Captured Iraqi Terrorist Says Bin Laden Had al-Qaeda Camps in Iraq Under Saddam's Regime
Friday, August 10, 2007 at 09:18PM Bottom Line Up Front: Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda had training camps in Fallujah, Iraq, under Saddam Hussein's regime. Al-Qaeda recruited Sunni Iraqis in the terror camps.
In this amazing footage that aired on Iraqi TV in August 2005, Iraqi terrorist Ramzi Hashem Abed sang like a bird after being arrested for terrorist activity explaining his mission with al-Zarqawi, former head of al-Qaeda in Iraq, as part of Osama bin Laden's terror network. He said that bin Laden's al-Qaeda had been training in Fallujah..... UNDER SADDAM HUSSEIN'S REGIME.... until they were chased out through Mosul by U.S. forces. He then described them as "scattered".
Ramzi Hashem Abed also described the brutality of al-Qaeda as Iraqi Police LT Muhammad reprimanded him for calling his acts of rape and murder "Jihad". At the end, Abed praises the treatment given him during the interrogation by LT Muhammad and near tears said:
"I never believed Shiites could show such respect and care. We were taught by people like Mullah Al-Raikan that Shi'a is not Islam."
Abed also said al-Qaeda and al-Zarqawi gave drugs to suicide bombers before their missions so their acts of terror wouldn't hurt them.
Full video (9:49) RECOMMENDED:
Abbreviated video (5:44) for readers with ADD:
ON HIS AFFILIATION:Investigator: What organization do you belong to?
Abed: Ansar Al-Islam.
Investigator: What organization is this?
Abed: It is Bin-Laden's group.
ON BIN LADEN’S AL-QAEDA TRAINING CAMPS IN FALLUJAH UNDER SADDAM:
Abed: Our Ansar Al-Islam military camps were in Halabja.Investigator: This was in the days of the previous regime?
Abed: Yes.
Investigator: And now?
Abed: Now, there is nothing. They were all scattered. The training area was in Falluja.
Investigator: And then?
Abed: After Falluja was hit, they would come through Syria to Mosul... I mean, through Falluja to Mosul.
Of course, this is the kind of thing that is common knowledge to those of us in the military. Whether it's liaisons in Baghdad between Saddam and bin Laden discovered by the 82nd ABN DIV in 2003 or eye-witness accounts of undercover Special Forces troops noting long lines of flatbed trucks moving "something" over the boarder from Iraq into Syria just before the start of the war, soldiers have come to support the war effort for these very reasons. The hard part is convincing everyone else who hasn't been there-done that to understand it.
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Reader Comments (40)
Excellent piece. Many deny the truth when it startes at them but things like this were going on and just because they haven't uncovered WMD sites, means nothing. They haven't even checked 1/2 of the sites that they originally said there WMD's at.
Separating all the lies from the truth is difficult but each thing like this proves the original point. Saddam was dangerous to us.
They all sing like a bird because they are proud to be jihadis and want to boast, it is their culture and news releases arebut propoganda tools.We gotta spin this the right way as propoganda porn, conservative bloggers mount up, if Beauchamp didn't already hav you in the saddle!
Holy cow Amy! In today's argument with my moonbat boss, this very subject came up--right before he threatened to fire me for my politics! May I borrow this for my blog? This is EXCELLENT stuff!
I have known this since before 91101. It was "debunked" then and will be quite grievous to the moonbats now.
ReidCo and that genre of defeatist clowns would do well to make known what I and others like me KNOW that they KNOW.
Thanks for posting this.
A couple of things stand out in the interview-
1. He was quick to point at the Syrians for the slaughter;
2. 2. He made the statement "I never knew Shiites were good, you gave me food and a Pepsi", "They told us Shia was not Muslim, did not worship Allah;
3. They gave us pills and told us not to feel when we performed our missions.
He could pass for any liberal by his lack of willingness to accept responsibility for his own behavior... It's always someone else’s fault.
I think in the back of his mind, the only thing he's thinking about is when his head will be detached from his shoulders.
May I borrow this for my blog? This is EXCELLENT stuff!
Mark Eichenlaub has compiled a lot of useful information. Curt at Flopping Aces has also done so. Just click on his categories "Al-Qaeda-Saddam links" and "Saddam documents".
Good find, Amy.
I agree with Gawfer, and I find it absurd that Miss Beth's employer threatened to fire her for her politics. If he ever does, I hope she takes him to court. That's utterly unconstitutional!
