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WSJ Iraq Update
Question:
Baghdad Records Show Hussein Sought Missiles, Other Aid Abroad U.S. investigators have unearthed Iraqi records of Saddam Hussein’s agents world-wide, a treasure trove of intelligence that U.S. officials expect will help to identify foreigners paid to serve the former dictator’s interests and to unravel international networks for procuring missiles and other banned weapons. A senior U.S. official familiar with the records said the documents — along with interrogations of former regime officials — still haven’t turned up evidence that Iraq was actively producing chemical and biological weapons or had restarted its nuclear program, as Bush officials asserted prior to the war. But the documents, as described by the U.S. official, could lend credence to more recent assertions by the Bush administration that Mr. Hussein was seeking to develop long-range missiles as a preliminary step to renewing a program of chemical and biological weapons. U.S. officials say archives of Iraq’s domestic security and foreign intelligence services, the broad reach of which hadn’t previously been disclosed, could provide a revealing look at Mr. Hussein’s efforts in the past decade to conduct intelligence activities and influence other countries’ political stances toward Iraq. Other Iraqi government documents show for the first time Baghdad’s efforts to purchase from North Korea missiles with longer ranges than allowed by United Nations sanctions. Previously, the Bush administration had disclosed that Iraq was seeking missile technology from North Korea, not actual missile purchases. Information contained in the files could prove troublesome for individuals, companies and countries that may be implicated in aiding Mr. Hussein’s regime. U.S. officials say the documents could help establish tribunals in Iraq for people involved in crimes against the Iraqi people. Already, revelations from the files have prompted the Federal Bureau of Investigation to open new espionage and criminal probes in the U.S. "We have the equivalent of the Stasi archives," said the senior U.S. official, referring to the East German state security service files recovered after that Communist regime’s collapse. Those archives, which implicated both domestic and foreign informants and agents, sparked a series of political scandals and some legal prosecutions. The Iraqi documents are among 25 tons of papers seized at the abandoned headquarters of the country’s intelligence services days after the fall of Baghdad in April, according to U.S. officials. The records include a "complete listing of the amount of money paid for political influence" to foreigners, including politicians, business people and others, said the U.S. official familiar with the files. Mr. Hussein’s overseas intelligence apparatus kept track of Iraqi exiles opposed to his regime, and Baghdad also kept lists of informants paid for their help in that regard. "We’re busy vetting" all lists of people paid by Iraq, the official said. The official declined to disclose more details about which companies, individuals and countries may be implicated in the files. From records and interrogations the U.S. has learned that two teams of Yugoslav missile experts went to Iraq in 2001 to develop plans for extending the 180-mile range of Iraq’s scuds by strapping several rocket motors together, the senior official said. The Yugoslav experts and experts from another country worked in Iraq on the project well into 2003, said the official, who wouldn’t identify the second country. The revelation, if true, is significant because U.N. sanctions barred Iraq from possessing missiles with ranges of more than 93 miles. Coalition forces haven’t reported finding any scuds in Iraq. Yugoslavia earlier this year was renamed the Federation of Serbia and Montenegro. Investigators also have uncovered evidence that Mr. Hussein’s relationship with North Korea was deeper than previously thought. The official said "written evidence of a contractual negotiation" shows that North Korea offered to sell Baghdad Nodong missiles with a 1,300-mile range. Versions of the same missile based on North Korean technology appeared in Iran and Pakistan in 1998 and 1999, a European official said. Iraqi government documents showed that Baghdad made a down payment to North Korea in late 2002 of $10 million for delivery of a Nodong missile, the senior U.S. official said. But North Korean officials replied that they couldn’t deliver the weapon because they were being watched too closely by the Bush administration. The Iraqi side asked for its money back, though there are apparently no documents to confirm they got it, the official said. The disclosures about Iraq’s missile programs come after David Kay, who heads coalition efforts to locate unconventional weapons inside Iraq, issued an interim report last month that was seen in Congress as casting doubt on the Bush administration’s main rationale for the war. The report found that Iraq may have abandoned production of chemical weapons after 1991 and biological agents after 1996. There was no evidence that nuclear-weapons activity had been conducted after 1998. Since then, Bush administration officials have tried to deflect criticism over the failure to find such weapons by pointing to evidence that Iraq had an active missile-development program. "The David Kay report already makes clear that Saddam Hussein was in flagrant violation" of U.N. missile restrictions, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said in a radio interview released Friday. "We can argue about how much he had and whether he moved his program, and whether he was waiting to rebuild it, but he was hiding something pretty important." The U.S. official familiar with the Iraqi files said the documents and other evidence suggest that Mr. Hussein’s strategy may have been to develop delivery systems first — a lengthy process — and then turn to developing chemical weapons. Mr. Kay’s report said Mr. Hussein asked underlings involved in previous chemical-weapons programs how long it would take to develop new weapons. They told him they could produce mustard gas within two to three months and sarin within six months, the report said. In interviews with American interrogators, Iraqi military commanders have said they believed strongly that their army had chemical weapons and that it would deploy them once U.S. troops reached the outskirts of Baghdad, the senior official said. Yet the Americans have been unable to find any commander who was in possession of chemical weapons stockpiles, the official said. Instead, each commander has pointed to another reputed to have had them. Former Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz has told investigators separately that Mr. Hussein wasn’t ready for the American attack and so didn’t respond aggressively because he was "repeatedly told" by French and Russian officials that it would never happen, the official said. Mr. Aziz has been unreliable in the past, but the U.S. official said he is cooperating now that the U.S. has removed his family from Iraq. Even if America started an air war, Mr. Aziz said, the French and Russians assured Iraq that the U.N. Security Council would intervene to stop a ground invasion. Asked about the matter, the French and Russian foreign ministries declined to comment. "Saddam’s high command couldn’t execute the defense plan because Saddam didn’t believe it once the invasion had started," the official said, summarizing Mr. Aziz’s account. Federal prosecutors in July charged Khaled Abdel-Latif Dumeisi, a 61-year-old, Iraqi-born Chicago man, with being an unregistered Iraqi government agent. They alleged that he gathered information on Iraqi exiles in the U.S. for the Iraqi intelligence service. The case grew out of a dossier on Mr. Dumeisi in Iraqi intelligence service files, prosecutors said. Mr. Dumeisi has pleaded not guilty. The files also include evidence that Iraq was behind several small-scale terrorist attacks against the U.S. and other countries, officials said. In one case, the 1993 bombing of a U.S. facility in Asia now has been linked to Iraq; orders for the operation were found in the files, a law-enforcement official said. The attack caused no casualties, the official said, refusing to disclose its exact location. Updated November 3, 2003 1:27 a.m.
Response:
(snip) – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> The U.S. official familiar with the Iraqi files said the documents and > other > evidence suggest that Mr. Hussein’s strategy may have been to develop > delivery systems first — a lengthy process — and then turn to developing > chemical weapons. Mr. Kay’s report said Mr. Hussein asked underlings > involved in previous chemical-weapons programs how long it would take to > develop new weapons. They told him they could produce mustard gas within > two > to three months and sarin within six months, the report said. > In interviews with American interrogators, Iraqi military commanders have > said they believed strongly that their army had chemical weapons and that > it would deploy them once U.S. troops reached the outskirts of Baghdad, the > senior official said. Yet the Americans have been unable to find any > commander who was in possession of chemical weapons stockpiles, the > official said. Instead, each commander has pointed to another reputed to have had > them.
To the intel guys… this all makes perfect sense… but bad PR… numb-nuts like Timepax will not have a clue, and political hacks will do hack-jobs…. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Former Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz has told investigators separately > that Mr. Hussein wasn’t ready for the American attack and so didn’t respond > aggressively because he was "repeatedly told" by French and Russian > officials that it would never happen, the official said. Mr. Aziz has been > unreliable in the past, but the U.S. official said he is cooperating now > that the U.S. has removed his family from Iraq. > Even if America started an air war, Mr. Aziz said, the French and Russians > assured Iraq that the U.N. Security Council would intervene to stop a > ground invasion. Asked about the matter, the French and Russian foreign ministries > declined to comment. "Saddam’s high command couldn’t execute the defense > plan because Saddam didn’t believe it once the invasion had started," the > official said, summarizing Mr. Aziz’s account.
Hmmmm. It is a stretch… but not THAT much… a little ‘helpfull’ dis-information involving the Russians and the French to influence saddams *response*… ? ? ? Criminy..! ! ! This could be better than Le Carre…. :-) But… if so… there is more to it than just Iraq… (snip) > The files also include evidence that Iraq was behind several > small-scale terrorist attacks against the U.S. and other countries, > officials said. In one case, the 1993 bombing of a U.S. facility in > Asia now has been linked to Iraq; orders for the operation were found > in the files, a law-enforcement official said. The attack caused no > casualties, the official said, refusing to disclose its exact > location.
But… the liberals say Iraq was not a terrorist state nor dangerous, so it can’t be…. or at least, hey… they were "small scale", right.. ? ? 
gtski
Response:
….. > The files also include evidence that Iraq was behind several > small-scale terrorist attacks against the U.S. and other countries, > officials said. In one case, the 1993 bombing of a U.S. facility in > Asia now has been linked to Iraq; orders for the operation were found > in the files, a law-enforcement official said. The attack caused no > casualties, the official said, refusing to disclose its exact > location. > Updated November 3, 2003 1:27 a.m.
Perhaps Bush should finish one war before starting another. 1/3 of Afganistan is still a war zone? The national guard has been called in for service in Iraq? Might as well spread themselves even more thin by taking on Syria, Iran and Nth Korea. Still no sign of Saddams WOMD. Still no sign of Saddam or Bin Laden. Egg on Bushes face. Looks like a bad joke from our side of the globe.
