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Ties between Iraq and al-Qaeda (last updated August 10, 2004)
Fahrenheit 9/11 questions another rationale for military action in Iraq, namely, the Bush administration's suggestion that there was a link between Iraq and the al-Qaida terrorist organization as well as the September 11 attacks, and the administration's suggestion and that Iraq could supply weapons of mass destruction to al-Qaida for use against the United States.
President George W. Bush, for example, did refer to Iraq as "an ally of al-Qaeda" in his May 1, 2003 speech declaring an end to major combat operations in Iraq (transcript on-line here).
Osama Bin Laden and his aides did meet with Iraq officials several times in the 1990s about cooperating, but the 9/11 Commission concluded that there is "no credible evidence" that al-Qaeda and Iraq actually formed a working relationship or that Iraq was involved in the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Contacts between Iraq and al-Qaeda in the 1990s
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Various sources have reported on the reported contacts between al-Qaeda and Iraq but have reached different conclusions about what such contacts ultimately mean.
Secretary of State Colin Powell, for example, said in his February 2003 presentation to the United Nations Security Council (on-line here) that there were "at least eight" meetings "at very senior levels since the early 1990s" between al-Qaeda and Iraq. "Some claim these contacts do not amount to much. They say Saddam Hussein's secular tyranny and al-Qaida's religious tyranny do not mix. I am not comforted by this thought. Ambition and hatred are enough to bring Iraq and al-Qaida together, enough so al-Qaida could learn how to build more sophisticated bombs and learn how to forge documents, and enough so that al-Qaida could turn to Iraq for help in acquiring expertise on weapons of mass destruction."
Some of the various reported contacts between Iraq and al-Qaeda include:
- 1994/1995. Bin Laden reportedly met with a senior Iraqi intelligence officer in Khartoum and asked for space to establish training camps and for assistance getting weapons. The 9/11 Commission found no evidence that Iraq ever met such requests.
- Mid-1990s. According to a defector cited by Secretary of State Colin Powell, Saddam Hussein reportedly sent agents to Afghanistan to train al-Qaeda members on document forgery.
- 1997. Bin Laden reportedly reached out to Iraq for cooperation, but the 9/11 Commission found that Bin Laden did not receive a "significant" response.
- July 1998. An Iraqi delegation reportedly met with Bin Laden in Afghanistan.
- 1999. Iraqi officials reportedly met with Bin Laden or his aides and offered him a safe haven in Iraq.
The 9/11 Commission, however, concluded that there was no evidence that such "friendly contacts" between Iraq and al-Qaeda "ever developed into a collaborative operational relationship. Nor have we seen evidence indicating that Iraq ever cooperated with al Qaeda in developing or carrying out any attacks against the United States."
Iraq's Connection to 9/11 Attacks?
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The Bush administration has also suggested at times that Iraq had some connection to the 9/11 attacks.
This alleged connection is rooted in a Czech intelligence report that 9/11 hijacker Mohamed Atta met with an Iraqi intelligence officer in April 2001 in Prague. The report was not made at the time of the alleged meeting but shortly after September 11, 2001. The 9/11 Commission reported that a FBI representative who met with the Czech intelligence service's source was 70 percent sure that the source was sincere.
Vice-President Dick Cheney said in December 2001 (on-line here) that the Czech report had been "pretty well confirmed." "Now, what the purpose of that was, what transpired between them, we simply don't know at this point. But that's clearly an avenue that we want to pursue."
The 9/11 Commission, however, found that evidence "does not support" the Czech report. There is evidence that Atta was seen in the United States on April 4 and on April 11, and there is no evidence that the Atta went between the United States and the Czech Republic between those dates. The Iraqi intelligence officer who allegedly met Atta has denied meeting or contacting Atta or knowing of any other Iraqi official who did so.
Moreover, two conspirators (Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Ramzi Binalshibh) reportedly told interrogators that such a meeting never took place. The 9/11 Commission also noted that "there was no reason for such a meeting, especially considering the risk it would pose to the operation. By April 2001, all four pilots had completed most of their training, and the muscle hijackers were about to begin entering the United States."
Conflicting Philosophies
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Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden have themselves indicated an uneasy relationship. Both undoubtedly considered the United States an enemy, but the two ultimately had different, opposing goals. While Saddam Hussein obviously wanted to retain power and wrapped himself in the trappings of Islam, al-Qaeda wants Arab countries such as Iraq to overthrow secular leaders such as Hussein in favor of more fundamentalist regimes.
Moreover, Bin Laden reportedly even offered to rally his forces against Saddam Hussein in 1990 when Hussein invaded Kuwait. This offer was rejected by the Saudi government.
In an audio tape message broadcast in mid-February 2003, Osama Bin Laden did call for resistance to the United States' plans to invade Iraq. But while Bin Laden did refer to "our Iraqi mugahedeen brothers in Iraq," he did not offer support for Hussein himself, calling his government "ignorant" and socialist.
"We stress the loyal intentions that the fighting should be in the name of God only, not in the name of national ideologies nor to seek victory for the ignorant governments that rule all Arab states, including Iraq," Bin Laden said. "The Muslims as a whole, and in Iraq in particular, should pull up their sleeves and carry jihad against this oppressive offense and to make sure to stock up on ammunition and arms. This is a duty for them. It does not hurt that in the current circumstances, the interests of Muslims coincide with the interests of the socialists in the war against crusaders, taking into account our belief and declaration of the apostasy of the socialists."
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States (2004). U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's Feb. 5, 2003 presentation to the U.N. Security Council is on-line here. Reuters, Bin Laden's message : fight the crusaders, New York Times, February 15, 2003.
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