CBS 60 Minutes: Saddam thought that Bin Laden was a threat to him and his regime

[sabra]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/24/60minutes/main3749494_page4.shtml

<snip>

The U.S. ejected Saddam from Kuwait, leaving the dictator with no love lost for the Bush family. "He didn't like President Bush. He would have liked meeting President Reagan. He thought he was a great leader. Honorable man. He liked President Clinton. But he did not like President Bush, the first or the current," Piro says.

...

What was Saddam's opinion of Osama Bin Laden?

"He considered him to be a fanatic. And as such was very wary of him. He told me, 'You can't really trust fanatics,'" Piro says.

"Didn't think of Bin Laden as an ally in his effort against the United States in this war against the United States?" Pelley asks.

"No. No. He didn't wanna be seen with Bin Laden. And didn't want to associate with Bin Laden," Piro explains.

Piro says Saddam thought that Bin Laden was a threat to him and his regime.

[DesertFlower]

1. will people still believe

that iraq was involved with 9/11? will they still dare to try and convince us of that?

[thunder rising]

2. This is a total spoof crated by the CIA/FBI...we'll never know what Saddam said, IF ANYTHING (exept

while being waterboarded)

Fuck those traitors.

How come the CIA, FBI, and NSA are never in trouble aiding a Democratic President?

[still_one]

5. Actually that is not true, remember the Bay of Pigs /nt

[joshcryer]

9. I tend to believe that 60 Minutes segement. "George" was convincing.

I believe what he said and found the whole thing fascinating. Mind games are truly the best way to get the truth out of people.

[Botany]

3. So that means invading Iraq was a mistaken response to 9/11?

Oh, well it is not like the tried to link 9/11 to Sadddam or Iraq.

Hey Nancy is the table still clean?

[still_one]

4. This isn't news, it was known before we invaded Iraq. Thank you Congress for the IWR

Can anyone appreciate the fact that those who voted for the IWR VOTED TO GO TO WAR

Can those who voted to go to war appreciate the fact that because of those actions they have caused untold suffering not only to Americans but also the Iraqii people

and it continues

The MSM has their bulk of the blame also, for being a propaganda machine for this war

[AnnieBW]

6. But... but...

Al Qaeda worked with Saddam to bring about 9/11! The President told me so!

:sarcasm:

[Adsos Letter]

7. Yeah, no kidding...

Saddam's Iraq was a secular regime, and Stalin was his hero...to believe that he would have helped strengthen Osama's version of Islam is just nuts...but we knew that goin' in (at least some people did).

[Sarah Ibarruri]

8. Yep. In fact, Saddam would've been a way to keep the Bin Ladens in check.

However, the assholes in the White House were never interested in keeping the Bin Ladens in check. After all, the Bin Ladens are their business pals. The aforementioned assholes in the White House were only interested in turning Iraq into a business venture, which they did, by savagely attacking it and killing 650,000 Iraqis, building a bunker U.S. embassy there, taking our tax money and distributing it among the CEOs of corporations that are happily providing services there at astronomical rates, and dividing the Iraqi people's oil among the oil companies of the planet.

Our elected officials - they're such a delightful bunch and Americans make SUCH a brilliant statement to the world every time we vote for assholes like Bush and Cheney.

[The_Casual_Observer]

10. This was well known in 2001. It didn't matter at all.

[The Backlash Cometh]

11. This is news?

We knew that six years ago.

[stillcool]

12. It's news to CBS..

[The Backlash Cometh]

15. Damn. Just took them six years.

[gateley]

13. He was. Look what happened to him as a result of our search for OBL. nt

[mucifer]

14. The point of the seg was sadam was gonna make more WMDs

That was the propaganda they were trying to sell us.

[dropkickpa]

16. No shit, CBS.

Saddam wasn't a fan of ANY religious fanaticism, it would have been a threat to his rule, which is why his was a secular government. They were too crazy even for ol' crazypants.

[creeksneakers2]

17. 60 Minutes asked about whether Saddam would make WMD

in the future. But they missed a big question. Would Saddam, under any circumstances, ever have attacked the US with WMD? I'm pretty sure his answer would have been no.

The opponents of the war pointed out before it started that Saddam and Osama were on opposite sides. Once again, the opponents turn out to be right.

[jwirr]

18. Dah! When did CBS finally figure that one out?

[The Backlash Cometh]

19. They should have listened to Dan Rather. He seemed to be the only

one on that network with good information.

[Pastiche423]

20. What I would like to know

is why CBS put on that propaganda filled segment on NOW.

I hope Mr. George din't hurt his arm too badly, patting himself on the back.

[go west young man]

21. I wonder why they never broughtthis up during the interview? Hmmm.

Saddam first used chemical weapons, in particular mustard gas, in 1983, in his war against Iran. By October of that year, according to recently declassified documents, the United States knew he was using them "almost daily." But the Reagan administration wasn't bothered. To the contrary, that December it sent Middle East envoy Donald Rumsfeld to Baghdad. According to the book Spider's Web: The Secret History of How the White House Illegally Armed Iraq, by Financial Times reporter Alan Friedman, Rumsfeld presented a letter from Reagan that proposed restoring diplomatic relations and offered U.S. military and economic assistance. When Iran launched a new offensive in February 1984, Saddam added tabun, a lethal nerve gas, to his chemical repertoire. In the spring of 1984, Rumsfeld returned for another visit. By November, the United States and Iraq had restored diplomatic relations.

It gets worse. Records from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a 1994 Senate Banking Committee investigation show that during Reagan's presidency, the United States sold Iraq anthrax, bubonic plague, and botulinum toxin, all supposedly for medical research. In 1988, the Commerce Department approved Dow Chemical's sale of $1.5 million worth of pesticides to Baghdad, even though many in the administration suspected Saddam would use them for chemical warfare. Over congressional opposition, the Reagan administration sold Iraq twin-engine Bell "Huey" helicopters, which appear to have been used in Saddam's chemical attacks on the Kurds.

:sarcasm: