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February 09, 2003

UK Intelligence Says No Iraq-Al -Qaida Link

Yep, Powell's assertion of such a link is contradicted by the intelligence service of our closest ally, says a report from the BBC.

There are no current links between the Iraqi regime and the al-Qaeda network, according to an official British intelligence report seen by BBC News.

It says al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden views Iraq's ruling Ba'ath party as running contrary to his religion, calling it an "apostate regime".

"His aims are in ideological conflict with present day Iraq," it says.

Gilligan says that in recent days intelligence sources have told the BBC there is growing disquiet at the way their work is being politicised to support the case for war on Iraq.

He said: "This almost unprecedented leak may be a shot across the politicians' bows."

Under the cover of "national security", we have a debate on a war where key information is withheld from the public and we are supposed to go to war on the say-so of the executive branch, based on trusting their good faith. And here is pretty much proof positive that such good faith is unwarranted.

What we are seeing in Britain is a meltdown within the government as the intelligence services feel so misused by the politicians that leaks are exploding. See this Daily Telegraph report on how this all relates to intelligence services embarassment over the botched "Iraq Dossier" largely plagiarized from Internet sources, yet wrongly attributed to sources at the British intelligence services.

Posted by Nathan at February 9, 2003 08:45 AM

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