Exhaustive review finds no link between Saddam and al Qaida

By Warren P. Strobel | McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — An exhaustive review of more than 600,000 Iraqi documents that were captured after the 2003 U.S. invasion has found no evidence that Saddam Hussein's regime had any operational links with Osama bin Laden's al Qaida terrorist network.

The Pentagon-sponsored study, scheduled for release later this week, did confirm that Saddam's regime provided some support to other terrorist groups, particularly in the Middle East, U.S. officials told McClatchy. However, his security services were directed primarily against Iraqi exiles, Shiite Muslims, Kurds and others he considered enemies of his regime.

The new study of the Iraqi regime's archives found no documents indicating a "direct operational link" between Hussein's Iraq and al Qaida before the invasion, according to a U.S. official familiar with the report.    Read More

    So now I guess that since the Pentagon has come out with this news, that what everyone else on the planet already knew is now official, George Bush and this administration are nothing but flat out liars. I am shocked!

Technorati Tags: Pentagon, al Qaida Saddam Hussein, George Bush, Iraq

Barack Obama: What Would He Do As President Of The United States? Part III

Senator Obama's plans as the President of the United States.  See all of his ideas  HERE in downloaded PDF from his website.

ETHICS

BARACK OBAMA’S PLAN

Bring Americans Back into their Government
Hold 21st Century Fireside Chats:  Obama will bring democracy and policy directly to the people by requiring his Cabinet officials to have periodic national broadband townhall meetings to discuss issues before their agencies.
Make White House Communications Public:  Obama will amend executive orders to ensure that communications about regulatory policymaking between persons outside government and all White House staff are disclosed to the public.
Conduct Regulatory Agency Business in Public:  Obama will require his appointees who lead the executive branch departments and rulemaking agencies to conduct the significant business of the agency in public, so that any citizen can watch these debates in person or on the Internet.
Release Presidential Records:  Obama will nullify the Bush attempts to make the timely release of presidential records more difficult.

 Free the Executive Branch from Special Interest Influence
Close the Revolving Door on Former and Future Employers:  No political appointees in an Obama administration will be permitted to work on regulations or contracts directly and substantially related to
their prior employer for two years.  And no political appointee will be able to lobby the executive branch after leaving government service during the remainder of the administration.
Free Career Officials from the Influence of Politics:  Obama will issue an executive order asking all new hires at the agencies to sign a form affirming that no political appointee offered them the job solely on the basis of political affiliation or contribution.
Reform the Political Appointee Process:  FEMA Director Michael Brown was not qualified to head the agency, and the result was a disaster for the people of the Gulf Coast.  But in an Obama administration, every official will have to rise to the standard of proven excellence in the agency’s mission.

  Next up we will look at his ideas on healthcare.

Previously: Part 1, Part II

Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, 2008, election, ethics