Iraq not involved in Twin Towers

Probe rules out Iraq-9/11 links
The commission investigating the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US has found no “credible evidence” that Iraq helped al-Qaeda carry them out.
The statement was published before the bipartisan commission began the final two-day public session.

It contradicts Monday’s remarks by the US vice-president about Saddam Hussein “long-established ties” with al-Qaeda.

Iraq’s alleged links with al-Qaeda were part of the justification the Bush administration gave for invading Iraq.

The 11 September attacks killed nearly 3,000 people after members of Osama Bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network flew hijacked planes into New York’s World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
A final report on the commission’s findings is due on 28 July.

But preliminary statements published by the commission on a range of issues are building up into a complex picture of missed opportunities and some of it does not make pleasant reading for the Bush administration, says BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus.

Bin Laden spurned

The statement entitled Overview of the Enemy has been prepared by commission staff and contains “initial findings to present to the public on the nature of the enemy that carried out the 11 September attacks”.

Outlining the roots of al-Qaeda and its activities, it said Osama Bin Laden had explored the possibility of co-operation with Iraq, despite his opposition to Saddam Hussein’s secular regime.

It said a senior Iraqi intelligence officer had met Bin Laden in 1994 to hear his requests for space to establish training camps and assistance in procuring weapons.

“There have been reports that contacts between Iraq and al-Qaeda also occurred after Bin Laden had returned to Afghanistan, but they do not appear to have resulted in a collaborative relationship,” the statement says.

It adds: “Two senior Bin Laden associates have adamantly denied that any ties existed between al-Qaeda and Iraq.

“We have no credible evidence that Iraq and al-Qaeda co-operated on attacks against the United States.”

But it concludes that al-Qaeda remains a threat as it attempts to launch “chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear attacks”.

“Regardless of the tactic, al-Qaeda is actively striving to attack the United States and inflict mass casualties,” the reports ends.

Report’s other findings:

Late 1980s: al-Qaeda founded; early 1990s: centralised organisation following Bin Laden’s orders.

Bin Laden did not fund al-Qaeda through a personal fortune – it relied on a fundraising network.

There is no convincing evidence that any government financially supported al-Qaeda before the 11 September attacks.

Bin Laden assisted Somali warlords fighting the Americans.

No “credible evidence” that Iraq and al-Qaeda co-operated on attacks against the US.

Bin Laden role in WTC attacks in 1993 and a failed plot to blow up commercial aircraft in 1994 in Manila, Philippines are “uncertain”.
1996: In Afghanistan, Bin Laden makes public his war against the US.

Bin Laden cemented ties with the Taleban with Pakistani support.

Early 1998: al-Qaeda merges with Ayman Zawahiri’s Egyptian Islamic Jihad.

The 1998 attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania “were planned, directed, and executed by al-Qaeda, under the direct supervision of Bin Laden and his chief aides”.

Bin Laden remained willing to provide support to attacks initiated by more independent actors.

Al-Qaeda’s funding has “decreased significantly”, and the organisation is “far more decentralised”, now that Bin Laden has lost his Afghan base.

Al-Qaeda remains extremely interested in conducting chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear attacks.

Closing circle

This is the 12th time the commission has heard from witnesses in public.

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States said Wednesday’s session would hear from several of the federal government’s top law enforcement and intelligence experts on al-Qaeda and the 11 September plot.

The Commission has to ask some important questions about that day
Lee Hamilton
Commission vice-chairman
On Thursday, top military and civilian aviation officials – including General Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – will testify about their agencies’ responses to the attacks.

In this final session, commissioners will be attempting to fill in the gaps in the timeline of events before and after the attacks, says the BBC’s Daniel Lak in Washington.

Mr Myers’ appearance on Thursday will be his second before the commission.

“The commission has to ask some important questions about that day,” said vice-chairman Lee Hamilton.

Among some of the commission’s preliminary findings, is a report that the hijackers may have planned their attack for some months earlier than September, but postponed it after one of them was unable to take part.

In April, commission members spoke in private to President George W Bush and Mr Cheney.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/3812351.stm

Published: 2004/06/16 16:11:49 GMT

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