Iraqi Officers: Al Qaida Operatives Were Trained Near Baghdad (911
Training/Rehearsals)
Geostrategy Direct.com ^ | 25 Dec 03 | Geostrategy Direct


Posted on 12/25/2003 1:47:35 AM PST by 11B3


Saudi nationals helped Saddam Hussein recruit and finance Al Qaida
insurgents as part of preparations to confront U.S. troops in Iraq.


Iraqi officers who have been interrogated by the United States and coalition
officials reported the Saudi role in recruiting and training of Al Qaida
units in Iraq. The officers said Saddam, through Saudi contacts, had invited
Al Qaida insurgents to form suicide and other units to stop the U.S.
military in March.


Saddam's contacts with Al Qaida, the officers told interrogators, preceded
the group's Sept. 11, 2001 strikes on New York and Washington. They said
Saudi envoys arranged for Al Qaida insurgents to enter Iraq and begin
training in camps around Baghdad.


The Al Qaida insurgents were trained at two camps - Nahrawan and Salman
Pak - under the supervision of the Fedayeen Saddam.


One officer who completed his interrogation was allowed to reveal details of
the Saudi role in Al Qaida's operations in Iraq. The officer, identified as
"L," told the independent Iraqi weekly Al Yawm Al Aakher that he saw Al
Qaida members arrive in Iraq as early as July 2001 for what he described as
a secret mission.


"L" said 100 trainees arrived, many of them from Saudi Arabia, led by a
cleric named Mohammed. The officer said the Saudi cleric, himself a skilled
fighter, remained in Iraq for the war against the United States.

Officers said the Salman Pak training included ways to hijack airplanes.
Training was conducted under the supervision of an unidentified Iraqi
general who is currently a police commander. They said many of the Al Qaida
insurgents left Iraq after their training stint.

Most of the Al Qaida insurgents, however, returned on the eve of the war to
fight the United States. The officers said the Al Qaida members volunteered
and fought in the battle for Baghdad.

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Predictions of what's coming to news stations in '04...

1) al Qaida/Saddam link

2) WMD's shipped from Iraq to Syria

3) bin Laden captured in N. Pakistan

4) unemployment rate dips to 5 year low