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Iraq
U.S.: Iraq May Have Helped ’93 WTC Bomber
2003-09-26
EFL:
U.S. teams in Iraq have uncovered some signs that a participant in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center may have received help from the government of Saddam Hussein after the bombing. Vice President Dick Cheney first asserted that one of the bombers — a U.S. citizen and one of the FBI’s most-wanted terrorists — received help from Iraq. Cheney, speaking Sept. 14 on NBC-TV’s "Meet the Press" program, did not mention the suspect by name. Other officials have confirmed he was speaking of Abdul Rahman Yasin, who is accused of mixing the chemicals in the bomb used in the 1993 attack.
We carried a USA Today article on this about a week ago. This adds a little bit of detail...
"And we have learned subsequent to that, since we got into Baghdad and got into the intelligence files, that this individual probably also received financing from the Iraqi government, as well as safe haven," Cheney said. Yasin fled the country after the 1993 bombing. He is the only man wanted for that attack who is still outside U.S. custody. Saddam’s regime said it had imprisoned Yasin since arresting him in 1994, and that offers to turn him over to the U.S. government were rebuffed in the weeks before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Yeah, right.
In 2002, he was interviewed on CBS-TV’s "60 Minutes" at an Iraqi prison. He thus far has not turned up in postwar Iraq.
Hummmm
Cheney said the man was Iraqi. In fact, Yasin, 43, was born in Indiana and holds U.S. citizenship, according to the FBI. He is of Iraqi heritage and moved there as a child, returning to the United States in 1992, according to the FBI.
Close enough for government work.
Cheney’s description of Yasin came after "Meet the Press" moderator Tim Russert asked him about Iraqi connections to al-Qaida and the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, which destroyed the World Trade Center. "Now, is there a connection between the Iraqi government and the original World Trade Center bombing in ’93?" Cheney said. "We know, as I say, that one of the perpetrators of that act did in fact receive support from the Iraqi government after the fact." But the first World Trade Center bombing is not precisely considered an al-Qaida operation by American counterterrorism officials. At the time, al-Qaida was in its formative stages in Sudan, and officials said they know of no conclusive evidence that ties either Osama bin Laden or the Iraqi government to the attack. Instead, some of the terrorists who carried out the bombing would later ally themselves with bin Laden’s organization.
I think this guy's got a black belt in quibbling...
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged Sept. 11 mastermind, was connected financially to the 1993 attack; he and bomber Ramzi Yousef would later receive financial support from bin Laden’s brother-in-law.
Same people, same mission, just under new name.
U.S. officials also offered no evidence Yasin took part in terrorist activity after he went to Iraq following the 1993 bombing.
Dropped out of sight, did he?
It sounds here like they're expecting some kind of continuing education requirement or something — you have to blow something up every six months, or kill somebody, or you lose your designaiton as a terrorist. I'd day that, having bombed the WTC, he'd never have to commit another act of violence to be considered a terrorist for the rest of his life. But then, I don't have a short attention span, so I couldn't work for Associated Press...
The Bush administration has often tried to rhetorically link al-Qaida with Iraq, particularly as it made its case to invade the country. President Bush, though, said last week there was no evidence that Saddam was involved in the 2001 attacks.
Did Saddam know about 9-11, most likely no, we never said he did. Did he get along with Binny, no. Did he provide support and shelter for some members of al-Qaida, yes.
Posted by:Steve

#5  comments); ?>werwer
Posted by: Igs   2003-9-27 10:58:46 AM  

#4  comments); ?>werwer
Posted by: Anonymous   2003-9-26 5:27:34 PM  

#3  comments); ?>werwer
Posted by: Pete Stanley   2003-9-26 1:26:44 PM  

#2  comments); ?>werwer
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2003-9-26 10:08:17 AM  

#1  comments); ?>werwer
Posted by: Ptah   2003-9-26 9:58:46 AM  

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