They all look alike anyway (Lehman's "mistake")

[Cocoa]

This commission makes me sick to my stomach...

http://www.aljazeerah.info/Opinion%20editorials/2004%20opinions/June/26%20o/They%20All%20Look%20Alike%20Anyway%20Michael%20Saba.htm

<snip>

Last Sunday Lehman, who is a member of the Sept. 11 Commission, said on NBC’s “Meet The Press” that “a very prominent member” of Al-Qaeda served as an officer in Saddam Hussein’s militia. He went on to say that he had seen this new intelligence contained in “captured documents” stating that an official greeting Al- Qaeda operatives at a Malaysian airport was the same person who served in the Iraqi Saddam’s Fedayeen.

This revelation might not only prove that there was a link between Saddam Hussein, Iraq and Al-Qaeda, but also, if proven true, could verify claims by the Bush administration (especially Vice President Dick Cheney) that Al-Qaeda, Iraq and the militant network responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks were connected to each other. However, one major problem sticks out in the Lehman claim. The person in Malaysia was named Ahmad Hikmat Shakir Azzawi and the man in the Iraqi Fedayeen was named Hikmat Shakir Ahmad. Lehman doesn’t seem to care that the names are different.

When the Washington Post pointed out the name discrepancy to Lehman, he said that it really doesn’t make a difference because the airport greeter, Ahmad Hikmat Shakir Azzawi, was still possibly linked to Hussein even if Lehman had gotten the names confused. Let’s take a closer look at John Lehman and try to analyze his behavior toward the Middle East and Middle Eastern names. Lehman first appeared on the US government scene in the 1970s. It was then that he connected with many current Bush officials and influentials such as Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle. Lehman went on to capture the post of secretary of the navy in the Reagan administration through alleged ruthless tactics.

Writer Claudia Wright noted that before Lehman became secretary of the navy, he was well known in Israel, sat on the board of a Philadelphia think tank run by American supporters of Israel and had done business with Israeli arms dealers. While secretary of the navy in the Reagan administration, he was known as the most pro-Israeli official ever in that position.

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[teryang]

1. Gaffney, Perle, & Lehman

Birds of a feather.