Hysterical critics of President Bush's decision to go to war with Iraq have claimed as a matter of faith that there was 'no connection' between Saddam Hussein and the War on Terror. Nevermind the meeting in Prague which the Czechs insist took place between Saddam's agents and an al Qaeda representative. The Gospel of the Bush—haters insists that the war with Iraq was a diversion from the War on Terror.

So far, the American press is doing its best to ignore a story by Con Coughlin, famous staffer at the  UK Telegraph. Coughlin writes:

Iraq's coalition government claims that it has uncovered documentary proof that Mohammed Atta, the al—Qaeda mastermind of the September 11 attacks against the US, was trained in Baghdad by Abu Nidal, the notorious Palestinian terrorist.

Details of Atta's visit to the Iraqi capital in the summer of 2001, just weeks before he launched the most devastating terrorist attack in US history, are contained in a top secret memo written to Saddam Hussein, the then Iraqi president, by Tahir Jalil Habbush al—Tikriti, the former head of the Iraqi Intelligence Service.

The handwritten memo, a copy of which has been obtained exclusively by the Telegraph, is dated July 1, 2001 and provides a short resume of a three—day "work programme" Atta had undertaken at Abu Nidal's base in Baghdad.

This strikes us as rather more important that a 28th straight story on Abu Ghraib, or the latest details of Scott Peterson's trial. It sounds like a proverbial 'smoking gun' indicating that President Bush was correct in his judgement, and that his critics have played naïve fools, in denying the close involvement of Saddam Hussein in supporting terrorism, by paying the families of death cult bombers whom kill Israelis, by training terrorists at Salma Pak, and by using Abu Nidal as an adult education class teacher in the 'How to Kill Infidels' course at Baghdad Community College.

Even more embarrassing for the critics, the memo legitimizes President Bush's oft—derided comments in his 2002 State of the Union Address, concerning uranium in Niger:

The second part of the memo, which is headed "Niger Shipment", contains a report about an unspecified shipment — believed to be uranium — that it says has been transported to Iraq via Libya and Syria.

The 2004 election year offers an extraordinary opportunity for the American left to discredit itself, by heaping scorn, lobbing accusations of lying, and otherwise telling Americans that their country is evil and their President is a fool at best. I have warned them for months that they are dealing with a poker player who understands how to get his opponent to bet big on a losing hand.

Timing is everything, so don't expect to see rapid action on this story. It is a Telly exclusive for the moment, and forensic investigation may be needed to prove the legitimacy of the documents in question.
One more thing: we still haven't heard what Saddam has been telling his interrogators, have we? I imagine that President Bush is well—briefed on the subject. But I suspect that Al Gore and other critics remain pretty much in the dark.

Hat tip to Richard
Posted by Thomas  06 02 04