In The Weekly Standard, Stephen F. Hayes writes again on the potential connections between Iraq and al Qaeda. Excerpt:
Although Shakir worked for Malaysian Airlines, the Iraqi embassy controlled his schedule--told him when to report to work, when to take a day off. On January 5, 2000, Shakir received an assignment from his embassy contact. He was to escort two recent arrivals through immigration at the airport. Khalid al Midhar and Nawaz al Hamzi--two of the chief September 11 hijackers--had come to Malaysia for an important al Qaeda meeting that would last four days. That gathering would become the focus of the extensive investigation into the planning of the attack on the USS Cole on October 12, 2000, and the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon nearly a year later.According to U.S. intelligence reports, Shakir greeted these two future hijackers at the airport and walked them to a waiting car. But rather than see them off, he jumped in the car with al Midhar and al Hamzi and accompanied them to the Kuala Lumpur Hotel. Malaysian authorities had been tipped off about the al Qaeda summit before it happened and later provided American authorities with photographs and videotapes of the attendees. While U.S. officials can place Shakir at the Kuala Lumpur Hotel with the hijackers, they cannot say for certain whether Shakir participated in the meeting. Also present that day, according to U.S. intelligence reporting, were Ramzi bin al Shibh, the operational chief of the "Holy Tuesday" attacks, as 9/11 was known to the terrorists, and Tawfiz al Atash, a top-ranking bin Laden deputy, later identified as the mastermind of the attack on the USS Cole.
Hayes also makes a point that may have some bearing on the Wilsongate scandal, noting that, "When the CIA leaks from classified documents, administration officials cannot effectively respond to misrepresentations or distortions because the information is classified."
While you're there, you'll also enjoy reading Arnold Uber Alles, Matt Labash's report from the Schwarzenegger campaign. Here's a taste:
I SPEND ELECTION MORNING covering the race poolside at the Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles. I tell my waitress, Mashia, that I should be working the polls, but I've had it with real people. "That's okay," she says, "there's not many of them left out here." I ask her who she voted for. She says she hasn't and she's not going to, because she doesn't really know the issues, and she doesn't think ignorant people should vote. I want to hug her, and not just because she's hot and wearing a sarong.
Enjoy!
Posted by oscarjr at October 11, 2003 07:55 PM | TrackBack