of the military, but I prefer a flexible and adaptive force structure that makes conflict a 'suit to fit' scenario rather than 'One size fits all' but fits none well. And so it went at Texas Fred's Ace in the Hole site in this area:

American Thinker

Kudos to our colleagues at Powerline for unmasking New York Times writer’s Eric Lichtbau for misleading (that’s the charitable word) his readers about hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The topic was FISA, related, of course, to the Left’s accusations over monitoring of international telephone calls involving terror suspects.

I remember when the Times was a respectable newspaper.

Dread Pundit Bluto (Still the best website name ever)

A panel of former Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judges yesterday told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that President Bush did not act illegally when he created by executive order a wiretapping program conducted by the National Security Agency (NSA).
The five judges testifying before the committee said they could not speak specifically to the NSA listening program without being briefed on it, but that a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act does not override the president's constitutional authority to spy on suspected international agents under executive order.

Ray: My analysis-NANANNANANA, been telling you libs for months, read the damn statute!

Movie quote trivia time!!!

"my neighborhood is so bad you can get shot while you're getting shot" Got the movie?

Also, if there are any Arabic translators that want to contribute to the project (volunteer) please email me at [email protected]. Sammi is doing a great job but there are many documents coming out now.

Iraqi memo about intelligence precautions for a secret arab group in Afghanistan.

Translator’s notes:
1) In the previous document ISGP-2003-00014127 a first meeting between Taha Yassin Ramadan (Vice-President of Iraq) and a Pakistani islamist leader Fadl Ur Rahman was translated. At the end of the meeting the Pakistani suggests that the Iraqis should send a delegation to Kandahar. Ramadan says that the Iraqis will study the issue.   
2) This whole 7 pages document 2RAD-2004-600760-ELC reads like intelligence instructions to a group of Arabs (including women and children) living in Afghanistan and specifically Kandahar.(sounds like a delegation!)
3) Kandahar was the capital of the Taliban regime. It is mentioned 3 times in the document (twice in page 3 and once in page 7)
4) The Arabs are called “brothers” in the documents. This is a typical way of calling between islamists.
5) This group of Arabs is running “hosting places” (as per translation) that look more like safe houses for other Arabs. Moreover they are instructed to hide their arab identity and to look like Afghanis.
6) Even though Afghanistan was teeming with boasting Arab volunteers the instructions given to the “brothers” is to keep a very low profile and they are told to behave as if enemies would strike at any moment.
6) They are running some kind of “work” with multiple intelligence precaution instructions.
7) It could be that the Iraqi intelligence Service has established a secret base in Kandahar (and other cities) under the cover of families. I am saying “has established” because anybody reading arabic can tell from the first sentence of the paragraph of “Public meetings security” (page 7) that the “brothers” are already present in Kandahar:” Al Maoujoudin Fi Kandahar”.  Therefore this document is targeting people already in Afghanistan and not people that would probably go there.

            In the Name of God the Merciful

Personnel security:
Respected brother know that one of the main reasons of information leak is personnel (translator’s note: personnel making a mistake and causing the leak), this is why we try to cooperate with you so that neither you or one of your brothers becomes the cause of a catastrophe that might hit one of the brothers or all of them.

Please follow the following instructions:
1-    Know as much as you need (translator’s note: don’t ask too many questions)
2-    Don’t talk too much and it is said that “silence is wisdom”
3-    It is recommended that all personnel be wearing Afghani clothing so they do not show out between people.
4-    All the brothers should go to the market by themselves, alone.
5-    It is not advised to move alone at night. (At night walk the streets on foot)
6-    As much as possible do not disclose your identity as an Arab.
7-    Avoid excitement (translator’s note: in a conservation) whether by glorifying or bashing.
8-    Avoid being observed (translator’s note: being followed and observed) and always notice who is walking behind you or following you from a distance. (review the observation manual)
9-    All brothers should be always armed even if with a small knife in their pockets.
10-    Check your pockets and never leave important papers in them when moving around.
11-    Always be careful in personal relations with Afghanis or Pakistanis.
12-    Avoid giving any information about the locations of your brothers.
13-    It is forbidden to discuss work issues with the women.
14-    It is forbidden to take children to parks and offices.
15-    It is forbidden to talk about your work or the nature of your mission with anybody who is not related to it. (translator’s note: the work or mission)
16-    Beware from taking a habit in your daily routine because the rule says”Routine is the enemy of security”.
17-    If you are moving and have a large amount of money, beware from showing it in the market so you do not incite robbers on you. (pull back).
18-    Always beware when you are talking about the work because somebody not related to your work, the women or the children might hear you.
19-    Beware of rapid and spontaneous friendships with Afghanis who speak Arabic.
20-    In public places beware from talking about work issues because some Afghanis know Arabic but you cannot notice this.
21-    Always be forgiving when you are buying from, selling to or dealing with Afghanis and avoid trouble.

22-    Children are not allowed to go out by themselves whether to buy stuff or play.
23-    Always make sure about the identity of your neighbors and classify them as regular people, opponents or allies.

Security of compounds
The security of the house or the living quarters is one of the most important aspects of security because the house contains the personnel, the equipment and the important documents. Making the house secure is securing all those issues and it is advisable that these measures be taken seriously.
There are important precautions, to the security of the house, that have to be taken before renting but it is not practical to list them here.
•    Security personnel will patrol the houses of the brothers at different times.
•    It is preferable that there should be a parking in the house
•    It is preferable that two families should live in a house and it is warned against one family only living in a house.
•    The house should be in a quiet place and not crowded so observing the house and its activity will not be easy.
•    The house should be away from suspected places.
•    The house should have more than a visible entrance and exit and also an invisible entrance and exit.
•    Live away from important places like ministries and others.
•    It is preferable that the one who rents the house be an Afghani and not an Arab.
•    Every house should have a weapon while making sure it is away from children.
•    Irregular patrols should be set up between now and then to uncover any strange object close to the house or a car parking close to the house.
•    Measures to uncover observation of the house should be taken:
-Look out for persons or cars who constantly observe the house (static observation)
- Observe the house from a distant place or from inside the house without anybody noticing to uncover static observation.
•    At night it is advised to light the court of the house if possible.
•    Firmly close doors and windows when sleeping.
•    Windows should be reinforced with iron rods.
•    It is preferable that women should not be left alone in the house for a long time.
•    All the brothers should not leave the house at the same time.
•    If an urgency happens and all the brothers should leave the house then it is advisable to:
-Firmly close the windows and doors.
-Take necessary precautions in case the house is secretly searched
•    If there are three or more families in a house a night guard should be organized, and a brother should at least go out 2 or 3 times to make sure the house is safe.
•    An emergency plan should be established for the house where every person in the house should be assigned a location and a role.
•    It is advisable that there will be some kind of communication between the houses of the brothers and if not possible at least between the houses of a different compound.
•    It is forbidden to open the door before making sure who is knocking, and identifying who is knocking takes place from a proper distance.
•    It is forbidden for the children to play outside.
•    Children should be forbidden from opening the door.
•    Groupings at the front of the house are forbidden, anything should take place inside the house and not on the road.

Security of the hosting places:
A hosting place is the place where most infiltration takes place. What we mean by hosting place is a public place where people, who most of the time are not related to the work, are received. But in case we are receiving special guests or others, it is not considered a hosting place but it is affiliated to the security of the special offices.

*At the hosting place a room for the security unit is necessary for observation:
    1- The hosting place should be away from the housings of the brothers and their grouping areas.
    2- Brothers should not go often to the hosting place except for a purpose.
    3-It is forbidden to practice any private or secret matter in the hosting place.
    4-The hosting place where our brothers are grouped, like Kandahar
        *Anybody who enters it should be known
        *Nobody lives in it unless a known party recommends him
        *Persons living in the hosting place should be organized and be allowed by the brother in charge of the hosting place. It should be known where the brother is going and when he is coming back.
    5-Brothers living in Kandahar and who repetitively visit the hosting place should abide by the Holy Hadith ”The virtue of one’s Islam is to leave what does not belong to him”, and not to start a relation with the brothers living in the hosting place.
    6-The brother in charge of the hosting place should assign a private place for each brother living in the hosting place and not leave the decision to the visitor
    7-There should be a schedule for night guard in the hosting place.
    8-The communication room should be isolated in the hosting place and not close to the visitor’s rooms.
    9- The hosting place should have a reception room where the visiting brother is dealt with, before entering the hosting place, and decide if he is going to stay in it.
    10- Public meetings are strictly forbidden in the hosting place.
    11- The person in charge of the hosting place should be living in it or he should assign a deputy who is always living in it.
    12- Visiting brothers are warned not to bring cameras or video cameras.
    13- The brother in charge of the hosting place should decide who opens the door and who receives visitors only in the reception room.
    14- Groups are forbidden in front of the hosting place.
    15- Make sure you identify and classify the neighbors.
    16- An emergency plan should be implemented for the hosting place and everybody should be assigned a responsibility.
    17- the hosting place should be away from suspect places.
    18- the hosting place should be away from important places like ministries and others.
    19-It is forbidden to leave visitors alone in the hosting place.
    20- It is forbidden to completely empty the hosting place.
    21- Take necessary precautions to discover static observations of the hosting place
    22-Always patrol around the hosting place to uncover any foreign object.
    23-establish an administration list to the hosting place because a good administration is the basis for applying all the previous security rules.

Security of movement
    First: Security of cars and vehicles:
Constant movement of cars between the houses of the brothers and their workplace is a big breach which might lead to uncovering and locating all those places if the brother driving was not aware of observation and other. (it is possible that the car itself, with its occupiers be a target) therefore:
•    Check (technical) the cars daily, because if a car breaks in a dangerous location this could lead to the enemy getting to the car’s occupiers.
•    The brothers driving the cars should their cars daily to make sure it does not contain any foreign material or device.
•    All the brothers driving the cars should be armed and should have their weapons license.
•    It is preferable that the cars should not look different from other cars in the city.
•    Cars should be handed to specific people so they would be careful to the security of the movement.
•    Brothers driving the cars should always be careful to any vehicle behind them and should take necessary precautions to uncover observation while driving.
•    Brothers driving the cars should always be wearing afghani clothing so their identity cannot be easily discovered.
•    Brothers driving the cars should not always follow one path and should not have a constant habit in choosing their way.
•    Cars should not be left in front of houses or hosting places and if this happens for an emergency, a brother should stay in the car.
•    It is advisable that if the brothers go to the market, a brother should always stay in the car.
•    It is absolutely forbidden to keep the car outside the house during nighttime. They should be inside the house or in the hosting place.
•    It is advisable to lock the cars well in the houses and in the hosting place.
•    If possible change the cars every now and then for more safety.
•    Pick-ups should always have a tarp on them to hide what’s in them and not to uncover the transport.
•    It is advisable to reduce car movements because the more we move the more we encounter danger, and generally moving at night is much better than moving in daylight.
•    Brothers in charge of the cars should avoid trouble while driving inside the city and should abide by the driving regulations.
•    All cars should be provided with a security key in a secret location as an anti-theft measure.
•    If it is possible all cars should be provided with a talkie warlike since they are in constant movement.
•    If you are using a taxi in your movements, make sure you get in it from a place distant from where you left and do not step out of it directly in front of the place you’re going to.

Second: security of movement and travel inside Afghanistan
Travel is one of the most important security breaches that we should be careful of because of the long absence from the brothers and facing the dangers of the road.
•    Do not forget to mention the prayers of travel
•    It is absolutely forbidden for a person to travel by himself, and it is preferable that the number of travelers be at least three including a trusted Afghani.
•    In rest areas a brother should not show his military ID.
•    The security office should be informed about the travel before the travel, and when you reach your destination you should inform the office for follow up.
•    It is advisable that a personal weapon be carried even if it is a pocket knife.
•    If travel includes a sleep over
•     (Translator’s notes: several instructions for sleeping during travel follow) 

Mail and Communications security:

(Translator’s notes: several instructions for mail and communications security are listed, right out of an intelligence personnel book)

Public meetings security:
The danger of public meetings is that it often groups the personnel present in Kandahar, and if the enemy manages to know and reach the meeting place he would have got a dangerous opportunity and to be able to let him miss this chance we should follow some precautions.
(Translator’s notes: several instructions concerning public meetings security follow)

All original tranlsations by "Sammi" are copyrighted intellectual property of "Sammi" for purposes of print media publishing. Free use for internet sources.

