Stunning news just published in the Washington Post reveals that Russian President Putin warned the United States that Saddam was planning attacks on the United States, in the wake of 9/11. While there is no ironclad guarantee that the intelligence was valid, and Putin cannot comment on the weight placed on this information by the US, when planning the war with Iraq, this new information could change the terms of the American political debate — assuming the American press decides to publicize it.

"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 Hussein's regime were preparing terrorist attacks in the United States and outside it against the U.S. military and other interests," Putin said.

"It's one thing to have information that Hussein'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.

Hat tip to Ed
Posted by Thomas  06 18 04