You do a great service by posting these videos, Amy. We had just reason to go into Iraq, and getting this stuff out there helps. I wish the MSM would do a better job, but it's clear that's never going to happen. :(
Extremely interesting! To bad the "Netrooters" won't ever see it. I hope you all took notice of the dates! Right? I do hope this guy has been removed from the earth!
Kidnapping and raping women were part of the terror strategy – University or daughters of important people; Great, another example of such high-standards in war conducted terribly people and Al Qaeda’s war ideology. ( video 1, quotes mid-way ~)
“Did you rape them and get money for it? Yes! Then afterwards did you slaughter them? Yes? Is this Jihad – raping women? Yes. It is because they collaborated with the Americans.”
Al Qaeda methodology, according to these statements here in vid 1.
Kidnapped—raped—slaughtered: because “allegedly” collaborated with an American –And I emphasize “alleged!”
Rape also was done after interrogation, and some of the women/girls were “ gang raped” – no word of gang raped in video, but the plural was used in questioning and the “Al Qaeda operative” stated it as “ some were raped by “ a squad.” – that is plural. I guess these were “raping squads?”
The squad leader would get the names from the Al Qaeda commander.
Then they probably get their throats slowly slit.
Were these [ terrorist] camps in Halabja – this was in the days of the previous regime? Yes!
Great post Amy. I will finish watching these two informative videos. I’m glad I already ate my breakfast – I hope it stays down this morning.
This is huge. I am going to write this up at my site that is just on this topic. www.regimeofterror.com.
Thanks so much and great work finding this.
"A couple of hours after [General] Adnan issued his AK-47 threat, I sat with him watching TV. This was business, not pleasure. The program we were watching was Adnan’s brainchild, and in just a few months it had proved to be one of the most effective psychological operations of the war.
It is reality TV of sorts, a show called ‘‘Terrorism in the Grip of Justice.’’ It features detainees confessing to various crimes. The show was first broadcast earlier this year and has quickly become a nationwide hit. It is on every day in prime time on Al Iraqiya, the American-financed national TV station, and when it is on, people across the country can be found gathered around their television sets.
Those being interrogated on the program do not look fearsome; these are not the faces to be found in the propaganda videos that turn up on Web sites or on Al Jazeera. The insurgents, or suspected insurgents, on ‘‘Terrorism in the Grip of Justice’’ come off as cowardly lowlifes..."
-2005 report by Peter Maass
These videos were shown in prime time in Iraq. We are just now getting the footage. Every cut'n'run lib should be forced to watch these videos.
"...These videos were shown in prime time in Iraq. We are just now getting the footage. Every cut'n'run lib should be forced to watch these videos."
Spot On Johnny. Oh, that the main stream media would pick this up and air it... Wouldn't that be a hoot for Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Ried.
What really bothers me is the chances are exremely high that those two as well as Hitlary Clinton and Barak Osama have already viewed them, yet continue to bash the well being of this country.
excellent video!
Here's a way you can help fight terror:
http://noterror.info/index.aspx
The site wants you to spread their products all over the internet. Seems like a glossy Madison Avenue approach to me, but definitely worth checking out. These ads have been broadcasted throughout the Middle East.
Ms. Beth et al, PLEASE feel free to embed either video. That's why I do it, so the info can be used. :)
Goat said:
I believe they sing like birds (unlike the hardcore guys at Gitmo who fully believe in their warped theology) because 1) they aren't 100% sold on the idea of martyrdom (one of the reasons why they need drugs before hand, as well), 2) they believe they will be treated by their interrogators as they have treated others and 3) they want to save their own skin.
I don't know if you watched the whole video or not, but there are several very poignant parts:
*The interrogated is collected and doesn't treat the terrorist as one would expect under the Saddam regime; this is a major and positive change.
**The interrogator asks the terrorist, Abed, if raping women and murder is Jihad. It's a very powerful moment. Clearly it ISN'T. This is very important for us in the West to understand.
***The interrogator, police LT Muhammad, asks in a way that poses the same above question about terrorism and Jihad, "A religious leader gave you $400 (for an act of terrorism)?" Again, very important point.
****Near the end, Abed the terrorist is moved almost to tears at the kindness with which he is shown. That is good counterinsurgency.
Mark, I want you to know I put your blog, Regime of Terror, on my Top Brass bloglist because I think it's an amazing blog. It's been there for a very long time.
