Rumsfeld: No 'Hard Evidence' of Iraq-Al Qaeda Link

[Epitome22]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...sa_rumsfeld_dc


By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Monday he knew of no "strong, hard evidence" linking Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s Iraq (news - web sites) and al Qaeda, despite describing extensive contacts between the two before the Iraq invasion.


Rumsfeld, during a question-and-answer session before the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, was asked to explain the connection between Saddam and Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s al Qaeda network, blamed for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America.


"I have seen the answer to that question migrate in the intelligence community over a period of a year in the most amazing way. Second, there are differences in the intelligence community as to what the relationship was," Rumsfeld said.


"To my knowledge, I have not seen any strong, hard evidence that links the two," Rumsfeld added.


"I just read an intelligence report recently about one person who's connected to al Qaeda who was in and out of Iraq. And it is the most tortured description of why he might have had a relationship and why he might not have had a relationship. It may have been something that was not representative of a hard linkage."


U.S.-led forces invaded Iraq in March 2003 and toppled Saddam and his government in a war whose main justification offered by the United States was the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons have been discovered.


But the relationship between Saddam's government and al Qaeda also figured in the U.S. case for war.


A small Pentagon (news - web sites) intelligence-analysis office found what it considered evidence of Iraq-al Qaeda ties. Rumsfeld was one of the Bush administration officials publicly describing this link. On Sept. 26, 2002, Rumsfeld told reporters at the Pentagon of evidence of contacts and cooperation.


'CREDIBLE INFORMATION'


"We have what we consider to be very reliable reporting of senior level contacts going back a decade, and of possible chemical and biological agent training. And when I say contacts, I mean between Iraq and al Qaeda," Rumsfeld said at the time.


"We have what we believe to be credible information that Iraq and al Qaeda have discussed safe-haven opportunities in Iraq, reciprocal nonaggression discussions. We have what we consider to be credible evidence that al Qaeda leaders have sought contacts in Iraq who could help them acquire ... weapons of mass destruction capabilities," Rumsfeld added at the time.


The bipartisan 9/11 commission that studied the 2001 attacks concluded this July there was no evidence of a "collaborative operational relationship" between Iraq and al Qaeda or an Iraqi role in attacking the United States.


During a question-and-answer session at the Council on Foreign Relations on Monday, Rumsfeld also was asked what was the "number-one reason for the war."


Rumsfeld said President Bush (news - web sites) made the judgment that Saddam "ran a vicious regime that had used weapons of mass destruction on its own people, as well as its neighbors, and that it was important to set that right by removing that regime before they, in fact, did gather weapons of mass destruction, either themselves or transferring them to terrorist networks."


Before the war, U.S. officials spoke of Iraq already possessing weapons of mass destruction, not a potential for gathering them.


"It turns out that we have not found weapons of mass destruction," Rumsfeld said.


"And why the intelligence proved wrong, I'm not in a position to say. I simply don't know. But the world is a lot better off with Saddam Hussein in jail than they were with him in power," Rumsfeld added.

[Drbio]

Your thread title is misleading as you try to make this sound like a link between Iraq and Al-quaeda.

When Rumsfeld stated:

"To my knowledge, I have not seen any strong, hard evidence that links the two," Rumsfeld added.

He was responding to a question to explain the connection between Saddam and Osama bin Laden. Those two have not been tangibly linked. Al quaeda and Iraq on the otherhand have.....

[Epitome22]

First, my title was simply taken from the headline on yahoo news verbatim, secondly.


"during a question-and-answer session before the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, was asked to explain the connection between Saddam and Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, blamed for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America."

It's a question directly about connections between Saddam and Al Qaeda. Rumsfeld says that there's no hard evidence linking the two. What's the problem?

[Drbio]

Again....Rumsfeld was commenting on a link between Osama and Saddam. Not Osama and Al Quaeda or Saddam and Al Quaeda. Both of which have been shown to be linked. Osama is certainly the most famous of the Al Queda leaders and bankrolls most of their actions, however, there are other Al Queda cells.

