Hello davidjonsson and thank you for your question.
From my research we can say the following:
1.) Yes, there are/have been Al Qaida bases in Iraq.
However, whilst we can say the bases are in Iraq, this does not mean
that they are there with the support or consent of the Iraqi
government. This is because the bases are in Northern Iraq, which is
not under the control of Baghdad.
"Because the area is under Kurdish control, U.S. officials stress they
have no reason to believe that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein would
have been aware of what was happening there."
http://www.islamicsupremecouncil.org/country_reports/Iraq/cnnInterview082002.htm
"There has been some indication that there are training bases in the
northern part of Iraq which are outside of the jurisdiction of
Baghdad, or under control of the Kurds in Iraq. There are significant
training camps elsewhere that in my judgment, along with centers of Al
Qaida activity, should be our priorities in the war on terrorism,"
said Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Bob Graham on CBS' "Face
The Nation."
http://www.evote.com/News/EV08262002B.html
"There are some new indications that al Qaeda has been at work inside
of Iraq, but not necessarily with the cooperation of Saddam Hussein."
http://www.islamicsupremecouncil.org/country_reports/Iraq/cnnInterview082002.htm
"In August, Rumsfeld told reporters: "If you're asking, are there al
Qaeda in Iraq, the answer is yes, there are. It's a fact, yes."
Intelligence officials do believe there are al Qaeda members in
Northern Iraq, where Saddam is not in control. But Rumsfeld's
assertion today that al Qaeda has recently operated in Baghdad is
new."
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/Iraqpolitics020926.html
"WOODRUFF: But, senator, you have Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
saying they have solid evidence of the presence of al Qaeda in Iraq.
They are talking about ties, where al Qaeda have been trained and
supported and sheltered in Iraq. What more evidence do you need?"
http://bernie.house.gov/documents/articles/20020930101453.asp
"We do know that there are some Al Qaeda in Iraq. They may very well
be, however, in some of the areas not controlled, necessarily, by the
government of Iraq, in some of the areas that are disputed, under one
of the two Kurdish parties' control."
http://usembassy.state.gov/tokyo/wwwhse1636.html
"Tony Blair is about to reveal the first definitive evidence that
Saddam is indeed connected to al Qaeda, having trained several of
Osama bin Laden's key lieutenants in the terrorist's arts. A draft
version of the dossier, inspected by the London Daily Telegraph,
details how two of the lieutenants, Abu Zubair and Rafid Fatah, ran al
Qaeda training camps in Iraq. Zubair's family still enjoys
"privileges" in Baghdad of the sort denied to just plain folks."
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/pruden091802.asp
"Recent reports indicate that Iraq hosted and trained several of al
Qaeda's top lieutenants"
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-preston100102.asp
"The Bush administration believes there are links between Iraqi
government-dominated businesses and al-Qaeda, according to the Times.
U.S. officials have no evidence, however, that Iraq serves as a
location for al-Qaeda bases or training camps,"
http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2002/6/21/3s.html
"Beyond that, some Iraq-watchers suspect that al-Qaeda members trained
at Iraq’s Salman Pak terrorist training camp;"
http://www.terrorismanswers.com/groups/alqaeda3.html
-------------------------------------
2.) In what other regard is Iraq supporting International terrorsim?
"Less understandable, however, is that so many Americans remain
confused about whether Iraq's Saddam Hussein supports any terrorism.
Of course he does. It's a matter of public record."
http://www.themedialine.org/news/News_detail.asp?NewsID=678
"Since Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, however, Hussein has developed
ties with Islamic extremist groups, said Amatzia Baram, an Iraq
specialist at the University of Haifa in Israel. Hussein now supports
the Islamist-oriented Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas."
http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2002/3/19/2s.html
"Among other known Ansar leaders, Mohamed says Abu Wa'el was the most
influential, was on the Iraqi intelligence payroll, and served as a
liaison between Baghdad and Al Qaeda."
http://usinfo.state.gov/regional/nea/iraq/press/0418irqtr.htm
"Does Iraq sponsor terrorism?
Yes. Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship has provided headquarters,
operating bases, training camps, and other support to terrorist groups
fighting the governments of neighboring Turkey
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
(AP Photo/Iraq News Agency)
and Iran, as well as to hard-line Palestinian groups. During the 1991
Gulf War, Saddam also commissioned several failed terrorist attacks on
U.S. facilities. The State Department lists Iraq as a state sponsor of
terrorism. The question of Iraq’s link to terrorism has become more
urgent with Saddam’s determination to develop weapons of mass
destruction, which Bush administration officials fear he might share
with terrorists who could launch devastating attacks against the
United States.
Was Saddam involved in the September 11 attacks?
There is no hard evidence linking Saddam to the attacks, and Iraq
denies any involvement. However, it didn’t express sympathy for the
United States after the attacks. Some Iraq watchers still suspect
Saddam was at least indirectly involved, but by the fall of 2002, the
Bush administration had stopped arguing that Iraq had strong links to
al-Qaeda.
Does Iraq have ties with al-Qaeda?
There’s no solid evidence of links. Czech officials reported that
Muhammad Atta, one of the September 11 ringleaders, met an Iraqi
intelligence agent in Prague months before the hijackings, but U.S.
and Czech officials subsequently cast doubt on whether such a meeting
ever happened. Some militants trained in Taliban-run Afghanistan are
helping Ansar al-Islam, a Kurdish extremist group that Saddam uses to
harass his own Kurdish foes. Finally, al-Qaeda members fleeing
Afghanistan have reportedly hid in northern Iraq, but in areas beyond
Saddam’s control.
"What type of terrorist groups does Iraq support?
Primarily groups who can hurt Saddam’s regional foes. Saddam has
helped the Iranian dissident group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq and the
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a separatist group fighting the
Turkish government. Moreover, Iraq has hosted several Palestinian
splinter groups that oppose any peace agreement with Israel, including
the mercenary Abu Nidal Organization, whose leader, Abu Nidal, was
found dead in Baghdad in August 2002. Iraq has also supported other
Palestinian groups, including the Islamist Hamas movement, and
reportedly channels money to the families of Palestinian suicide
bombers. Saddam is a secular dictator, so his regime tends to support
secular terrorist groups rather than Islamists such as al-Qaeda,
experts say."
http://www.terrorismanswers.com/sponsors/iraq.html
Thank you for your question, and if you need me to clarify anything in
my answer do not hesitate to ask.
Best regards
THX1138
Search strategy included:
"al qaeda" training camps in iraq
://www.google.com/search?q=+%22+al+qaeda%22+training+camps+in++iraq+&hl=pt&lr=&ie=UTF-8&as_qdr=all&start=50&sa=N |
,
0 Comments
)