London's Telegraph has somehow obtained documents from the now-abandoned Iraqi intelligence headquarters which appear to expose an unholy alliance between Vladimir Putin's Russia and Saddam Hussein's Iraq. The Telegraph, being British, emphasizes evidence that Russia passed on to Saddam intelligence about conversations between Prime Minister Blair and other Western leaders, but this is only one of a number of very troubling revelations.

The Iraqi documents also indicate that Russia gave Iraq a list of assassins who were available for hire in Western countries. They also show that in March 2002, Russia urged Iraq to cooperate with the United Nations on the ground that failure to do so would give the United States "a cause to destroy any nuclear weapons." Which certainly implies that at that time Iraq had, or at the very least was close to developing, such weapons.

The Telegraph concludes: "Russia has been a key ally of Baghdad since the 1970s and was one of Saddam's main arms suppliers. The Iraqis are understood to owe Moscow more than £8 billion for arms shipments. Russian oil companies had longed to forge links with Saddam Hussein to help develop Iraq's vast oil reserves."

The fact that Russia and France were both major creditors of Saddam's regime is well known and has been assumed to be one of the reasons for their support of the Iraqi government, as has their interest in Iraqi oil. But the documents revealed by the Telegraph suggest that Russia was not just a creditor but an active co-conspirator with the Iraqi regime. It will be interesting to see whether similar evidence of Saddam's relationship with France and Germany surfaces in the months to come. One implication of these revelations is, perhaps, that the United Nations, with France and Russia on the Security Council, should be viewed not merely as ineffectual, but as an active force for evil in the world whose power should be sharply curtailed.

Posted by John at 10:56 PM  |    |  

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.powerlineblog.com/mt/mt-diespammers.cgi/2977

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Russia-Iraq Alliance Exposed:

» Closing Note Before The Election from Infidel Cowboy
Shameless stolen idea from Bill of INDC Journal. One of my favorites songs of all time and it speaks clearly to the issues of our times. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here. So, so you think you can tell... [Read More]

Tracked on October 31, 2004 12:46 PM

» Closing Note Before The Election from Infidel Cowboy
Shameless stolen idea from Bill of INDC Journal. One of my favorites songs of all time and it speaks clearly to the issues of our times. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here. So, so you think you can tell... [Read More]

Tracked on October 31, 2004 12:47 PM

» Closing Note Before The Election from Infidel Cowboy
Shameless stolen idea from Bill of INDC Journal. One of my favorites songs of all time and it speaks clearly to the issues of our times. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here So, so you think you can tell... [Read More]

Tracked on October 31, 2004 12:47 PM

» Closing Note Before The Election from Infidel Cowboy
Shameless stolen idea from Bill of INDC Journal. One of my favorites songs of all time and it speaks clearly to the issues of our times. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here So, so you think you can tell... [Read More]

Tracked on October 31, 2004 12:48 PM

» Closing Note Before The Election from Infidel Cowboy
Shameless stolen idea from Bill of INDC Journal. One of my favorites songs of all time and it speaks clearly to the issues of our times. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here. So, so you think you can tell... [Read More]

Tracked on October 31, 2004 12:50 PM

» Closing Note Before The Election from Infidel Cowboy
Shameless stolen idea from Bill of INDC Journal. One of my favorites songs of all time and it speaks clearly to the issues of our times. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here So, so you think you can tell... [Read More]

Tracked on October 31, 2004 12:55 PM

» Closing Note Before The Election from Infidel Cowboy
Shameless stolen idea from Bill of INDC Journal. One of my favorites songs of all time and it speaks clearly to the issues of our times. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here So, so you think you can tell... [Read More]

Tracked on October 31, 2004 01:04 PM

» Closing Note Before The Election from Infidel Cowboy
Shameless stolen idea from Bill of INDC Journal. One of my favorites songs of all time and it speaks clearly to the issues of our times. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here So, so you think you can tell... [Read More]

Tracked on October 31, 2004 01:05 PM

» Closing Note Before The Election from Infidel Cowboy
Shameless stolen idea from Bill of INDC Journal. One of my favorites songs of all time and it speaks clearly to the issues of our times. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here So, so you think you can tell... [Read More]

Tracked on October 31, 2004 01:05 PM

» Closing Note Before The Election from Infidel Cowboy
Shameless stolen idea from Bill of INDC Journal. One of my favorites songs of all time and it speaks clearly to the issues of our times. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here So, so you think you can tell... [Read More]

Tracked on October 31, 2004 01:06 PM

» Closing Note Before The Election from Infidel Cowboy
Shameless stolen idea from Bill of INDC Journal. One of my favorites songs of all time and it speaks clearly to the issues of our times. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here So, so you think you can tell... [Read More]

Tracked on October 31, 2004 01:08 PM

» Closing Note Before The Election from Infidel Cowboy
Shameless stolen idea from Bill of INDC Journal. One of my favorites songs of all time and it speaks clearly to the issues of our times. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here So, so you think you can tell... [Read More]

Tracked on October 31, 2004 01:15 PM

» Last Comment Before The Election from Infidel Cowboy
Shamelessly stolen idea from Bill at INDC Journal. One of my favorites songs of all time and it speaks clearly to the issues of our times. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here So, so you think you can tell... [Read More]

Tracked on October 31, 2004 01:16 PM

» Last Comment Before The Election from Infidel Cowboy
Shamelessly stolen idea from Bill at INDC Journal. One of my favorites songs of all time and it speaks clearly to the issues of our times. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here So, so you think you can tell... [Read More]

Tracked on November 1, 2004 10:59 AM

» Last Comment Before The Election from Infidel Cowboy
Shamelessly stolen idea from Bill at INDC Journal. One of my favorites songs of all time and it speaks clearly to the issues of our times. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here So, so you think you can tell... [Read More]

Tracked on November 1, 2004 11:15 AM

» Last Comment Before The Election from Infidel Cowboy
Shamelessly stolen idea from Bill at INDC Journal. One of my favorites songs of all time and it speaks clearly to the issues of our times. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here So, so you think you can tell... [Read More]

Tracked on November 1, 2004 03:01 PM