The New York Times > International > Europe > Intelligence Reports: Putin Says U.S. Was Alerted to Possible Attacks by Iraq
MOSCOW, June 18 — President Vladimir V. Putin said Friday that Russia gave intelligence reports to the Bush administration suggesting that Saddam Hussein's government was preparing terrorist attacks in the United States or against American targets overseas.
But officials at the State Department expressed surprise, saying they knew of no such information from Russia, Reuters reported.
Mr. Putin said Russia's intelligence services received and passed along the information after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and before the American-led invasion of Iraq began in March 2003. He did not give details of the nature of the intelligence or the type of attacks reportedly being prepared.
Mr. Putin added, however, that Russia had no information that anyone in Iraq carried out the plans for attacks. And he emphasized that the intelligence did not change Russia's opposition to President Bush's decision to go to war, in part because of administration assertions of Iraq's support for terrorism. Mr. Putin said the criteria for resorting to military force were clearly defined and "were not observed" in the American-led war to overthrow Mr. Hussein.
He's probably lying, right? And besides, even if he did know that terrorists were planning to attack the U.S., it would have been wrong for us to pre-emptivly attack them. Better we should wait until they send suicide bombers, and then retaliate only against the now dead suicide bombers, and not the people who sent them, right?
MOSCOW, June 18 — President Vladimir V. Putin said Friday that Russia gave intelligence reports to the Bush administration suggesting that Saddam Hussein's government was preparing terrorist attacks in the United States or against American targets overseas.
But officials at the State Department expressed surprise, saying they knew of no such information from Russia, Reuters reported.
Mr. Putin said Russia's intelligence services received and passed along the information after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and before the American-led invasion of Iraq began in March 2003. He did not give details of the nature of the intelligence or the type of attacks reportedly being prepared.
Mr. Putin added, however, that Russia had no information that anyone in Iraq carried out the plans for attacks. And he emphasized that the intelligence did not change Russia's opposition to President Bush's decision to go to war, in part because of administration assertions of Iraq's support for terrorism. Mr. Putin said the criteria for resorting to military force were clearly defined and "were not observed" in the American-led war to overthrow Mr. Hussein.
He's probably lying, right? And besides, even if he did know that terrorists were planning to attack the U.S., it would have been wrong for us to pre-emptivly attack them. Better we should wait until they send suicide bombers, and then retaliate only against the now dead suicide bombers, and not the people who sent them, right?
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