Hi UK Guardian/Lemonde readers- here's what you missed

The al-Quds document.

Recently, New York Times reporter Scott Shane interviewed me for an article concerning the release of Saddam Regime documents to the public. The article entitled Iraq Documents Are Put on Web, and Search Is On gave several generic quotes of intelligence officials stating that the new documents would reveal nothing. I can only assume that Scott Shane missed Condi Rice on the news commenting on the newly released documents that showed the Russian ambassador gave U.S. troop strength and our maneuver plans to Iraq. So “nothing new” is demonstrated to be incorrect.

As well he focused on a headline to one of my articles describing what I call the al-Quds document, IZSP-2003-00003336. In the article, I claimed that this document demonstrated that Saddam had planned to give anthrax to al-Quds, Palestinians living in Iraq and fighting for Saddam, and that they were to use it against Iraqis to implicate the U.S. in a WMD attack.

Scott did not provide any expert testimony specific to this document, or even one point of my analysis but dismissed it out of hand based no doubt on his vast experience working with documents captured in Iraq.
He says:

But the anthrax document that intrigued Mr. Robison, the Alabama blogger, does not seem to prove much. It is a message from the Quds Army, a regional militia created by Mr. Hussein, to Iraqi military intelligence that passes on reports picked up by troops, possibly from the radio,  since the information is labeled "open source" and "impaired broadcast." No anthrax was found in Iraq by American search teams.

First let me point out, Scott could not get one expert to dispute my finding so he substitutes his own conclusions. Aren’t journalists supposed to report and not make judgments in the articles? But more than that, he couches his own conclusion among the generic statements of intelligence officials to give the reader the impression that the conclusion is from an expert, not his own (conceding of course that he must be an expert since he quoted himself in the article).

Now far be it from me to challenge his obvious expertise in the field when I can only bring the expertise of 13 year army experience as an officer in the field artillery and signal corps, Gulf War and Kosovo operations and the year I spent working with the Iraq Survey Group analyzing and processing these documents, but I will try.
This is the al-Quds document translation that was posted by FMSO:

                                                                            Secret

                                                        To: the general military intelligence directorate
                                                        Subject: information
March 11, 2003

The al-Quds liberation army division supplied us with information (open source) (impaired broadcast) as follows

1.    The Iraqi government will distribute the same leaflets that the American forces are distributing but it will contain anthrax.
2.    Iraq imports uniforms resembling American forces uniforms for the purpose of killing Iraqi citizens because the American forces had killed the innocent sons of the Iraqi people.
3.    Dig trenches around the city of Baghdad and set up oil barrels and derivatives for the purpose of burning and causing mayhem the city of Baghdad as Iraq did in Kuwait.
4.    Diplomats are leaving Iraq and Russia says that it has already taken out its representatives from inside Iraq.
5.    There is a rumor that some of the children of ministers and high ranking commerce people left Iraq for Russia.

Request review…with regards

Director of the al-Quds Army Intelligence Organization.

Scott makes this point;
“that passes on reports picked up by troops, possibly from the radio, since the information is  labeled "open source" and "impaired broadcast."

Basically Scott (and others) has classified this as rumor reporting. These are not just rumors. This is a recitation of a plan. It is called a brief back in U.S. army operations and is usually done at a coordination meeting for an operation. How can I determine this?

Well Scott says the U.S. forces found no anthrax. So let’s use his logic to examine the document. If it is not a plan and is all rumors then there should be no evidence to support the other statements.

Line two talks of Iraqi soldiers dressing in U.S. uniforms and killing Iraqis. The obvious point of this would be to stage a U.S. massacre. So did it happen?

From The Heritage Foundation
Iraq’s Actions
Defense officials have received accounts of Special Republican Guard troops and Fedayeen forces dressing in U.S. military uniforms, accepting the surrender of other Iraqi forces, and then executing those soldiers that surrendered.

So it would appear that this “rumor” happened just as predicted.

Line three talks about digging trenches around Baghdad, filling them with oil and setting it on fire. This is to create the image of a city being burned to the ground to again implicate the U.S. in a massacre.

Did it happen? This is from a well known Iraqi blogger: Where is Raed
    Monday, March 24, 2003            
    4:30pm (day3)

half an hour ago the oil filled trenches were put on fire. First watching Al-jazeera they said that     these were the places that got hit by bombs from an air raid a few miniutes earlier bit when I went up to the roof to take a look I saw that there were too many of them, we heard only three  explosions. I took pictures of the nearest. My cousine came and told me he saw police cars standing by one and setting it on fire. Now you can see the columns of smoke all over the city.

And from a CNN transcript
        March 25th, 2003
        BROWN:  Just go back to the first one, the picture with the smoke.
        KAGAN:  All right.
        BROWN:  What is that?  Is that an oil trench burning?  Do we know what that is that's causing all that smoke?
        KAGAN: They're talking about oil fires ringing the city, talking about defense of incoming U.S. missiles and bombs. I think this is -- yes, the trenches that were dug around Baghdad.

Thus we have a second “rumor” that happened just as stated by the al-Quds intelligence document.

The fifth line is clearly labeled as rumor, which shows that a distinction has been made about that line from the other lines thereby demonstrating that the others are not rumor reporting.

Also released by the FMSO is another document translated by the Free Republic and described thusly:

In this Iraqi document ISGQ 2004-00224003 dated February 7 2001, there was a discussion in upper echelon of the Iraqi intelligence about mass graves in Southern Iraq and how to shift the blame to the Coalition forces and make it look like these mass graves as the results massacres committed by the Coalition forces back in 1991 during Desert Storm Operation.

When you read the translation it is clear that the mechanism of death was to be portrayed as radiation (undoubtedly a product of the ridiculous notion that Depleted Uranium would cause massive deaths) to implicate the U.S. in a WMD attack (radioactive) against Iraqis. This document demonstrates the exact modus operandi that is demonstrated in the al-Quds document.

Scott’s logic is also faulty because the “impaired broadcast” can easily be the mechanism of transmission of this report and not the way that the information was originally derived.
The “open source” is most likely a generic term to keep from stating who specifically was to carry out these acts. It is a subterfuge. If the information was obtained “open source” then there is no reason to make the document secret. Who are they keeping it secret from? It is already “open source”.

