U.S. President George W. Bush Saturday alleged that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has connections to al-Qaeda, calling Hussein a “dangerous man” and saying there have been known contacts between Hussein and terrorist organizations (see GSN, Sept. 26).

“We know the implications of him [Hussein] having a nuclear weapon,” Bush said during a political campaign stop in Blountville, Tenn.  “We know he’s had contacts with terrorists’ networks like al-Qaeda.”

Hussein “would like nothing more than to use an al-Qaeda-type network, if not al-Qaeda itself, to be the advanced army to utilize his training and his arsenal of weapons of mass destruction on his most hated enemy, the American people,” Bush said during a speech in Marietta, Ga. (Edith Lederer, Associated Press, Nov. 3).

U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton said Friday that Iraq has allowed al-Qaeda to operate within its borders.

“In terms of support for terrorism, we have established that Iraq has permitted al-Qaeda to operate within its territory,” Bolton said (Washington Times, Nov. 2).

Several European officials and experts, however, have said the evidence is lacking.

“We have found no evidence of links between Iraq and al-Qaeda,” said Jean-Louis Bruguiere, a French judge who has spent 20 years investigating Middle Eastern terrorism.  “And we are working on 50 cases involving al-Qaeda or radical Islamic cells.  I think if there were such links, we would have found them.  But we have found no serious connections whatsoever.”

European experts have said they have not yet seen any U.S. evidence of connections between Iraq and al-Qaeda, nor have they been able to independently prove such connections.  There is little reason to believe there could be any connection because Hussein represents the type of secular Arab leader that suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden has said he opposes, they said.

Talk of an Iraq-al-Qaeda connection is “nonsense,” a high-ranking German intelligence source said.  “Not even the Americans believe it anymore.”

“I have seen no link to al-Qaeda.  No one has demonstrated it to me,” said Baltasar Garzon, a Spanish magistrate who is prosecuting suspected al-Qaeda operatives in Madrid for the alleged involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks.  “And therefore we have to be very careful not to confuse the citizens.  One thing is that you don’t like the Iraqi regime, that Saddam Hussein is a dictator.  But there are many terrible dictators.  That’s not a reason to start a war with all the consequences it could have for millions of innocents.”

While there have been some signs that al-Qaeda operatives traveled through Iraq en route to other countries prior to the Sept. 11 attacks, there is much stronger evidence of al-Qaeda’s presence in other countries, including Pakistan, Syria, Yemen and Iran, according to European investigators.  Since the war in Afghanistan that overthrew the Taliban regime, Iran in particular has become a base for al-Qaeda operatives, according to French investigators.

Saudi Arabia, which is publicly a U.S. ally, has nonetheless been heavily involved in funding al-Qaeda and in the organization’s recruitment efforts, European investigators said (see GSN, Oct. 18).

“If connections to a country are going to be the rationale, the Americans would have to bomb Saudi Arabia,” a Spanish official said (Sebastian Rotella, Los Angeles Times, Nov. 4).

Saudi Arabia Refuses Use of Bases

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia will not allow bases on its soil to be used during an attack on Iraq, nor will it grant the United States flyover rights, even if the United Nations approves military action, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said yesterday.

“We will cooperate with the Security Council, but as to entering the conflict or using the facilities as part of the conflict, that is something else,” he said.

Chapter 7 of the U.N. charter says that U.N. members must implement any measure immediately according to international law, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“Our policy is that if the United Nations takes a decision on Chapter 7, it is obligatory on all signatories to cooperate — but that is not to the extent of using facilities in the country or the military forces of the country,” al-Faisal said.

While the U.S. Defense Department has said it could conduct an attack on Iraq without the use of Saudi bases and airspace, Pentagon planners have said it will be more difficult to do so.

“We can live without Saudi bases, but it obviously makes it tougher,” a U.S. military official said.  “If they don’t at least give us flyover rights, it’s going to be a lot more complex moving supplies and people over there.”

Some Pentagon officials have said the Saudi position is merely diplomatic posturing.  While every Middle Eastern country has publicly rejected the idea of a U.S.-led attack on Iraq, several, including Saudi Arabia, have allowed the United States to conduct military preparations on their territory, according to the Times.

“When push comes to shove, some arrangement will be worked out with Saudi Arabia,” said Owen Cote, a military analyst at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Esther Schrader, Los Angeles Times, Nov. 4).

Kuwait Allows Use of Its Bases              

Saudi neighbor Kuwait has said the United States would be allowed to use its military bases in the event of a U.N.-sanctioned attack on Iraq, Reuters reported today (see GSN, Sept. 27).  The Kuwaiti military, however, will not take part in a military campaign against Iraq, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah said today.

“If a (U.N. Security Council) resolution is issued, the bases will be used, but not the Kuwaiti military,” al-Sabah said (Reuters, Nov. 4).

U.N. Debate

At the United Nations, there will probably be no vote on a U.S. draft resolution on Iraq until later this week because of the time needed to revise the draft and to have the U.N. Security Council make comments, U.S. officials said (see GSN, Nov. 1).

Security Council negotiations last week were “productive” in developing a resolution that would satisfy French and Russian concerns, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said.  “Talks are continuing along,” he said Saturday (Lederer, Associated Press).

For further information, see:

UNMOVIC

U.N. Resolution 687 (Sanctions Regime)

U.N. Resolution 1409 (“Smart Sanctions”)

U.S. State Department Fact Sheet on Iraqi Sanctions Revisions

IAEA Iraq Action Team

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