Ever since the investigation into 9-11 began, the ignorance of the media – particularly of the left – has been appalling. "No one will say there was a direct involvement of Saddam Hussein in Sept. 11 ... There's no direct link that can be substantiated," asserts Tim Russert. The ignorance of many in the media begs the question, "Who is doing their research?" Apparently, no one. And that is why when the next 9-11 occurs, we have only ourselves to blame.
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A clear link between Iraq and to al-Qaida and even to 9-11, can be established. As I explain on my website, beginning in the early-1990s, contact with Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri was steady, and overall contact with al-Qaida leadership accelerated throughout the years. First contact came about in 1992, and the first operational assistance came about in 1993. The original 9-11 plot, known as the "Bojinka" plot, was created in 1995 between Ramzi Yousef, an Iraqi intelligence agent, and al-Qaida masterminds in the Philippines.
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This led to a meeting between senior Iraqi intelligence officers and Osama bin Laden in Sudan. By 1997, Iraq was already training al-Qaida members in most aspects of terrorism, including the hijacking of Boeings at Salman Pak. According to defector testimony, Saddam even had a special arms-smuggling route specifically for helping Osama bin Laden and conducting "false flag" operations. In 1998, contact became very frequent, and Zawahiri reportedly visited Iraq to look at how al-Qaida forces were being trained to use chemical and biological weapons near Fallujah.
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Between 2000 and 2001, Iraqi intelligence had already met several of the 9-11 hijackers. Mohammed Atta, Zeid Samir Jarrah, Marawan al-Shehhi and Khalid al-Nidhar all had contact with the Iraqis. Al-Nidhar met with an Iraqi embassy worker in Malaysia as late as the first week of September. Within the two weeks after 9-11, Iraqi intelligence officers would meet with al-Qaida leaders in Southeast Asia and Bangladesh.
Strangely enough, the clearest evidence is in the Iraqi media – the very media we should have been monitoring. The Iraqi media, controlled by the Saddam regime, called for jihad against the United States on Jan. 22, 2001. Among the usual calls for revenge against the U.S., one of Saddam Hussein's favorite columnists predicted on July 21, 2001, that Osama bin Laden would destroy the White House and Pentagon, and "strike America on the arm that is already hurting."
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He finished off with a prediction that bin Laden's attack would force tears whenever someone heard Frank Sinatra sing. Frank Sinatra, of course, sung "New York, New York." But by far the most chilling statement was, "the wings of a dove and bullet are but the same in the heart of a believer." Less than two weeks after the article was published, Saddam Hussein congratulated the columnist on his fine work.
Between Aug. 19 and 21, Saddam Hussein hosted a forum for terrorists in Baghdad featuring not only bin Laden's representatives, but those of Islamic Jihad, Hamas and many others. From this time until after Sept. 11, Saddam Hussein and members of his inner circle went to safehouses with the military on high alert. Could Saddam have known that something would happen on Sept. 11, the fifth anniversary of the conviction of Ramzi Yousef, leader of the first World Trade Center attack (and suspected Iraqi intelligence agent)?
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We should not shy away from drawing a Saddam /9-11 connection. Even the Saddam regime itself has not. On Dec. 3, Sheikh Ali Bin Shallal read a poem in the presence of the dictator, part of which read:
From inside America, how five planes flew.
Such a mishap never happened in the past!
And nothing similar will happen.
Six thousand infidels died.
Bin Laden did not do it; the luck of the president [Saddam] did it.
This evidence, along with the work of people like Yossef Bodansky and Laurie Mylroie, is going without notice by the majority of the media outlets. Because we ignored the warnings of people like them, and did not watch the enemy, 3,000 people died on 9-11. We, the targets of terrorism, must watch the enemy because the enemy is watching us. Until we watch more closely the elements we fight against, the state sponsors of terrorism will be free to act as they wish, in cooperation with whom they wish, with the weapons they wish. And to remain safe, as they wish.
Ryan Mauro is 17 years old and the owner of Worldthreats.com. His full-length investigation is titled, "Saddam and Bin Laden: A Match Made Up in Propaganda?"