So to summarize, two of the three statements of fact stated as actions by “the Iraqi Government’ or “Iraq” are demonstrated to have been carried out. I don’t know about Scott, but my meager experience tells me that when you say certain events will happen in a secret document and those events happen two out of three times, I call that a plan, not a rumor. And that plan was for the Iraqi government to give foreign fighters anthrax. This is the exact scenario that President Bush warned about. I suspect that is Scott' true motivation for his pathetic attempt at analysis.

Make sure you visit the "Iraq Documents articles" under catagory to see what else is "nothing new".

UPDATE: Previously I posted an interview with intelligence analyst:

Ryan Mauro
Author, "Death to America: The Unreported Battle of Iraq"
Analyst, Northeast Intelligence Network and Tactical Defense Concepts
Founder, WorldThreats.com

Brian has written me to lend support to my conclusions concerning the al-Quds documents. Now to anyone who has worked with an intel professional before, you know that getting them to make a declarative statement concerning an item of interest absent a full analysis from several sources is well, near impossible. So Ryan must feel confident as he has said:

"The document proves that the Al-Quds Army believed they were in possession of anthrax, and apparently planned to give out leaflets contaminated with the substance; leaflets identical to the ones American forces were handing out. Hopefully, documents due to come out in the near future will shed light on if the Iraqis successfully carried out this plan."

UPDATE: In the comments section, a reader told me that the translation provided by the FMSO was incorrect. I considered at the time that this might be true, but I decided to wait until I could talk to Sammi about it. Sammi agrees that the translation was bad and that it does change the analysis and the conclusions completely. Which is why I am really glad I said in the original article: "Unless we see a translation that is different".

With the new wording of "Radio Sawa" to replace "impaired broadcast" it becomes clear that the memo is about broadcasts from a radio station.

A bad translation is always possible but I reasoned that a translation that was used for a study (as I believe most of the early release documents were) would be vetted. It was not.

So moving forward, I hope and expect my readers will take the time to inform me of incorrect translations, or facts that I have wrong. If I had totally dismissed the readers objections, I would not have deferred the matter to Sammi. I do listen to what you all have to say and I appreciate informed comment much more than you may think. If you tell me something, refrain from embellishing other facts to make your point. The reader also told me that radio Sawa was a propagandist tool of the U.S.. Sammi says this is not accurate. This incorrect labelling of the radio station made it more difficult to understand the reader's reasoning based on the fact that the rumors would have been counterproductive to U.S. propaganda efforts.

I still have some questions about why these rumors were so accurate. It seems to me as I suggested yesterday, the al-Quds may have picked out the ones that they knew were accurate to report. But although this document is suggestive, it is not conclusive and certainly not the smoking gun.

As to Scott Shane, this does not absolve him from the low standard of ethical journalism he displayed by writing his conclusions in the article. It also does not excuse him of not bothering to give any of my reasoning (despite the fact we talked for almost an hour) or extensive background when he pitted me against anonymous intelligence professionals. But it does demonstrate sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. But Scott will find out the luck may win battles, but not wars. And the war to get the truth out based on the Iraqis own documents has just begun.

UPDATE: Reader Brett brought this article to my attention.

By Richard Whittle, The Dallas Morning News

Anti-Hussein messages, secret missions part of psychological warfare

excerpt

U.S. military planners assume that Iraq's Republican Guard and the Special Republican Guard that protects President Saddam Hussein will fight. But based on the waves of regular Iraqi soldiers who surrendered during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, they hope to induce as many as possible to do the same again.
"The leaflets, the broadcasts, are to try to get; if there is a conflict; to keep the worst case from happening," Gen. Myers said.
"Apparently they're having some effect," he added, "because we understand the Iraqi regime tells the populace that these leaflets are coated with chemicals and are actually out there picking them up with chemical suits on and gloves."

 

The al-quds document

Here is the article that was referred to in the NYT article. I will let you read it then give my new supporting conclusions at the end.

IZSP-2003-00003336

The Arabic original shows the Falcon emblem of the Iraq Intelligence Service. A translation is provided if you scroll down. I highlight the key wording but there is more:

March 11, 2003

The al-Quds liberation army division supplied us with information....as follows.

1. The Iraqi government will distribute the same leaflets that the American forces are distributing but it will contain anthrax.

2. Iraq imports uniforms resembling American forces uniforms for the purpose of killing Iraqi citizens....

3. Dig trenches around Baghdad...oil...burning...cause mayhem

Now this letter is from al-Quds, a Jihad organization that supports the Palestinians. Saddam was the patriarch and Iraq officers worked closely with them.

IZSP-2003-00000859  also talks about the al-Quds Basra division. This is a a letter from a paramilitary organization INSIDE Iraq and not from Palestinian territories. The al-Quds in Iraq are Palestinians who live in Iraq and also are involved in Palestinian activities.  They fought for Saddam because Saddam supported them in Palestine. The officers were Iraqi.

The al-Quds are covering their own butts by telling the IIS what they have been ordered to do or even trying to get them to stop Saddam since the war is immanent. If Saddam wanted to kill Iraqis with anthrax to make it look like the U.S. did it, it would be wise for him to use Palestinians instead of Iraqis. Therefor, it makes sense that he ordered the al-Quds to do it.

Iraqis might not carry out the order.

They also would talk to their communities. the Palestinians would naturally be in more segregated ethic areas of Iraq, thus better security. Perhaps they would go back to the Palestinian territories when finished.

If Iraqis were caught by U.S. forces with the anthrax, then Saddam is caught. If the Palestinians were caught, he could deny it. See the post below on how he never admitted to using chemicals on the Iranians.

So these  guys get this order and report it to the IIS to make clear it is not their idea.

The wording "the Iraqi Government" seems to indicate that they are clarifying that when they do this it will not be a Palestinian attack on the Iraqis but under the orders of Saddam. They also avoid saying "we will do it" in case things don't go Saddam's way. They don't want that in a record.

They don't want anybody at the IIS coming after them. They also realize Saddam might be setting them up to take the fall if it all goes bad. The IIS may not know about it.

