Newsweek throws cold water on the Sunday Telegraph’s story which claimed a link between Mohammed Atta and Abu Nidal, a long-time resident of Iraq and well-known terrorist. According to FBI work the document in the hands of the Telegraph purporting to show Atta was in Iraq before 9/11
is probably a fabrication that is contradicted by U.S. law-enforcement records showing Atta was staying at cheap motels and apartments in the United States when the trip presumably would have taken place
This story should alert us to the fact that documents “found” in Iraq after the fall of Saddam’s regime aren’t neccessarily genuine. There are all sorts of reasons why documents might be faked and we should expect that many of them will be.
The status of documents handed to the Telegraph this summer which appeared to show George Galloway taking money from the Saddam government should also be treated with a certain amount of caution for the same reasons.
Newsweek story via Jeff Jarvis
