Putin Says Russia Warned U.S. on Saddam

[UDawg]

http://news.myway.com/top/article/id/410014|top|06-18-2004::08:05|reuters.html


Jun 18, 7:56 AM (ET)

ASTANA, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - Russia warned the United States on several occasions that Iraq's Saddam Hussein planned "terrorist attacks" on its soil, President Vladimir Putin said Friday.
"After the events of September 11, 2001, and before the start of the military operation in Iraq, Russian special services several times received such information and passed it on to their American colleagues," he told reporters.

The Kremlin leader, who was speaking in the Kazakh capital, said Russian intelligence services had many times received information that Saddam's special forces were preparing terrorist attacks in the United States "and beyond its borders on American military and civilian targets."

"This information was conveyed to our American colleagues," he said. He added that Russian intelligence had no proof that Saddam agents had been involved in any particular attack.

Russia had diplomatic relations with Saddam's Iraq and opposed the U.S.-led military offensive that toppled him.

Putin's comments come after President Bush was forced to defend his charge that there had been links between Saddam and al Qaeda that partly justified the U.S.-led invasion.

[UDawg]

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040618/D839DV0O1.html

Jun 18, 8:26 AM (ET)

By BAGILA BUKHARBAYEVA

ASTANA, Kazakhstan (AP) - Russia gave the Bush administration intelligence after the September 11 attacks that suggested Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq was preparing attacks in the United States, President Vladimir Putin said Friday.

Putin said he couldn't comment on how critical the Russians' information was in the U.S. decision to invade Iraq. He said Russia didn't have any information that Saddam's regime had actually been behind any terrorist acts.

"After Sept. 11, 2001, and before the start of the military operation in Iraq, the Russian special services, the intelligence service, received information that officials from Saddam's regime were preparing terrorist attacks in the United States and outside it against the U.S. military and other interests," Putin said.

He said the United States had thanked Russia for the information. There was no immediate comment from U.S. officials.

"It's one thing to have information that Saddam's regime is preparing terrorist attacks, (but) we didn't have information that it was involved in any known terrorist attacks," Putin said in the Kazakh capital Astana after regional economic and security summits.

Putin said the intelligence didn't cause Russia to waver from its firm opposition to the war.

"Despite that information about terrorist attacks being prepared by Saddam's regime, Russia's position on Iraq remains unchanged," Putin said.

Putin didn't elaborate on any details of the terror plots or mention whether they were tied to the al-Qaida terror network.

A commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States reported this week that while there were contacts between al-Qaida and Iraq, they did not appear to have produced "a collaborative relationship."

President Bush, however, insisted Thursday that Saddam had "numerous contacts" with al-Qaida and said Iraqi agents had met with the terror network's leader, Osama bin Laden, in Sudan.

Saddam "was a threat because he had terrorist connections - not only al-Qaida connections, but other connections to terrorist organizations," Bush said.

[EDWARD TIVRUSKY]

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040618/D839DV0O1.html

SPIN, now they want us to believe that they didn't help us go into iraq but gave us intelligence? :retard: :rolleyes: :angel2:

[Sazar]

interesting from putin and russia...

hadn't heard of any of this from any other quarters... not even from american channels be they liberal or conservative... heck not even rush limbaugh mentioned this before...

I wonder what else is going to emerge...

[UDawg]

I heard the actual audio for this. It is of course translated for the media by his translator. I think Putin him self broke this story. He has backed up Bush a couple of times now. I wonder why? I know they are close in trying to work together but this is twice in as many weeks he has defended Bush.

BTW I first heard of it after I read it on Drudge then again on the hourly news.

[Clay]

interesting from putin and russia...

hadn't heard of any of this from any other quarters... not even from american channels be they liberal or conservative... heck not even rush limbaugh mentioned this before...

I wonder what else is going to emerge...
Rush had the translation audio clip on earlier today.

[Sazar]

I haven't listened to him today and I would not have put it past him being amongst the first to have played it either

"ladies and gentlemen, it is I, rush limbaugh, the last bastion of truth and goodness in the country and everything I say is true even if I can't backup 99% of it... btw here is something from the other 1% that PROVES everything I have ever said is true... except in those circumstances when it was not true in which case I will conveniently have them removed from my archives and brain-wash you lot till you forget.. now where was I... ah yes... Putin"

:cool:

what can I say.. I'm bored...

[Son Goku]

I haven't listened to him today and I would not have put it past him being amongst the first to have played it either

"ladies and gentlemen, it is I, rush limbaugh, the last bastion of truth and goodness in the country and everything I say is true even if I can't backup 99% of it... btw here is something from the other 1% that PROVES everything I have ever said is true... except in those circumstances when it was not true in which case I will conveniently have them removed from my archives and brain-wash you lot till you forget.. now where was I... ah yes... Putin"

:cool:

what can I say.. I'm bored...

:D

[UDawg]

I would not have put it past him being amongst the first to have played it either

Yeah, that jerk! :D