The Liberal media has been focused on a so called Gaffe John McCain has made recently in the press.

Example is this IPS news story

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41693


POLITICS-US: McCain's Gaffes Reflect Bush's Iran-Qaeda Myth
Analysis by Gareth Porter*

WASHINGTON, Mar 21 (IPS) - Sen. John McCain's confusion in recent allegations of Iranian training of al Qaeda fighters in Iraq is the result of a drumbeat of official propaganda about close Iran-al Qaeda ties that the George W. Bush administration and neoconservatives have promoted ever since early 2002.

Funny how the left-wing press is eager to point out a McCain Gaffe when their ratings and newspaper subscriptions are quickly heading south.  Could that be due to their incompetence and inability to fact check? 


I would like to post some information from articles here and let people decide for themselves if Al Qaeda has links with Iran.

http://www.frontpagemag.com/ARTICLES/Printable.aspx?GUID={9E091170-6A9D-48CA-BC7B-02FF7F84A443



"That same month, Jordan’s prime minister announced that al-Qaeda operative Fazel Inzal al-Khalayleh (a.k.a. Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi) had sought refuge with Ansar. Khalayleh had ordered the spring 2002 attack on Salih as well as the October 2002 murder of U.S. Agency for International Development officer Laurence Foley in Amman. Khalayleh’s deputy, Nur ad-Din ash-Shami (a.k.a. Abu Abdullah), was killed in a battle with Kurdish fighters less than two weeks ago. Currently, more than thirty Ansar militants (about twenty of whom are Arab) are incarcerated in Sulaymaniyah. Their testimony has provided clues about the group’s ties to Saddam Husayn, al-Qaeda, Iran, and weapons of mass destruction."

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2005/12/mil-051216-mnfi01.htm

Arrest warrant issued for Iraqi terrorist leader with ties to Zarqawi

Multi-National Force-Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- On Dec. 4, The Iraqi Central Investigating Court in Baghdad issued an arrest warrant for Mullah Halgurd Al-Khabir, a “Jihadist” terrorist commander, suspected of leading the insurgency against Coalition and Iraqi forces. The arrest warrant states that Al-Khabir is wanted for violation of Iraqi Penal Code 194, committing terrorist acts.

Al-Khabir is the senior leader in Baghdad for the Iraqi based terrorist organization Ansar al-Sunna, and has historical ties to al Qaeda terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Khabir replaced the previous commander of Ansar al-Suna, Abdallah Al-Shafi’i, after Shafi’i was killed in December, 2002, in a gun battle with local law enforcement.

Ansar al-Sunna, a terrorist organization with links to terrorists in Syria and Iran, have committed multiple suicide bomb attacks in Iraq that have resulted in the deaths of Coalition Forces, Iraqi Army Soldiers, Iraqi policemen and Iraqi citizens. The majority of these attacks have taken place in Baghdad, Kirkuk and Mosul.

Interesting enough Joseph Shahda has found an Al Qaeda document that links Al Qaeda to Ansar Al Islam recently

Al Qaeda Document: Zarqawi Came to Iraq Before The War To Prepare The Fight Against U.S
Al Qaeda document | March 16 2008 | jveritas

Posted on 03/16/2008 5:49:59 PM EDT by jveritas

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1986706/posts

This document discovered by Joseph off the El-Ekhlaas terrorist forum written by Saif Al Adel who is an Al Qaeda leader.

From translation

"The Americans noticed that the Iranians were having a blind eye against our activities in Iran so they began a media attack against Iran accusing them of helping Al Qaeda and international terrorism."

Maybe our press doesn't have enough common sense to figure out that Iran turning a blind eye means giving a tacit approval for Al Qaeda to conduct terrorism. "Lets see about that?"

Joseph states

"There were many accounts about Zarqawi presence in Iraq before the war in particular in Northern Iraq with “Ansar Al Islam” an active Al Qaeda affiliated terrorist group that was present in the Kurdish areas of Iraq long before the war started. The document also proves that Ansar Al Islam helped Al Qaeda members establish themselves in Iraq before the war started."

Who is Abdullah Shafi’i ?

Newspapers had been reporting the leader of Ansar Al Islam Abdullah Shafi’i was killed in a gunfight without much confirmation including this quote from an article at globalsecurity.org

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2005/12/mil-051216-mnfi01.htm

“Al-Khabir is the senior leader in Baghdad for the Iraqi based terrorist organization Ansar al-Sunna, and has historical ties to al Qaeda terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Khabir replaced the previous commander of Ansar al-Suna, Abdallah Al-Shafi’i, after Shafi’i was killed in December, 2002, in a gun battle with local law enforcement.”

Question is why was there still a $50000 reward for his capture

http://counterterrorismblog.org/2005/06/50000_reward_announced_for_ans.php

$50,000 Reward Announced for Ansar al-Sunnah Commander in Iraq
By Evan Kohlmann

This from the Government Communications Directorate of the Republic of Iraq:

(Click to view photo of Abu Abdullah al-Shafi’i, c/o Globalterroralert.com)

“$50,000 Dollar Reward Announced For Ansar al Sunna Terrorist Leader Abu Abdullah Al-Shafi?i”

“The Iraqi government announced a reward of $50,000 U.S. dollars for information leading to the arrest of Abu Abdullah Al Shafi?i, widely believed to be the leader of the terrorist group Ansar al Sunna (AAS). The group has taken credit for numerous bombings, assassinations and other terrorist acts in Mosul, Kirkuk, Irbil and Baghdad. Al Shafi?i played a direct role in organizing and directing attacks that resulted in hundreds of deaths of Iraqi civilians and Iraqi Security Forces. Intelligence sources believe that foreign Arabs under the direct control of Al Shafi?i actively recruit and train terrorists, as well as provide weapons and financial support for terrorist attacks.”

