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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bela_ghoulashi who wrote (45644)	5/20/2004 1:49:10 AM
From: frankw1900	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793933

I think the foiled attack in Jordan is what Abdullah said it was. The idea was to have a large explosion or series of them accompanied by a poisonous cloud and the primary target was the Jordanian intelligence offices and secondary targets the government and the US embassy. This story from The Daily Star in Lebanon is interesting for the last couple of paragraphs: dailystar.com.lb Jordan's GID, which over the last two decades has infiltrated many Jordanian Islamists who lived in Afghanistan and Pakistan, or trained at Al-Qaeda-run camps, is becoming a main source of information on Islamists for American intelligence agencies and other Western and Arab countries. You will remember the Jordanian embassy in Baghdad was severely attacked quite early on. Of course, we know it wasn't a chemical attack that was thwarted because al-Zarqawi says so. muslimnews.co.uk Here's the story from the Star. Jordan authorities foil chemical attack in Amman Militants caught with explosives-laden cars confess plans to assault intelligence headquarters By Rana Sabbagh-Gargour Special to The Daily Star Saturday, April 17, 2004 AMMAN: Jordanian authorities have foiled what could have been the first attack inside the kingdom involving deadly chemical agents by a group connected to a top militant heading Al-Qaeda operations in Iraq. Several militant men, arrested with at least three cars laden with explosives, have allegedly told interrogators they were planning to stage a "spectacular" attack against the heavily-guarded headquarters of the General Intelligence Department (GID), using "deadly chemicals," sources said on Friday. The chemicals they were preparing could have easily killed at least 17,000 people living in an area almost 1 square kilometer surrounding the GID, perched on the outskirts of Amman, the sources told The Daily Star. No details of the chemicals were given, some of which were smuggled into Jordan through illegal points of entry stretching across the vast Syrian-Jordanian border. Some of the agents are believed to have been bought on the black market in Central Asia. According to sources, the group was allegedly planning to stage other attacks against the American Embassy in Amman as well as other US interests and some state symbols, such as the Prime Minister's Office, and other ministries, to avenge Jordan's pro-American policies. The suspects have claimed that they were taking orders from fugitive Jordanian Islamist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, now in Iraq, where he heads Al-Qaeda operations against coalition forces, the sources added. The Al-Qaeda militant network, led by Osama bin Laden, sought to punish Jordan for supporting Washington's goal of pacifying post-war Iraq. Friday's revelations came two days after King Abdullah II praised the GID for thwarting the terrorist attack on Jordan, calling it "a crime that would have been unprecedented in the country in terms of the size and explosives used, and the manner of the execution." Abdullah gave no further details of the attack. On April 10, authorities announced the arrest of an unspecified number of suspects and intercepted two bombs near the northern town of Irbid. Syrian officials have denied any knowledge of the smuggling operations. In mid-March, the United States increased its alert level in Jordan, urging Americans to step up vigilance after receiving information about possible attacks on hotels in the kingdom. Jordanian authorities have tightened security over the last two weeks at various sites around the capital, including Western embassies, government institutions and key facilities. Police are still hunting for a suspected Islamic militant in a nationwide hunt. "They see Jordan as vulnerable target and believe any major attack to destabilize the country would weaken American goals in the region and particularly in Iraq," said one Western diplomat. Jordan's close US ties and 1994 peace agreement with Israel are unpopular with many in the kingdom, and there is strong support for Islamist militant groups in some areas. Jordan's GID, which over the last two decades has infiltrated many Jordanian Islamists who lived in Afghanistan and Pakistan, or trained at Al-Qaeda-run camps, is becoming a main source of information on Islamists for American intelligence agencies and other Western and Arab countries.

To: bela_ghoulashi who wrote (45644)	5/20/2004 7:02:30 AM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793933

I understand that it's pretty much impossible to accept the fact that the war was based on a false premise, especially because it will make it very hard for Bush to be re-elected. And so, people who want Bush to be re-elected are looking for ways to convince doubters that the war was not based on false premises. The reason I poo-poohed the Sarin shell is because I already know it's not enough to convince doubters and neither is 20 tons of agricultural chemicals and explosives. The reason I know this is that I've been following the stories closely for months, for over a year. We can agree that Al Qaeda are bad people and they do bad things, and we can agree that gathering 20 tons of agricultural chemicals and explosives is not a good thing. But 20 tons of agricultural chemicals and explosives are not the premises that Bush started the war on. It won't do. The way it was being spun was that it was VX, which is not an agricultural chemical. That allegation has gone away, now. We've been getting false reports about chemical warfare agents for months, for over a year. There is an initial field test which indicates that something may be a chemical warfare agent, but when it's tested in a laboratory, it's not a chemical warfare agent. The press got all excited about this for several months, and they don't do that any more. Poor Judith Miller at the NYTimes is a laughing stock because she kept getting excited longer than anybody else. I am perfectly happy to let the matter drop now. I do feel sorry for Bush because I think the way ya'll are going about it makes him look worse, not better, but you're grownups, do what you want.