Tahir Jalil Habbush

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Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti (Arabic: طاهر جليل حبوش التكريتي; born 1950) is a former Iraqi intelligence official who served under the regime of Saddam Hussein; in 2001, he was Iraq's head of intelligence and as such, informed MI6 in January 2003 (shortly before the start of the Iraq War) that Iraq had no WMD.[1] He was the Jack of Diamonds in the most-wanted Iraqi playing cards[2] and is still a fugitive with up to $1 million reward for information leading to his capture.[3] It is believed that al-Tikriti at some point operated from Syria and most likely played a direct role in the day-to-day operations of the insurgency against U.S.-led Coalition forces under the command of Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri.[4]

Forged 2003 Habbush letter[]

A mural in a mosque in Baghdad mentions his name as a benefactor.
Main article: Habbush letter

According to the London Sunday Telegraph, Mohamed Atta is mentioned in a letter allegedly discovered in Iraq handwritten by Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Takriti, former chief of the Iraqi Intelligence Service. Habbush's July 1, 2001, memo is labeled "Intelligence Items" and is addressed: "To the President of the Ba'ath Revolution Party and President of the Republic, may God protect you." It continues:

’’Mohamed Atta, an Egyptian national, came with Abu Ammer [the real name behind this Arabic alias remains a mystery] and we hosted him in Abu Nidal's house at al-Dora under our direct supervision.’’
’’We arranged a work program for him for three days with a team dedicated to working with him...He displayed extraordinary effort and showed a firm commitment to lead the team which will be responsible for attacking the targets that we have agreed to destroy.’’[5]

The memo is believed to be a forgery. According to Newsweek, "U.S. officials and a leading Iraqi document expert [say] the document is most likely a forgery, part of a thriving new trade in dubious Iraqi documents that has cropped up in the wake of the collapse of Saddam's regime."[6] In The Way of the World, author Ron Suskind alleges that the Bush administration itself ordered the forgery. Habbush then supposedly signed the letter, having already been resettled in Jordan with $5 million from the US.[7]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Richard Norton-Taylor (March 18, 2013). "MI6 and CIA heard Iraq had no active WMD". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2015-11-04. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  2. ^ "Iraq: The spies who fooled the world - BBC News". Bbc.co.uk. 2013-03-18. Archived from the original on 2015-09-25. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  3. ^ "Rewards for Justice". Archived from the original on February 15, 2013. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  4. ^ Nance, Malcolm (2014). The Terrorists of Iraq: Inside the Strategy and Tactics of the Iraq Insurgency 2003–2014. CRC Press. pp. 70–71. ISBN 978-1498706896.
  5. ^ [1] Archived May 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ [2] Archived May 16, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Allen, Mike (August 4, 2008). "Book says White House ordered forgery". Politico. Archived from the original on 2015-06-09. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
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