Intelligence Summit

[CardInAustin]

Has anyone been keeping tabs on the Intelligence Summit and the newly released Saddam tapes?

http://abcnews.go.com/International/IraqCoverage/story?id=1734490&page=1

http://www.intelligencesummit.com/

I am having trouble finding much info about the released tapes and documents. Thoughts??

[babylonsister]

1. Not much has been released because it's a non-starter.

ABC is shilling for this little project that goes nowhere.

[CardInAustin]

2. Well....

Some of the claims are pretty provocative. Just trying to see if any more info has been released about the validity of some of these claims. I suppose ultimately it is difficult to know since it is one "source" talking to another "source".

[Emit]

3. I'm sure we'll be hearing more about these on Fox News and WorldNetDaily

Here's another article on the subject:

Saddam's al-Qa'ida link 'revealed'
20 March 2006
DOCUMENTS seized in Iraq immediately after the US invasion in 2003 point to the presence of al-Qa'ida members in the country before the war, and show there had been moves to hide traces of "chemical or biological materials" from UN weapons inspectors.

The documents have been posted on the internet as part of a rolling program by the US Government to make public the contents of 48,000 boxes of untranslated papers and tapes relating to the workings of Saddam Hussein's regime. Saddam is said to have routinely taped talks with cabinet members and intelligence chiefs.

US director of national intelligence John Negroponte was ordered by President George W. Bush to release the material. Hundreds of thousands of previously unseen documents and hundreds of hours of tapes will be placed on the web in the coming weeks.

The first documents to be released offer tantalising clues to possible Iraqi contacts with al-Qa'ida. An Iraqi intelligence report dated September 15, 2001 -- four days after the attacks on the US -- says Osama bin Laden and the Taliban were in contact with Iraq, and al-Qa'ida members had visited the country.

It claims the US had proof that the Iraqi government and "bin Laden's group" had agreed to co-operate to attack targets in the US and that the Americans might strike Iraq and Afghanistan in retaliation.

However, the information comes from an unidentified Afghan informant who states merely that he heard it from an Afghan consul, also unnamed. According to ABC News, which translated the tapes, the claims are "sensational" but the sourcing is "questionable".

Another document from a "trustworthy" source and dated August 2002 claims people with links to al-Qa'ida were in Iraq. There is a picture a few pages later of the Jordanian terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. But the papers suggest Saddam's agents were trying to verify the presence of al-Qa'ida rather than colluding with it.

Cont'd:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,18528453%255E2703,00.html

Yes, this is an interesting development. I'm particularly leery of these parts of that story I posted above:

The documents have been posted on the internet as part of a rolling program by the US Government to make public the contents of 48,000 boxes of untranslated papers and tapes relating to the workings of Saddam Hussein's regime. Saddam is said to have routinely taped talks with cabinet members and intelligence chiefs.

US director of national intelligence John Negroponte was ordered by President George W. Bush to release the material. Hundreds of thousands of previously unseen documents and hundreds of hours of tapes will be placed on the web in the coming weeks.

~and~

However, the information comes from an unidentified Afghan informant who states merely that he heard it from an Afghan consul, also unnamed. According to ABC News, which translated the tapes, the claims are "sensational" but the sourcing is "questionable".

Also noted, in the your post, abcnews, are the editor's notes, such as:

On "Osama bin Laden and the Taliban" :

(Editor's Note: The controversial claim that Osama bin Laden was cooperating with Saddam Hussein is an ongoing matter of intense debate. While the assertions contained in this document clearly support the claim, the sourcing is questionable — i.e. an unnamed Afghan "informant" reporting on a conversation with another Afghan "consul." The date of the document — four days after 9/11 — is worth noting but without further corroboration, this document is of limited evidentiary value.)

or this one on "Al Qaeda Presence in Iraq":

(Editor's note: This document indicates that the Iraqis were aware of and interested in reports that members of al Qaeda were present in Iraq in 2002. The document does not support allegations that Iraq was colluding with al Qaeda.)

http://abcnews.go.com/International/IraqCoverage/story?id=1734490&page=1

You can see the documents yourself here:

http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/products-docex.htm

Here's one that is described as follows: "Synopsis: 2002 Iraqi Intelligence Correspondence concerning the presence of al-Qaida Members in Iraq. Correspondence between IRS members on a suspicion, later confirmed, of the presence of an Al-Qaeda terrorist group. Moreover, it includes photos and names."


http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/documents-docex/Iraq/ISGZ-2004-019920.pdf

Can anyone tell me what it actually says?