Response:
My guess is that very privately he’ll turn to his father, wife and very few others after being politically relieved of his position a year from now and say "We accomplished about as much as we could. Especially a good head start on the ABM program. Crawford NEVER looked so good." Meanwhile back in some meaningless news group, 30 or so guys will continue posting ignorant idiocy and 5 or 6 will take opposite positions. So it goes. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > ….. > The files also include evidence that Iraq was behind several > small-scale terrorist attacks against the U.S. and other countries, > officials said. In one case, the 1993 bombing of a U.S. facility in > Asia now has been linked to Iraq; orders for the operation were found > in the files, a law-enforcement official said. The attack caused no > casualties, the official said, refusing to disclose its exact > location. > Updated November 3, 2003 1:27 a.m. > Perhaps Bush should finish one war before starting another. > 1/3 of Afganistan is still a war zone? The national guard has > been called in for service in Iraq? Might as well spread > themselves even more thin by taking on Syria, Iran and Nth Korea. > Still no sign of Saddams WOMD. Still no sign of Saddam or > Bin Laden. Egg on Bushes face. Looks like a bad joke from > our side of the globe.
Response:
My, my…won’t your face (if you dare show it) be red (ooops… perhaps that word is *too* apropos…) when president Bush beats the absolute tar out of whichever demoncrap loser is unlucky enough to get his party’s nomination. Sorta like Kentucky, Mississippi…y’know? Hasta la vista, pinkos… Lord Valve Charter Member, VRC – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > My guess is that very privately he’ll turn to his father, wife and very few > others after being politically relieved of his position a year from now > and say "We accomplished about as much as we could. Especially a good head > start on the ABM program. Crawford NEVER looked so good." > Meanwhile back in some meaningless news group, 30 or so guys will continue > posting ignorant idiocy and 5 or 6 will take opposite positions. > So it goes. > ….. > > The files also include evidence that Iraq was behind several > > small-scale terrorist attacks against the U.S. and other countries, > > officials said. In one case, the 1993 bombing of a U.S. facility in > > Asia now has been linked to Iraq; orders for the operation were found > > in the files, a law-enforcement official said. The attack caused no > > casualties, the official said, refusing to disclose its exact > > location. > > Updated November 3, 2003 1:27 a.m. > Perhaps Bush should finish one war before starting another. > 1/3 of Afganistan is still a war zone? The national guard has > been called in for service in Iraq? Might as well spread > themselves even more thin by taking on Syria, Iran and Nth Korea. > Still no sign of Saddams WOMD. Still no sign of Saddam or > Bin Laden. Egg on Bushes face. Looks like a bad joke from > our side of the globe.
Response:
So now the story seems to be – Saddam didn’t have WMDs and he didn’t really have active WMD programs, but ‘he had a dream’?????? 
))) says… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Baghdad Records Show Hussein > Sought Missiles, Other Aid Abroad > U.S. investigators have unearthed Iraqi records of Saddam Hussein’s agents > world-wide, a treasure trove of intelligence that U.S. officials expect > will > help to identify foreigners paid to serve the former dictator’s interests > and to unravel international networks for procuring missiles and other > banned weapons. > A senior U.S. official familiar with the records said the documents — > along > with interrogations of former regime officials — still haven’t turned up > evidence that Iraq was actively producing chemical and biological weapons > or > had restarted its nuclear program, as Bush officials asserted prior to the > war. But the documents, as described by the U.S. official, could lend > credence to more recent assertions by the Bush administration that > Mr. Hussein was seeking to develop long-range missiles as a preliminary > step > to renewing a program of chemical and biological weapons.
Response:
How ’bout this possiblility…. and how ironic for all… Could it be… that much of the "west’s" intel was coming from the Iraqi military, since we didn’t have any ‘human’ assets of our own in "country"….? I’ve read it / heard it many times said by Iraqis "Just hurry and have the war..! ! " indicating that they WANTED the war to oust Saddam… this was by both Iraqi military personel and civilians. And… it appears that post-conflict interviews with Iraqi military has many, many of the commanders having the belief that there were WMD that would be used. That they themselves didn’t have them wouldn’t supprise them… it was/is the ‘nature’ of Saddam/Stalin style govts to keep such ‘powerful’ weapons out of the hands of all but the most "trusted" henchmen… Was Saddam using the old tried and true method of shoring up confidence by assuring his commanders of "hidden powerfull" weapons, and other rhetoric… ? ? It could very well be… that many of these Iraqi commanders KNEW that there were no "real" WMD available, but in order to instigate the US to war, swore up and down that they DID exist..! ! ! In a con, sometimes the fish KNOWS he’s being con’d but goes along anyway if he sees benefit (or possible benefit) to himself. He can always claim later that he got "Con’d" and never knew it… that’s his excuse. And of course, as often as not, the guy getting con’d is IN ON THE SCAM…. It would not be the first time in history that a war was "brought on" by the ‘loser’ in an effort to change their own govt. It is a dangerous way to try and change a bad situation (Saddams regime qualifies as such) and hopefully make opportunity for oneself… There is lots more info, bits and peices, that fit this hypothesis… Nobody is talking about the lead-up to the war, the intel, etc… Except for the clamour and shouting about the ‘claim’ of WMD by the CIA… If you’re an intel agency, a good ‘rabbit’ to lead the hounds off track is very valuable… Thanks to the Dems for chasing that rabbit… gtski