It wouldn't take "stockpiles" of anthrax to do it, a few vials would be plenty.

This is the only logical reason why al-Quds would be telling the Iraq Intelligence Service what the Iraqi Government is going to do instead of the other way around.

When you think about it, it's very clever. Half the Arabs in the world would be all too eager to believe we used anthrax on Iraq. And the method of transmission would link it straight to us. The Jihad fighters we are facing now would be many times greater, enough to possibly save Saddam's regime.

It also would explain where some of that 17 tons of growth medium went as talked about in a post below.

Unless we see a translation that is different I think we have this:

Proof that Saddam had small amounts of anthrax.
Proof that Saddam would use non Iraqi terrorists to carry out a biological attack.

This is exactly the scenario that President Bush warned about, Saddam giving WMD to terrorists. This is the Mother of all Smoking Guns.

Update: Many of the new documents (released 3/20/2006) are marked PIR, Priority Information Request. Fedeyen Saddam was a PIR item in 2003, so many of them deal with that organization. It would seem Negroponte has switched from his plan to release the junk NIV and is now releasing the most important documents. Good for him!

UPDATE: Thanks to The American Thinker, Confederate Yankee, California Conservative, Gary Gross, and Pajamas Media for the support in getting this important document out. Don't forget to link it on your discussion boards, a lot of people come from there and small blogs (like mine was 2 days ago). Maybe Rush will pick it up and challenge the media to report it or Sean will talk about it on H&C. Thanks to everyone for the interest in seeing the truth come out despite what the MSM will say in their "poor Saddam" stories. For the Associated Press, two words about Saddam: Liars Lie.

NYT rebuttal:

This document is marked secret. If this was reporting rumors that were open source, then there is no reason for it to be secret as it is already "open source".

Every intel document needs a source. What do you expect them to put instead of "open source" something like "Saddam ordered us to do this"? It would just be stupid to put that even in a secret document. You have to analyze and read it from their perspective.

The fifth line is specifically marked as a rumor, therefor it makes sense the rest are not.

The fourth line passes the common sense test as passing fact, not rumor.

I have been asked, "then why didn't they carry out the attack"? Okay, I want you to take this anthrax and spread it around. What would you say? No thanks, I don't feel like getting anthrax today or slaughtering my own people (Arabs which has more of a significance to Palestinians than to Saddam),

This is exactly the MO from Saddam's regime. Perfect example, from jveritas another set up:

Jveritas on Iraq mass graves/ Sammi on Journal

Free Republic - hat tip to Jeff

Saddam Regime Document: Give CNN the Priority for Coverage (Translation)
Pentagon/FMSO website about Iraqi Pre-War documents ^ | March 26 2006 | jveritas

Posted on 03/26/2006 6:42:20 PM PST by jveritas

In this Iraqi document ISGQ 2004-00224003 dated February 7 2001, there was a discussion in upper echelon of the Iraqi intelligence about mass graves in Southern Iraq and how to shift the blame to the Coalition forces and make it look like these mass graves as the results massacres committed by the Coalition forces back in 1991 during Desert Storm Operation. What is also interesting about this document is that it mentions how to give the priority of covering the story to CNN so it will have an effect on the international arena as the documents says.

What jveritas doesn't mention is that they wanted it to look like these people died from radiation, which can only mean from the Depleted Uranium rounds, which are not capable of producing a mass casualty event that would necessitate a mass grave. Therefor, the only conclusion can be that Saddam slaughtered a bunch of people and tried to use a WMD (radiation, even though it is not technically feasible in the DU application) to make it look like the U.S. did it.

THIS IS EXACTLY THE SAME SCENARIO WE FIND IN THE AL-QUDS DOCUMENT!

The National Review Online has more.

Here is the article that was referred to in the NYT article. I will let you read it then give my new supporting conclusions at the end.

IZSP-2003-00003336

The Arabic original shows the Falcon emblem of the Iraq Intelligence Service. A translation is provided if you scroll down. I highlight the key wording but there is more:

March 11, 2003

The al-Quds liberation army division supplied us with information....as follows.

1. The Iraqi government will distribute the same leaflets that the American forces are distributing but it will contain anthrax.

2. Iraq imports uniforms resembling American forces uniforms for the purpose of killing Iraqi citizens....

3. Dig trenches around Baghdad...oil...burning...cause mayhem

Now this letter is from al-Quds, a Jihad organization that supports the Palestinians. Saddam was the patriarch and Iraq officers worked closely with them.

IZSP-2003-00000859  also talks about the al-Quds Basra division. This is a a letter from a paramilitary organization INSIDE Iraq and not from Palestinian territories. The al-Quds in Iraq are Palestinians who live in Iraq and also are involved in Palestinian activities.  They fought for Saddam because Saddam supported them in Palestine. The officers were Iraqi.

The al-Quds are covering their own butts by telling the IIS what they have been ordered to do or even trying to get them to stop Saddam since the war is immanent. If Saddam wanted to kill Iraqis with anthrax to make it look like the U.S. did it, it would be wise for him to use Palestinians instead of Iraqis. Therefor, it makes sense that he ordered the al-Quds to do it.

Iraqis might not carry out the order.

They also would talk to their communities. the Palestinians would naturally be in more segregated ethic areas of Iraq, thus better security. Perhaps they would go back to the Palestinian territories when finished.

If Iraqis were caught by U.S. forces with the anthrax, then Saddam is caught. If the Palestinians were caught, he could deny it. See the post below on how he never admitted to using chemicals on the Iranians.

So these  guys get this order and report it to the IIS to make clear it is not their idea.

The wording "the Iraqi Government" seems to indicate that they are clarifying that when they do this it will not be a Palestinian attack on the Iraqis but under the orders of Saddam. They also avoid saying "we will do it" in case things don't go Saddam's way. They don't want that in a record.

They don't want anybody at the IIS coming after them. They also realize Saddam might be setting them up to take the fall if it all goes bad. The IIS may not know about it.

It wouldn't take "stockpiles" of anthrax to do it, a few vials would be plenty.

This is the only logical reason why al-Quds would be telling the Iraq Intelligence Service what the Iraqi Government is going to do instead of the other way around.

When you think about it, it's very clever. Half the Arabs in the world would be all too eager to believe we used anthrax on Iraq. And the method of transmission would link it straight to us. The Jihad fighters we are facing now would be many times greater, enough to possibly save Saddam's regime.

It also would explain where some of that 17 tons of growth medium went as talked about in a post below.

Unless we see a translation that is different I think we have this:

Proof that Saddam had small amounts of anthrax.
Proof that Saddam would use non Iraqi terrorists to carry out a biological attack.

This is exactly the scenario that President Bush warned about, Saddam giving WMD to terrorists. This is the Mother of all Smoking Guns.

Update: Many of the new documents (released 3/20/2006) are marked PIR, Priority Information Request. Fedeyen Saddam was a PIR item in 2003, so many of them deal with that organization. It would seem Negroponte has switched from his plan to release the junk NIV and is now releasing the most important documents. Good for him!

UPDATE: Thanks to The American Thinker, Confederate Yankee, California Conservative, Gary Gross, and Pajamas Media for the support in getting this important document out. Don't forget to link it on your discussion boards, a lot of people come from there and small blogs (like mine was 2 days ago). Maybe Rush will pick it up and challenge the media to report it or Sean will talk about it on H&C. Thanks to everyone for the interest in seeing the truth come out despite what the MSM will say in their "poor Saddam" stories. For the Associated Press, two words about Saddam: Liars Lie.

NYT rebuttal:

This document is marked secret. If this was reporting rumors that were open source, then there is no reason for it to be secret as it is already "open source".

Every intel document needs a source. What do you expect them to put instead of "open source" something like "Saddam ordered us to do this"? It would just be stupid to put that even in a secret document. You have to analyze and read it from their perspective.

The fifth line is specifically marked as a rumor, therefor it makes sense the rest are not.

The fourth line passes the common sense test as passing fact, not rumor.

I have been asked, "then why didn't they carry out the attack"? Okay, I want you to take this anthrax and spread it around. What would you say? No thanks, I don't feel like getting anthrax today or slaughtering my own people (Arabs which has more of a significance to Palestinians than to Saddam),

This is exactly the MO from Saddam's regime. Perfect example, from jveritas another set up:

Jveritas on Iraq mass graves/ Sammi on Journal

Free Republic - hat tip to Jeff

Saddam Regime Document: Give CNN the Priority for Coverage (Translation)
Pentagon/FMSO website about Iraqi Pre-War documents ^ | March 26 2006 | jveritas

Posted on 03/26/2006 6:42:20 PM PST by jveritas

In this Iraqi document ISGQ 2004-00224003 dated February 7 2001, there was a discussion in upper echelon of the Iraqi intelligence about mass graves in Southern Iraq and how to shift the blame to the Coalition forces and make it look like these mass graves as the results massacres committed by the Coalition forces back in 1991 during Desert Storm Operation. What is also interesting about this document is that it mentions how to give the priority of covering the story to CNN so it will have an effect on the international arena as the documents says.

What jveritas doesn't mention is that they wanted it to look like these people died from radiation, which can only mean from the Depleted Uranium rounds, which are not capable of producing a mass casualty event that would necessitate a mass grave. Therefor, the only conclusion can be that Saddam slaughtered a bunch of people and tried to use a WMD (radiation, even though it is not technically feasible in the DU application) to make it look like the U.S. did it.

THIS IS EXACTLY THE SAME SCENARIO WE FIND IN THE AL-QUDS DOCUMENT!

The National Review Online has more.

Free Republic - hat tip to Jeff

Saddam Regime Document: Give CNN the Priority for Coverage (Translation)
Pentagon/FMSO website about Iraqi Pre-War documents ^ | March 26 2006 | jveritas

Posted on 03/26/2006 6:42:20 PM PST by jveritas

In this Iraqi document ISGQ 2004-00224003 dated February 7 2001, there was a discussion in upper echelon of the Iraqi intelligence about mass graves in Southern Iraq and how to shift the blame to the Coalition forces and make it look like these mass graves as the results massacres committed by the Coalition forces back in 1991 during Desert Storm Operation. What is also interesting about this document is that it mentions how to give the priority of covering the story to CNN so it will have an effect on the international arena as the documents says.

What jveritas doesn't mention is that they wanted it to look like these people died from radiation, which can only mean from the Depleted Uranium rounds, which are not capable of producing a mass casualty event that would necessitate a mass grave. Therefor, the only conclusion can be that Saddam slaughtered a bunch of people and tried to use a WMD (radiation, even though it is not technically feasible in the DU application) to make it look like the U.S. did it.

THIS IS EXACTLY THE SAME SCENARIO WE FIND IN THE AL-QUDS DOCUMENT!

The National Review Online has more.

NYT article

Just saw the NYT article. Again with the claim "nothing new in these docs". I have yet to see a MSM reference to Saddam admitting to his ministers that he gassed Iran and because they lied about it, they could not account for those weapons to the UN. This is essentially Saddam admitting that the sanctions are his fault and he is still lying to the UN and not one MSM has it yet, not one. But yet they want to quote intel experts who say there is nothing new in those docs. Here's the obvious to the oblivious. When an intel expert says there is nothing new, that is because he already new about it so it is not new to them, but they forget the public doesn't get the same info and it is new to us. Hence Secretary Rice now discussing the Russian assistance to Saddam. That document has been around for a while but Condi wasn't talking about it before now was she?

Don't forget to look in the Iraq Document Articles catagory down on the right to read more things that you already knew LOL.

UPDATE: I just got off the phone with the National Review Online. They agree that I was "kooked" in the NYT article. That I was playing "intel analyst". Here is what the NYT didn't tell you.

13 years army, half officer, half enlisted. I got my commission by being awarded a green-to- gold scholarship to the University of Tampa where I earned a B.S. in Biology, pre-med. I served in the Gulf War and was the senior signal officer for the 101st in Kosovo as part of peacekeeping operations.

Army training:

Combined arms and services staff school, signal officer advance course, field artillery officer basic course, signal officer transition course, airborne course, air assault course

Odles of medals I won't list here.

I served as the day shift supervisor at the combined media processing center in Qatar while with ISG. 

I currently work in aviation and missile research helping to develop the next generation missiles and other advanced weapons system.

Kook that Scott.

