Ansar Al Islam was a Sunni Islamic group in Iraq which got influx from Afghani Islamists after the US Invasion of Afghanistan. Occupying the northeast corner of Iraq, the group was targeted by Special Forces just prior to the start of the Iraq war. This Islamic terrorist group was used as a pretext for invasion of Iraq, even though the Sadaam-led legitimate government of Iraq and the group were enemies. The general consensus of experts, as well as the conclusion of the intelligence community and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, is that Saddam was infiltrating the group because he was hostile to it and aimed to destroy it. But the Bush Administration claimed a connection, with Colin Powell in February 2003, making it sound (in his speech to the UN Security Council) as if Baghdad were actually supporting, rather than infiltrating, the group. "Baghdad has an agent in the most senior levels of the radical organization, Ansar al-Islam, that controls this corner of Iraq. In 2000 this agent offered Al Qaida safe haven in the region. After we swept Al Qaida from Afghanistan, some of its members accepted this safe haven." While Al Qaeda provided material support to Ansar al-Islam, which was located in the northeast corner of Iraw, the Iraqi government was conducting operations to infiltrate and destroy Ansar al-Islam. However, after Powell left office, said evidence presented to him for the speech (that tried to implicate Bahgdad) was questionable. He told Barbara <b>...</b>
ansar
al
islam
iraq
norway
krekar
terrorism
kafir
muslim
al-qaeda