Beth, I can't believe you were almost fired. That's outrageous, but that's how the left operates. They take their ball and go home and/or try to silence you.
Now, some of the significant things about this video.
1) Did anyone notice that this is an Iraqi, not a foreigner, who had been working for BIN LADEN's al-Qaeda? Osama trained IRAQIS from Iraq. How could that happen with no cooperation between Saddam and bin Laden?
The implications of that are clear: Osama and Saddam did have some sort of working relationship.
2) Saddam was a secular Sunni. Osama bin Laden is an extremist, cultish Sunni called Wahabi. Both were/are off the mainstream yet from the same sect, making them compatible. It's clear to see how a relationship would benefit them both. Saddam wanted anti-Western, anti-Shia influence in his country to defend him against being overthrown by the Shia majority. Bin Laden had no real base of operation in a country with an established government like Iraq. Afghanistan was under the Taliban, which Osama was in cooperation with, but there was no true centralized government to speak of.
It's easy to see how such a relationship would be viable for both parties.
I know what you are saying Amy, I had not watched the video before posting. I understand the average terror enabler is just trying to survive and make a buck to fuel his generator. Have you seen Mike Totten's latest? I was referring to bigwigs we have nabbed, they have been fairly easy to break as we are getting tons of actionable intel now. The interpretor that Totten interviews spells it out pretty clear, Iraqi's are greedy just like the rest of us and just need electricity to make it work. Sorry I was misunderstood,.
Sorry to disappoint you, but this is far from a smoking gun proving that Saddam supported bin Laden and al Qaeda.
The terrorist, Ramzi Hashem Abed, says he is a member of Ansar al-Islam, which is a Kurdish Sunni Islamist group that controlled several villages and a range of peaks in northern Iraq in 2003 at the beginning of the U.S. invasion. Ansar al-Islam were not allies of Saddam’s - they were enemies.
To be fair, there is some evidence that Ansar al-Islam provided safe haven for al-Qaeda members fleeing from Afghanistan, but that is a far cry from suggesting that Saddam supported al-Qaeda camps. On the contrary, these were folks who opposed Saddam’s regime.
Ramzi says their camps were in Halabja. You may recall that Halabja is a Kurdish area and the site of one of Saddam’s most notorious chemical attacks. This was not an area where Saddam had much control or very many friends.
Instead of proving that Saddam was helping al Qaeda, all this interview proves is the ignorance of our current “enemy of my enemy is my friend” approach to foreign policy, where we are now providing weapons to former Sunni insurgents despite the fact that they were shooting at us not very long ago.
Comment is cross-posted from Don Surber.
Wabi-Sabi, since we're being fair, Osama's camps could not have organized in Iraq without Saddam's approval. I didn't mean to suggest Saddam had any operational significance to the camps, but Iraqis couldn't even by a refrigerator in the good old days under Saddam without express permission from Saddam's Baath Party. Hence the term, "papa Saddam" that Iraqis (were urged) to use.
Saddam allowed the camps to exist. That's a fact. And the extremist Sunni alliance of Saddam and Osama, which by the opposes Iran, is very reasonable.
GEN Petraeus has said time and time again that the Sunni insurgency IS al-Qaeda, meaning they are fueling and funding the movement.
Ramzi also identifies Fallujah as the location for Al Ansar Islam training camps. Fallujah is not a mountain hamlet, but a major Sunni city near Baghdad. I do not personally believe that Saddam tacitly supported any AQ activities (although he most certainly knew they were operating in Iraq), but that this lib myth that terrorists only came there because CF did is patently absurd.
The real value of this video IMO is the disgusting, wicked methods and motivations of criminals ostensibly acting for Allah in a religious crusade.
Amy, what information did the 82nd ABN DIV discover that proved a liaison in Baghdad between Saddam and bin Laden?
Silke, 82nd intel discovered just what I said above. Unfortunately, the documents haven't been scanned or uploaded to the internet, I can't really say more than that.
I don’t understand. Have you seen these documents? Why can’t you say more?
Amy,
Thanks for adding me to the blogroll.
Can you please email me about something? I sent you an email but I don't know if it got through.
Wabi,
The important thing about this admission is if the guy said there were camps in Fallujah during Saddam's rule because that was clearly inside Saddam's control.