The comment was Rumsfeld answering if Osama and Saddam had been tangibly linked.

[knowitall]

Wrong doc. OBL network and Saddam. Hush Hush night night.

[Drbio]

*yawn*

[Epitome22]

Originally posted by: Drbio
Again....Rumsfeld was commenting on a link between Osama and Saddam. Not Osama and Al Quaeda or Saddam and Al Quaeda. Both of which have been shown to be linked. Osama is certainly the most famous of the Al Queda leaders and bankrolls most of their actions, however, there are other Al Queda cells.

The comment was Rumsfeld answering if Osama and Saddam had been tangibly linked.

Unless you have mental powers beyond that of mortals, there's no way to assess that what Rumsfeld was 'really' talking about was a connection between Saddam and Osama based on what was asked him verbatim. The question was specifically about Saddam and Al Qaeda, he said that the intelligence community varied on this but from what he has seen there's no definite proof linking Saddam to Al Qaeda.

[Evilmav2]

Today on Sean Hannity's radio show, Rumsfeld was asked about the CNS Report that documents have just emerged illustrating Saddam's past cooperation with Al Queda and other terrorist groups, as well as the existence of Iraqi stocks of mustard gas and Anthrax. Rumsfeld replied:

"Until I have a chance to see — until the people going over documents have a chance to pore through enough of them to come to, to develop some conviction about what they think it means, and then to try to corroborate them by interviews with people, it would be premature for me to get into it”

That looks to me like the response of a prudent man who isn't going to jump the gun and hype the documents before they are authenticated (unlike a certain news organization I know), but who has not ruled out the possibility that Saddam cooperated with Al Queda, and who will assuredly continue investigations into such said possibility...

[dude1394]

Oh there is certainly much more evidence that Saddam DID cooperate with Al Queda than evidence that he did not. The evidence however doesn't support the Democratic Media Committes slam of the day.

[Road Rage]

Rumsfeld Says He Was Misunderstood on Iraq-Al Qaeda

"I have acknowledged since September 2002 that there were ties between al Qaeda and Iraq," Rumsfeld said in a Web site statement issued following remarks he made to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Monday.


"Today at the Council, I even noted that 'when I'm in Washington, I pull out a piece of paper and say "I don't know, because I'm not in that business, but I'll tell you what the CIA (news - web sites) thinks" and I read it'."

Hush hush, night night.

[reeds]

"Unless you have mental powers beyond that of mortals, there's no way to assess that what Rumsfeld was 'really' talking about was a connection between Saddam and Osama based on what was asked him verbatim. The question was specifically about Saddam and Al Qaeda, he said that the intelligence community varied on this but from what he has seen there's no definite proof linking Saddam to Al Qaeda."


Havent you read Drbio's 24thousand + posts? He does have mental powers beyond that of mortals..he is a god to this board...right or wrong, his word is holy..never argue with him, you will be placed on his MORON list..

[kg_veteran]

Originally posted by: reeds
"Unless you have mental powers beyond that of mortals, there's no way to assess that what Rumsfeld was 'really' talking about was a connection between Saddam and Osama based on what was asked him verbatim. The question was specifically about Saddam and Al Qaeda, he said that the intelligence community varied on this but from what he has seen there's no definite proof linking Saddam to Al Qaeda."


Havent you read Drbio's 24thousand + posts? He does have mental powers beyond that of mortals..he is a god to this board...right or wrong, his word is holy..never argue with him, you will be placed on his MORON list..

See the quote posted by Road Rage above. Rumsfeld DOES think there is a connection between Iraq and Al-Qaeda.

[Road Rage]

Let the "Rumsfeld has no credibility" posts begin!!!!

[reeds]

"See the quote posted by Road Rage above. Rumsfeld DOES think there is a connection between Iraq and Al-Qaeda"

I heard it on TV this afternoon..he is backtracking on his original statement..he said he was taken out of context? Hmmm...I heard it live..too LATE DONNY