Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

July 5, 2008 8:41:51 AM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

Back to the grid

Saddam's Files Provide No 'Smoking Gun'

Posted Mar 23, 08 5:20 PM CDT in World    Most Covered

(Newser) – The Pentagon has rifled through 600,000 pages of Iraqi intelligence docs and found no sign of:

  • a plot to kill George Bush, Sr. in 1993.
  • a Saddam Hussein-al-Qaeda link.
  • a connection between Baghdad and Abdul Rahman Yasin, an alleged Sept. 11 plotter.
In fact, Hussein and his ministers are recorded on tape asking whether Washington or "Zionists" had planned World Trade Center attack.

President Bush turned heads in 2002 when he said of Hussein, "After all, this is a guy who tried to kill my dad at one time." Analysts are debating why the Bush, Sr. plot is not recorded in Iraqi files that detail other killings and ties to Egyptian and Palestinian terror groups. Iraq may have destroyed the paper trail, one CIA analyst said: the alleged murder attempt "was an utter embarrassment for them."

Source Newsweek

Editor Recommended

Related News

  • Afghan War Hamstrung by Troop Shortage

    Jul 3, 08 12:26 PM CDT
    Afghan War Hamstrung by Troop Shortage The US needs more troops in Afghanistan but lacks the available forces because of the Iraq war, the nation’s top military officer said yesterday. In his most pointed remarks to date, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen said that countering the country's resurgent Taliban and booming drug trade demands more than the 32,000 American troops stationed there, but that such a move necessitates "a reduced requirement in Iraq." More »

  • US Steps Up Covert Plots in Iran

    Jun 30, 08 2:15 AM CDT
    US Steps Up Covert Plots in Iran Congress agreed to boost covert operations against Iran last year despite reservations by key officials, Seymour Hersh writes in the New Yorker. President Bush sought up to $400 million for the program, which supports dissidents intent on undermining Tehran and gathers data on its nuke plans. Some analysts believe the moves foreshadow a military strike against the country. More »

  • Contrast in Defense Chiefs: Blunt Vet vs. Rhodes Scholar

    Jun 25, 08 6:13 PM CDT
    Contrast in Defense Chiefs: Blunt Vet vs. Rhodes Scholar How would a McCain Pentagon differ from Obama's? NPR sits own with two potential defense chiefs and finds common ground in their praise of Robert Gates' reforms but big differences in their approach to Iraq and in their own styles. Richard Armitage is an earthy McCain adviser and Vietnam vet who appreciates the value of "an infantryman with a bayonet." Obama adviser Richard Danzig is a Rhodes Scholar who wants soldiers to learn foreign languages. More »

  • Cigar Woes Snare Another Politician

    Jun 24, 08 2:40 PM CDT
    Cigar Woes Snare Another Politician London's mayor found out yesterday that he is “the one and only Western politician to be brought to justice for crimes committed in Iraq.” Boris Johnson's misdeed? Taking a cigar case as a souvenir from the smashed villa of Iraq’s former deputy prime minister while on assignment as a journalist in 2003, the Times of London reports. More »

  • Planting Flag in Iran Would Be Good for US

    Jun 23, 08 3:18 PM CDT
    Planting Flag in Iran Would Be Good for US President Bush is considering opening a small US office in Iran, Fred Hiatt writes in the Washington Post, a move that could spur contact with citizens—and perhaps the hostile regime. "It's not a softening," one official said of the proposed interest section, steps below a full embassy. "It does allow us to reach out to youth groups, to talk to dissidents. It's something the regime wouldn't like." More »

President Bush and his father, George H.W. Bush wave from a boat in this file photo. Armchair psychologists chalk up the Iraq invasion to President Bush's feelings of personal revenge for Iraq's alleged...   (Getty Images)
A soldier stands behind a portrait of Saddam Husein in the ealry days of the Iraq war.   (Flickr)
prev    next
play

Threads (1 of 2)

Tags

Iraq  • George W. Bush  • Pentagon  • Saddam Hussein  • George H. W. Bush


Loading...

Loading...

Related Thread: War on Terror

Next story from this section »

Today's Most Popular


Other World Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »