Russia Says It Warned U.S. Saddam Planned to Attack

[zimv20]

link (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&e=2&u=/nm/20040618/ts_nm/russia_us_iraq_dc)


Russia warned the United States after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks that Iraq (news - web sites)'s Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) planned to hit targets on U.S. soil, Russian President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites) said Friday.

Putin's remarks looked certain to help President Bush (news - web sites), but officials at the State Department expressed surprise, saying they knew of no such information from Russia.


State Department spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters he did not know anything about the information that Putin said Russia passed on. No such information was communicated from Russia through the State Department, he said.

"Everybody's scratching their heads," said one State Department official, who asked not to be named.

But the Kremlin leader's comments seemed certain to bolster Bush, whose campaign for re-election in November is under pressure from the Iraq crisis.


It is not the first time that Putin, who has forged a strong personal bond with Bush despite opposing him diplomatically over Iraq, has come to his defense on the issue.

At a summit of G8 world industrialized powers at the U.S. resort of Sea Island last week, where he met Bush separately, Putin stepped into the U.S. campaign by chastising U.S. Democrats for attacking the Republican president on Iraq.


a real thing? or is putin doing bush a favor?

[miloblithe]

Keep in mind, Putin thinks of the media as an outlet for official statements, not a forum for free discussion. I'd chalk this up as likely, but consider the source. All Putin is really looking for is justification for Chechnya.

[Sayhey]

I don't for a minute doubt that Saddam had plans to carry out these kinds of attacks against the US. I'd be surprised if these weren't attack plans drawn up as a response to his perception of US threats to overthrow his regime. I don't think even Saddam was stupid enough to launch such attacks at the US before a US invasion. That would have been tantamount to political and physical suicide. Does anyone think that if a terrorist attack against the US could have been tied to Saddam that we would have immediately moved troops into Iraq, and with the support of the rest of the world? If the Russians really have proof of these plans, then we need to know if any of them were ever tried to be carried out and what was the timing involved in the creation of these plots.

[skunk]

I don't for a minute doubt that Saddam had plans to carry out these kinds of attacks against the US. I'd be surprised if these weren't attack plans drawn up as a response to his perception of US threats to overthrow his regime.
I hear the US has "plans" to invade every country in Europe, let alone elsewhere. Doesn't mean they will.

[miloblithe]

I don't have any proof of this, but doesn't the U.S. military have plans for invading just about every country on earth? It's all just theory (usually, although we've invaded more countries, probably, than any other country on earth).

[takao]

I don't have any proof of this, but doesn't the U.S. military have plans for invading just about every country on earth? It's all just theory (usually, although we've invaded more countries, probably, than any other country on earth).

i guess yes ...because of the same reasons the US army stores the biggest amount of foreign uniforms (which are forbidden to use in a conflict but t ostore them is not forbidden :rolleyes: )

[Desertrat]

The Pentagon wargamers' job is to think the unthinkable--or, at least, the improbable. They have plans to invade everybody, probably. And, just guessing, plans involving US/China against India or Russia, or US/Russia against China, etc. This sort of "What if?" has been around since the concept of Games Theory first became seen as part of war planning.

Stipulating Putin's comments are factual: I can see him bypassing the State Department. I'm guessing he'd figure that it's indeed the sieve we know it to be, insofar as leaks. Probably gave the info to either Bush, directly, or through SecDef.

'Rat