It's important both because this is supposedly one of the cities were al Qaeda requested camps (it was in either the 9-11 commission or one of the Senate Intel reports) and was one of the areas that saw a huge boom in Islamic militancy/jihadism because of Saddam's promotion of radical Islam after the first Gulf war (according to Ali Allawi in his recent book Occupation of Iraq).
Let's not forget that Zarqawi, al Masri and others were in Baghdad, not just the North, prior to invasion (confirmed by the military and George Tenet) so al Qaeda/Ansar affiliates in Fallujah isn't out of the realm of possibilities.
Silke, yes I have seen the documents but am unsure as to their status. They should be unclassified but I'm not positive they are. This might be a subject we should be e-mailing instead of having here.
Regardless, this is why many soldiers are of the opinion we should finish the job in Iraq. They've seen/found these documents, gathered the intell, but sometimes because of the classification they are unable to say anything publicly (unlike Joe Wilson or the New York Times). The library for Iraqi Freedom docs here at Leavenworth was helpful in this way but I believe it's still down for security reasons.
And Mark, you're right that the important thing is that al-Qaeda had camps operating in Fallujah.
First, let me say that I appreciate the level of discussion in this thread compared to other sites.
I hear what you're saying about Fallujah, but it's unclear to me from the video (the transcript link didn't work) whether the reference to training in Fallujah is during the previous regime or just Halabja.
Regardless, I don't think it proves an operational collaboration between al Qaeda and Saddam. Yet, that is what is being by some.
Ultimately, I agree with the commenter who said "The real value of this video IMO is the disgusting, wicked methods and motivations of criminals ostensibly acting for Allah in a religious crusade."
Clearly, that is what we all want to stop. Even though my preferred approach is one of humanitarian support and investment to address the root causes of poverty and other factors that serve as fertilizer for terrorism, while others advocate for more of a military solution.
We can agree that we want the acts of atrocity to end.
It looks like Memri TV just redesigned their entire website. I saved the transcript, though. Here it is:
Wabi, I'm not saying there was an operational relationship between Saddam and bin Laden. In fact, Defense Department/Pentagon policy chief Douglas Feith said to the Senate Armed Services Committee in Feb. 2007 that:
I'm not suggesting either that this video proves a relationship, but it enhances the fact already that a relationship of one sort or another between the two for whatever reason did exist. There is no way Saddam would have allowed al-Qaeda camps in Fallujah otherwise. As I explained before,
Saddam and Osama bin Laden were both Sunni extremists. Their goals may have been different, but they had a mutual use for each other. It's clear to see how a relationship would benefit them both. Saddam wanted anti-Western, anti-Shia influence in his country to defend him against being overthrown by the Shia majority. Bin Laden had no real base of operation in a country with an established government like Iraq. Afghanistan was under the Taliban, which Osama was in cooperation with, but there was no true centralized government to speak of.
It's easy to see how such a relationship would be viable for both parties.
And the extremist Sunni alliance of Saddam and Osama, which by the opposes Iran, is very reasonable.
GEN Petraeus has said time and time again that the Sunni insurgency IS al-Qaeda, meaning they are fueling and funding the movement.
Wabi,
You cannot pour money and humanitarian assistance into a Tyrannical regime. It does not work. We've tried it repeatedly and it fails every time because of corruption, vice, criminals, thugs and the tyrants on family.
You have to attack the problem not just of poverty, but of corrupt leadership. The only way unfortunately to deal with corrupt leadership is to ultimately overthrow it when all else fails.
Otherwise you are left with 3 million dead in Sudan. And all the bleeding hearts can moan, cry, whine, complain all they want, but nothing will change in Sudan until leaders are changed. Or enough pressure forces them to change. Or, last option is military.
Everyone wants to relieve poverty. In fact, America is the leading charity giver by far in the entire world - conservatives in fact, Christians. The very same who advocate taking on the corrupt tyrants like Saddam.
I did not use to think this way. I was on the far left. But sooner or later you wake up, read enough, travel enough to understand how corrupt much of the world is and realize that feeding people is not enough, you have to free them, liberate them, literraly build nations from the bottom up. But you cannot build them from the bottom up, if the top-down structure in the country is corrupt, murderious, incompetent thugs.
So, we do share the same goals, we just disagree on how to get there in some ways, sometimes, but not all the time.
Great comments, Michael!
Amy,
Any updates on whether or not that document you spoke of was classified?
Mark
E-mailed you....
Thanks Amy.
Very powerful videos!!!
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Great post!