“Purportedly Abu Abdullah al Shafi?i received his terrorist training in Afghanistan at a camp run by terrorist Osama Bin Laden. Al Shafi?I gained control of AAS in early 2003. AAS is an offshoot of the terrorist group, Ansar al-Islam (AAI).? The Origins of AAS date back to 2001 when several militant Islamist groups merged to form the AAI and established a terrorist base near the village of Khurmal, located in the mountains of northern Iraq along the Iranian border. Reports referred that the AAI base was destroyed in 2003 during the last war against Saddam’s Regime. Evidence suggests that prior to its destruction, Al Qaeda terrorists used the Khurmal AAI base for sanctuary.”

Also including this article

http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/6/A9667FC0-69A5-4CE3-B1E7-C15FC62F60DE.html

Afghanistan/Iraq: Al-Zarqawi, Al-Qaeda, And The New Islamist Front

Al-Zarqawi has established a vast network of fighters in Iraq and Iraqi authorities have indicated that the network includes Arab nationals as well as Afghan and Pakistani fighters. His Tanzim Qa’idat Al-Jihad fi Bilad Al-Rafidayn allegedly has close ties to the Ansar Al-Sunnah Army, an outgrowth of Ansar Al-Islam. U.S. and Iraqi authorities claim that successes have been made through a string of recent military operations targeting the groups. A Mosul operation on 28 May led to the capture of al-Zarqawi aide Mutlaq Muhammad Mutlaq Abdullah (aka Abu Ra’d). Iraqi Major General Khalil al-Ubaydi announced on 4 June the arrest of an Ansar Al-Sunnah member identified as Mullah Mahdi; al-Ubaydi contended that Mahdi carried out attacks at the direction of al-Zarqawi. Iraqi authorities this week announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to the capture of Ansar Al-Sunnah leader Abu Abdullah al-Shafi’i.

Why was the AP aware of an Al Qaeda linked group in Northern Iraq in 2002 but suddenly now have amnesia?

13 September 2002, Volume 5, Number 29

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iraq/2002/29-130902.htm

By the beginning of 2002 it was announced that the Jund al-Islam had changed its name to the Supporters of Islam and, in the Arabic nomenclature that has become more common in subsequent reports, Ansar al-Islam. At the same time, they held conciliation talks with the PUK. One result of the change to a less militant name was that the PUK might recognize them as a legal political party, reported “Hawlati” on 14 January 2002. One consequence of the talks between the two groups was that a number of the Afghan-Arabs had left for Baghdad, reported KurdishMedia.com on 1 February 2002. The former Jund admits that it is close to Osama bin Laden. Its Leader, Abu Abdullah al-Shaf’i, explained that the Jund believes in the necessity of retaliation, punishment of those who deviate from Islam, cutting off the hands of thieves, punishing single adulterers with 80 lashes and married adulterers by stoning to death. On the other hand, the PUK is trying to build a modern, civil society in Kurdistan. It is difficult to see any hopes for reconciliation between the parties.

By 3 March, AP reported that the U.S. admitted its awareness that a possible Al-Qaeda-linked group was operating in northern Iraq. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher is quoted as saying that he could not comment on Ansar al-Islam because official information on the matter is based on intelligence and therefore cannot be discussed publicly.

The AP dispatch also cites a recent article in the “New Yorker” suggesting that Al-Qaeda and Baghdad are jointly running the Ansar al-Islam. In addition, the “Kurdistan Observer” of 28 March 2002 cites a Kurdish military commander in Halabcha who expressed the belief that Iraq is funding the group. A “Daily Telegraph” report quotes Carole O’Leary, a professor of Middle Eastern Studies at American University in Washington, who maintains that “Saddam’s supporting Ansar al-Islam would be consistent with his desire to destabilize the Kurdistan Regional Government.”

http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:8NkMPLjW5nsJ:www.investigativeproject.org/documents/testimony/35.pdf+state.gov+Abdallah+Al-Shafi%E2%80%99i&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=16&gl=us&client=firefox-a

FFI RAPPORT

JIHAD IN EUROPE - A survey of the
motivations for Sunni Islamist terrorism in
post-millennium Europe

NESSER Petter

FFI/RAPPORT-2004/01146

11.4.6 Ansar al-Islam
Ansar al-Islam (Followers of Islam) was established in September 2001, by Mullah Krekar
(currently under investigation in Norway suspected of being involved in attempted suicide
operations in Northern Iraq), and Abu Abdallah al-Shafi (former leader of Jund al-Islam that merged with Krekar’s splinter group from the Kurdish Islamic Movement into Ansar al-Islam).
Mullah Krekar was granted asylum in Norway in 1991. Since then he has traveled extensively
to the Kurdish controlled areas in Iraq. The question of whether Krekar is an operational leader
or a religious guide for Ansar is for the moment highly unclear. There have been various
statements released on Islamist web pages claiming that Krekar no longer is the movement’s
leader, but such statements might have been issued to take some of the pressure off the
Norway-based mullah. Some statements claim he has been replaced with Muhammad Hasan,
former leader of the Islamist group Soran Forces, while others claim Abdallah al-Shafi is the
current leader of the movement. Al-Shafi was however reportedly killed in unconfirmed press
reports in December 2002.323

Interesting how he was reported killed (unconfirmed) with that 50000 dollar reward for his capture?

The real question is how much more evidence does our media need to see or how much do they already know about but refuse to report about pre-war evidence of showing relationships between terrorist groups in Iraq and Al Qaeda?