Saddam had terror plans, Putin says

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Russian secret services supplied the Bush administration intelligence that Saddam Hussein's regime was plotting terrorist acts against the U.S. after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, though he did not discuss details.

According to Putin, Saddam's regime planned terrorist attacks both on U.S. soil and on American military and civil installations abroad.

"It is true that after the Sept. 11, 2001, events up to the beginning of the military operation in Iraq, the Russian special services repeatedly obtained intelligence of this sort and passed it on to their American colleagues," Putin said at a news conference in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. He was attending regional economic and security summits there.

The Russian leader was vague about any details surrounding the intelligence conveyed to Washington, though he stressed that Moscow had no information that Saddam's regime had ever been involved in any terrorist attacks.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian secret services gave Washington the intelligence in 2002. Asked how useful the intelligence proved, Peskov replied, "This is up to the U.S. Cooperation means you share information. Whether to use the information or not, this is the business of your partner."

Putin pointed out that President Bush "personally thanked one of the chiefs of the Russian special services for this information, which he considered very important."

At the White House on Friday, National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack said he would not comment on Putin's statement because it involved intelligence matters, The Washington Post reported.

Viktor Kremenyuk, a Moscow-based international affairs analyst, said Putin's remarks appeared to be an attempt by the Kremlin to lend President Bush some sorely needed assistance at a time when his administration is under fire for linking Saddam to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network.

A commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks found there was no "collaborative relationship" between Saddam and al-Qaida. Bush touted that link as a key justification for the invasion of Iraq.

"Maybe (Putin) wants to help George Bush at this moment when he is being attacked by American lawmakers," Kremenyuk said. "It really looks more like a political attempt to help Bush."

However, Putin was careful to stress that his remarks should not be construed to mean that Russia was backpedaling from its opposition to the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq.

"Despite that information about terrorist attacks being prepared by Saddam's regime, Russia's position on Iraq remains unchanged," Putin said.

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