WaPo Says Zarqawi Supports Administration Assertion That Al Qaeda Was In Iraq

(Cross-posted at Blanton's and Ashton's.)

Karen DeYoung and Walter Pincus write in today's WaPo:

From the moment President Bush introduced him to the American people in October 2002, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi served a crucial purpose for the administration, providing a tangible focus for its insistence that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist network responsible for the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

After the invasion that toppled Hussein, and the subsequent rise of the insurgency against occupying U.S. forces, Zarqawi's presence in Iraq was cited as proof that the uprising was fomented by al-Qaeda-backed "foreign fighters."

The key phrase there is "After the invasion ... and the subsequent rise of the insurgency ...": How can Zarqawi's presence in Iraq after the invasion and after the post-U.S.-invasion insurgency be used as proof that he was in Iraq before the invasion and occupation? And how does al-Zarqawi's association with Al Qaeda lead to the conclusion that Saddam Hussein was linked to Al Qaeda, and thus to the 9/11 terrorist attacks?

DeYoung and Pincus go on to sketch a biography for Zarqawi that does nothing but further undermine their argument.

The Jordanian-born Zarqawi is described in most biographies as a minor thug until he traveled to Afghanistan in the early 1980s to take part, along with Osama bin Laden, in the mujaheddin struggle against Soviet occupation. When he returned to Jordan in 1992, he turned his anger against Jordan's monarchy and was arrested and imprisoned for seven years after being accused of plotting against the government. He left the country after his release.

In Germany, U.S. and European intelligence officials have said, Zarqawi formed his own terrorist cell with Jordanian and Syrian exiles who saw him as a rival to bin Laden and the growing al-Qaeda network. Zarqawi apparently returned to Afghanistan, where he reportedly established a terrorist training camp in the eastern part of the country.

In early 2001, Jordanian authorities convicted Zarqawi in absentia for conspiracy to blow up tourist sites frequented by Israelis and Americans. After the Sept. 11 attacks, he was said to be in Iran.

After the U.S.-led multinational attack that overthrew the Taliban government in Afghanistan, Zarqawi appeared on a U.S. list of most-wanted al-Qaeda terrorists still at large in early 2002. Intelligence officials said that at some time during the summer of that year, Zarqawi spent two months in Baghdad, where he received medical treatment for an undisclosed problem with his leg.

By then, administration attention was locked on Iraq. In a speech in Cincinnati on Oct. 7, 2002, Bush outlined the "grave threat" Hussein posed to the United States. Citing "high-level contacts" between Iraq and al-Qaeda "that go back a decade," he said that "some al-Qaeda leaders who fled Afghanistan went to Iraq. These include one very senior al-Qaeda leader who received medical treatment in Baghdad this year, and who has been associated with planning for chemical and biological attacks."

Bush never mentioned Zarqawi's name, but Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, in a speech to the U.N. Security Council on Feb. 5, 2003, described him as the head of a "deadly terrorist network" tied to al-Qaeda and harbored by Hussein.

This sequence does not put al-Zarqawi in Iraq at all until around mid-2002 -- and then only for two months to get medical treatment in Baghdad. He was in Iran when 9/11 occurred.

Also, note that al-Zarqawi's two-month stay in Baghdad coincided with the period of time that the Bush administration was beating the drums for war with Iraq, and aggressively heating up the rhetoric and the claims of "intelligence" and "links" and "evidence" to justify invading Iraq.

Let's look at that description of Bush's October 7, 2002, speech again:

In a speech in Cincinnati on Oct. 7, 2002, Bush outlined the "grave threat" Hussein posed to the United States. Citing "high-level contacts" between Iraq and al-Qaeda "that go back a decade," he said that "some al-Qaeda leaders who fled Afghanistan went to Iraq. These include one very senior al-Qaeda leader who received medical treatment in Baghdad this year, and who has been associated with planning for chemical and biological attacks."

Bush never mentioned Zarqawi's name, but Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, in a speech to the U.N. Security Council on Feb. 5, 2003, described him as the head of a "deadly terrorist network" tied to al-Qaeda and harbored by Hussein.

So what we've got here is this:

• "Some" al-Qaeda leaders fled Afghanistan for Iraq -- by implication after the U.S. invaded Afghanistan. This does not point to "high-level contacts between Iraq and al-Qaeda that go back a decade."
• One "very senior al-Qaeda leader" was in Baghdad for medical treatment "this year" -- meaning 2002. Assuming al-Zarqawi was the "very senior al-Qaeda leader" referred to here, he was in Baghdad almost a year after 9/11 and then only for two months. This does not constitute "high-level contacts between Iraq and al-Qaeda that go back a decade."

Long story short: There is not a shred of evidence here to support the idea that al-Zarqawi's activities in Iraq after the U.S. invasion and after the insurgency began, mean that Al-Qaeda was in Iraq and had ties to Saddam Hussein before the invasion.