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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Iraqi Intelligence Officer in Prague Met With Hamburg Student on April 8, 2001 |
| 2004-05-08 |
| .... A search of the Iraq Embassy in Prague after the fall of Baghdad to coalition forces revealed [Iraqi intelligence officer Ahmad Khalil Ibrahim Samir] al-Ani had scheduled a meeting for April 8, 2001, with a Hamburg student, according to an appointment calendar obtained by Czech intelligence. Al-Ani then was placed under surveillance as he met with a young Arab-speaking man in Prague April 8. After seeing Atta’s photograph after Sept. 11, the Czech counterintelligence watcher identified the man he had seen meeting al-Ani as Atta. Al-Ani was expelled from Prague within two weeks. .... |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |
| #7 It's plausible that Iraqi intel dealt with or assisted Atta, but it's less plausible they did so specifically and knowingly in connection with 9/11. Why? Security. 9/11 relied entirely on secrecy and surprise, which was achieved, through excellent security by the participants and bosses. I can see no reason Atta would risk the enterprise by letting the Iraqis in on the secret, especially as there was no "need to know." This has no bearing at all on the general question of AQ-Iraq contacts, for which there seems substantial evidence, or the untenable contention by some that for philosophical or other reasons, AQ would never deal with Iraq, even if its practical interests suggested it. |
| Posted by: Verlaine 2004-05-08 6:51:49 PM |
| #6 this has been around for a few years but not widely reported...it would be impossible for the media to report on this sense it goes totally against the left version..... |
| Posted by: Dan 2004-05-08 11:31:36 AM |
| #5 I understand the timeline just fine, thanks, but only because I knew the story beforehand. That part of the story was poorly written. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2004-05-08 11:08:48 AM |
| #4 It's not confusing at all: The Czechs knew Samir was an intelligence officer, so had someone watching him. After seeing Atta's photo after 9/11, the counter-intelligence officer recognized him as "al-Ani". After the fall of Saddam, the datebook was retrieved. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-05-08 10:52:45 AM |
| #3 Now, you realize this isn't exactly new news. Czech intelligence has been swearing up and down since 9/11 that the two met. CIA still says no, last I heard. This was (briefly) a big deal two years ago, when the Iraq war was grinding to a start. This paragraph is very confusing. It implies that the fall of Saddam allowed Czech officials to get their hands on this appointment book, which then led to al-Ani being placed under surveillance in 2001. Have the Czechs invented time travel? |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2004-05-08 10:50:19 AM |
| #2 The mainstream press won't report this; it contradicts the story line they've been peddling for the last two years. For them, this information will never exist. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-05-08 10:42:47 AM |
| #1 WND and Geostrategy Direct aren't the only news media reporting this. EIN News (Czech Today) has the story up on their website as well, though you have to be subscriber to read it. |
| Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-05-08 10:05:57 AM |