France Finds 'Zero' al-Qaeda Links with Iraq

France Finds 'Zero' al-Qaeda Links with Iraq

by Mark Huband
The Financial Times
October 4, 2002
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1031119928207&p=1012571727088

Years of investigations into radical Islamic groups have not produced a "trace" of evidence of a link between Iraq and Osama bin Laden's (pictured) al-Qaeda terrorist network, France's leading terrorist investigator said on Friday.

His remarks come after George W. Bush, US president, Condoleezza Rice, national security adviser, and Donald Rumsfeld, defence secretary, claimed last week that Saddam Hussein's regime and al-Qaeda were tied.

But Jean-Louis Bruguière told the Financial Times: "We have not found any link between al-Qaeda and Iraq. Not a trace. There is no foundation, according to our investigations, for the information given by the Americans."

Mr Bruguière is an investigative magistrate who has the power to see French domestic and foreign intelligence material - much of which has been shared with the US. His views reflect the conclusions of French investigators, rather than official government thinking.

France is resisting US attempts at the United Nations to pass a single, new, tougher resolution governing weapons inspections in Iraq.

Rather, it is seeking two UN Security Council resolutions: one laying out new instructions for weapons inspections, and a second, if needed, dealing with the consequences for any Iraqi breaches of the resolutions.

"There is no legal precondition for a new resolution to be taken for the inspectors to go to Iraq," the Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

The French investigation into al-Qaeda followed a wave of bomb attacks by Algerian Islamic terrorists in Paris 1995. Before last year's September 11 attacks, it was probably more wide-ranging than that of any other country. France has retained a diplomatic presence in Baghdad since the 1991 Gulf war.

In an attempt to tie the Iraqi regime with the perpetrators of the September 11 attacks in the US, Mr Rumsfeld said there was "solid evidence" of the presence in Iraq of al-Qaeda members.

"We have what we believe to be credible information that Iraq and al-Qaeda have discussed safe-haven opportunities in Iraq, reciprocal non-aggression discussions," he said.

"We have what we consider to be credible evidence that al-Qaeda have sought contacts in Iraq who could help them acquire weapons of mass destruction capabilities."

However, French officials believe the secular character of Mr Hussein's regime is a factor preventing it from establishing ties with Islamists such as al-Qaeda.

A European intelligence officer with long experience of the Arab world confirmed Mr Bruguière's view, saying there was what he called "zero evidence" of ties between Iraq and al-Qaeda.

Claims of a link have been put most forcefully in a court case being brought in New York on behalf of the families of 1,400 victims of the September 11 attacks, which is seeking damages of $1,000bn.

The suit alleges that the attacks in the US "were the result of a worldwide terror conspiracy against the United States involving primarily al-Qaeda and Iraq", which had co-operated since 1992, court papers show.

"Soon thereafter, Iraqi intelligence decided to support al-Qaeda and to employ al-Qaeda terrorists to carry out Iraq's terror attacks," the suit claims.

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