Regime of Terror | Media swings and misses on IDA’s Saddam report
May 20th, 2008 . by JetmanI don’t think anyone disputes the fact that Hussein wasn’t directly behind the 9/11 attacks. There are some strong indicators that he was still a threat, most of which I covered in a previous thesis / post.
Interesting information as always from Mark Eichenlaub’s Iraq Regime of Terror blog:
A closer reading of the study (see here, here, here, here, here and here) shows that Saddam Hussein’s Iraq cooperated with, financed and supported a number of Islamic terrorist groups, including al Qaeda proxies (at least five according to Thomas Joscelyn) and had a larger capacity for state apparatus terrorism (car bomb training, IED training, jihadist suicide bomber recruitment, etc.) than previously believed by many.
Of the many noteworthy findings in the report is the assertion made in the conclusion that Hussein had retained not only the capacity to launch anti-West terrorist attacks but the will to use those terrorist capabilities, including directly against the United States, which was also a matter of previous debate.
The report’s conclusion, while noting that a perfect grasp of Hussein’s mindset at the exact time of U.S. invasion remained elusive, states that "evidence that was uncovered and analyzed attests to the existence of a terrorist capability and a willingness to use it until the day Saddam was forced to flee Baghdad by Coalition forces."
Still, there are reasons that I have felt justified our actions.