UPDATE: just talked with Scott (NYT), he says the Kooking wasn't intentional, due to space issues, the Guardian says they didn't see the kooking so I will give Scott the benefit of the doubt because it is my policy to hope for the best in people and just say thanks for bringing attention to this issue.

Public reaction over at Free Republic where jveritas has been doing great work.

Saddam's Vice President meeting with a Taliban representative

Sammi has completed a partial translation of the document at the FMSO website ISGP-2003-00014127. This translation is from the first meeting and involves the Vice President of Iraq under Saddam and a Pakistani cleric who appears to speak for the Taliban, but not clear if he is a taliban official. As usual, the parenthisis are from the translator.

Translator’s notes:
-The diary is 76 pages on the computer screen. Many screens cover 2 pages in the diary.  -The diary belongs to someone called Khaled Abd El Majid and covers events taking place in 1999 since the diary is for the year 1999 (Page 3/76).
-On page 5/76 he has a note reminding him of a “Meeting with Mr. Taha Yassin Ramadan” with the house’s phone number. Ramadan is the vice-president of Iraq from March 1991 to the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
- There are two important meetings with a Pakistan cleric named Fadl Ur Rahman. His plan is to establish relations between Baghdad and the Taliban. The second meeting is taking place on 28/11/1999.
-The diary is hand written which makes it sometimes difficult to read.
-Since Arabic is written from right to left, the meeting starts on page 25/76 and ends on page 21/76.

This is the translation of the first meeting.

Meeting of Mr. Vice-President with the Pakistani Fadl Ur Rahman
Location: Office of Mr. Vice-President in Zakoura
Date: Sunday 10:30 AM
Present:- Mr. Vice-President, Maulana Fadl Ur Rahman, Taher Krichi (family name not very clear), Jamal Abdul Razzak .

Meeting session:

Words of welcoming.

-Questions about the situation in Afghanistan
-Fadl Ur Rahman: Good and the Pakistani people has come together to struggle against
      America.
- Vice-President: The new humanitarian method of human rights of the American people  in the United Nations
- Fadl Ur Rahman:  What is happening in Afghanistan is a violation of the human rights of this country, where Osama Ben Laden is one person and the fate of millions cannot be tied to him. (translator’s note: Probably at that time the US is forcing sanctions or pressures on Afghanistan because it is providing sanctuary to him)

- Vice-President: The American method is clear. First I discover many times some Islamic organizations which are not themselves and Islam is innocent from them. Those could be a cover for the American deviation like Kosovo. Muslims are known where they are and America is one of the fiercest enemies of Islam. Muslims in Palestine are slaughtered and they support the Jews, but they were provided this cover. America wants to control the world through human rights (unclear word but could be democracy) and multiple parties so it can form collaborating parties and create unrest. Unrest serves America’s purpose.

The Security Council is a tool in the hand of America.
Can you blockade a country because of the presence of one man. This time she (America) got the resolution from the Security Council and it is number 77 (or 771) relative to Iraq. And it is the first time that the parliament of a country (Congress) speaks after a resolution (unclear) and comes out through the Security Council.
-    It is ignorant to send memos and complain to the Security Council because it is a tool in the hands of America the master of oppression and if we do that it does not mean that we are boycotting the diplomatic process.

Also the monetary fund is in the hand of America and she helps according to her interests.
My personal stand is with his (translator’s note: Could “his” refer to Ben Laden?) call to fight America.

-(Probably the Pakistani) I support him body and soul and if it is true (translator’s note: probably referring to the “call to fight America”) then it is the right thing to do.

-(Probably the Pakistani) I personally do not know him and never met him (translator’s note: Could “him” refer to Ben Laden?) and he is not the issue. There is the port of Gwadar (in Baluchistan area) under construction in Pakistan and Europe and America want to use it instead of Bankham to trade with Asia. After the fall of the Soviet Union they wish to expand trade to Central Asia through Afghanistan and Afghanistan is against their wishes and they want to bring the Taliban government down.

Vice-President: They are controlling Turkey.
Fadl Ur Rahman: Gwadar is the shortest road for them and we spoke with the Afghani government. I met Mullah Omar the leader of Afghanistan and he welcomed the establishment of Islamic relations with Iraq and (unclear) to tell them about our needs and they would like to have contacts with Russia but they feel that the Russians (unclear) with Afghanistan, they go to America. And they say that now we do not feel that Russia is our enemy and we do not know why they support the Northern Alliance. They want Iraq to intervene with Russia.
And Russia thinks that the Taliban are supporting the Chechens through providing them 5 Million dollars in weapons so the question is from where do they have all this money and weapons and they want Iraq to know their problems and needs.
Concerning Hekmatyar I delivered him your letter and his reply was positive for “they are our brothers”. But in this case the news from Hekmatyar is that he still has contacts against us so how can we have trust between each others. We wish to see Afghanistan as an independent country. We will basically agree with them and later the details will come after Afghanistan is under our control. His (Hekmatyar) answer was positive and he thanks Iraq for its role in this matter.

Vice-President: Afghanistan has a domestic issue but now we have some insight about it and we feel pain for what is happening. Iraq is the first country which objected to Russia’s entering Afghanistan with a “liberating” message, and is this the way you (Russians) are going to deal with the countries you have a friendship agreement with? The Russians were not happy about the message we sent them. Most important is that the situation settles in Afghanistan and that the bleeding between brothers stops. It is better that Afghanistan solves his own problems and not depend on foreign countries.

The right side of page 23/76 deals with afghani politics and the necessity that all parties agree.
(Translator’s note: At one point someone, most probably the Pakistani says: “I support that Afghanistan and the Taliban, from a religious stand point, do not hand over Ben Laden”. Therefore this meeting is taking place after the US wanted Ben Laden handed over, probably after the 2 embassy attacks in Africa.)
(Translator’s note: At the end of this right side someone says that the agreement between afghani parties should not be delayed because the US policy is to keep the world in trouble.)
The left side of page 23/76 deals with Pakistan, Nawaz Sherif and the close ties of the Pakistani military with the Talibans, the military coup of Musharraf.

Page 22/76 is also about Pakistani politics. Both the Vice-President and the Pakistani cleric agree on bashing America and the Commonwealth, the Vice-President says that Iraq will not accept any UN resolution which does not make things easier for Iraq.

Page 21/76 right side: Talks about future relations between Iraq and Pakistan.
At the end of the page:
Fadl Ur Rahman:  One more time concerning Afghanistan I have a suggestion that a delegation should visit Kandahar and a schedule should be set concerning this issue (translator’s note: issue refers to visit)
Vice-President: we will study this in the future.

Page 21/76 left side, top.
Vice-President: Last time you saw Mullah Omar
Fadl Ur Rahman: Last July and I proposed to him the subject that I was assigned to and I  wanted to  meet  Mr. President. (Saddam Hussein)
Vice-President: I gave Mr. President an overview about Afghanistan and its issues.

Salutes.

Translator’s notes: This Pakistani cleric is the subject of a second meeting in the diary. In the second meeting (starting on page 20/76) he says that the idea of a relationship between the Taliban and Baghdad was his. Moreover from page 20/76 we can be sure that Mr. Vice-President is the Vice-President of Saddam Hussein. (Translation to follow).

All original tranlsations by "Sammi" are copyrighted intellectual property of "Sammi" for purposes of print media publishing. Free use for internet sources.

Ryan Mauro interview with Ali Ibrahim al-Tikriti

In the last few weeks of posting here at this blog, I have meet (via email/phone) a lot of wonderful and talented people. It is very nice to see that not all are taken in by the "Bush Lied" mantra. It's funny. Go back and look at what the MSM was saying about Saddam and terrorists before the war. They weren't just quoting President Bush, or Cheney or Rice or Powell and then saying "of course, now we know what they said is wrong". They were referencing State Department and CIA reports from the 90's and talking to real experts (sorry libs, Alec and Babs are not experts). They talked to guys like Ryan Mauro. Ryan has pointed out to me a recent interview he conducted with a former Iraqi General Officer who makes claims similar to Gen. Sada. I have become a little more receptive to Gen. Sada (despite my inherent mistrust of Iraq officials) and what I have heard from his book seems to support what Ali Ibrahim al-Tikriti says in this interview.

   I decided and received permission to post the entire interview here. I would also like to point out I posted a link to Ryan's book on the site. Ryan's link to WorldThreats.com has been added to my favorites list. Here is the interview. World Net Daily

Saddam general: WMDs in Syria
Another former confidant of ex-dictator makes claim, also links Iraq to al-Qaida

---

© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

A former general and friend of Saddam Hussein who defected but maintains close contact with Iraq claims the regime supported al-Qaida with intelligence, finances and munitions and believes weapons of mass destruction are hidden in Syria.

Ali Ibrahim al-Tikriti, southern regional commander for Saddam Hussein's Fedayeen militia in the late 1980s, spoke with Ryan Mauro of WorldThreats.com.

Known as the "Butcher of Basra," al-Tikriti commanded units that dealt with chemical and biological weapons. He defected shortly before the Gulf War in 1991.

Last month, Saddam Hussein's No. 2 Air Force officer, Georges Sada, told the New York Sun Iraq's weapons of mass destruction were moved to Syria six weeks before the war started. Sada claimed two Iraqi Airways Boeing jets converted to cargo planes moved the weapons in a total of 56 flights. They attracted little attention, he said, because they were thought to be civilian flights providing relief from Iraq to Syria, which had suffered a flood after a dam collapse in 2002.

Discussing Saddam's support of terrorism, al-Tikriti said the dictator's regime sponsored Palestinian groups with logistical and material support.

For a time, support for al-Qaida was limited, the former general said, mainly because al-Qaida's aim was to create an Islamic empire while Saddam wanted a secular Arab nationalist empire.

"They only really came to terms in the mid '90s due to the fact that both knew they shared the same short-term enemy," the general said. "Once they came to terms on this, Saddam provided al-Qaida with intelligence support and whatever money or munitions they could provide."

Al-Tikriti said Saddam "had very long-standing contacts in the black market as well as with Moscow and would provide whatever munitions he could through these contacts."

The secular Baathists and radical Islamists certainly are able to put aside their differences to cooperate against the U.S., he insisted.

"If you look in Iraq today, you are witnessing Arab nationalist terrorist organizations and Islamist terrorist organizations working together to fight the United States."

Al-Tikriti dismissed the commonly heard claim that the U.S. helped bring Saddam to power, calling it "absolutely ludicrous."

The Baathist revolution, he said, was backed by the Soviet Union because of the shared socialist ideology.

"I was there helping with the revolution and worked on two occasions with Soviet KGB officials to help train us, much like the United States did with the Taliban during the Soviet campaign in Afghanistan," he said. "The United States never directly gave us any WMDs but rather ingredients. They were not mixed and these 'ingredients' could have been easily used for commercial use but were rather used to build low life chemical weapons."

Al-Tikriti says he knows Saddam's weapons are in Syria because of contingency plans established as far back as the late 1980s, in the event either Damascus or Baghdad were taken over.

"Not to mention, I have discussed this in-depth with various contacts of mine who have confirmed what I already knew," he said.

Saddam, after lying for so many years, knew the U.S. eventually would come for the weapons, he said, and wanted to maintain legitimacy with pan-Arab nationalists.

Also, he had "wanted since he took power to embarrass the West, and this was the perfect opportunity to do so," al-Tikriti said.

"After Saddam denied he had such weapons, why would he use them or leave them readily available to be found?" he said. "That would only legitimize President Bush, who he has a personal grudge against."

What we are witnessing now, he said, "is many who opposed the war to begin with are rallying around Saddam saying we overthrew a sovereign leader based on a lie about WMD. This is exactly what Saddam wanted and predicted."

Al-Tikriti said he turned against the Baath Party after his wife stood up to him and questioned his brutal tactics.

"This really made me think, because no one has ever even considered to question the tactics of myself or any others and lived to tell about it," he said. "This courageous move made me think deep and hard."

Al-Tikriti said he still maintains good sources inside and outside of Iraq.

"Some of Saddam's key scientists are personal friends of mine, as well as other key leaders in the former Iraqi military," he said. "I have helped draw information since my defecting to the United States government voluntarily and with the permission of these contacts. The only difference between many of them and I, is that I had the opportunity to defect and they didn't."