WASHINGTON - Iraq sent spies from Canada to
New York and Washington this month to snoop and stir up anti-war
demonstrations, according to a government report obtained by the
Daily News.
The classified document also reveals a plot by Al Qaeda-linked
militants in Zimbabwe to attack American targets in that country and
elsewhere if the U.S. declares war on Iraq.
It suggests the group, Tablik Ja'maat, could be a "conduit
for communication" between Osama Bin Laden's terror network and
Iraqi leaders.
The threats, disclosed to U.S. spy agencies yesterday, are
detailed in a secret report prepared by an intelligence unit in the
Homeland Security Department.
It comes as the White House weighs the release of classified
information to prove Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's links to Al
Qaeda and efforts to evade UN weapons inspectors.A source identified
as a member of the Iraqi opposition told U.S. agents that Iraqis in
Canada were ordered to recruit Arabs and other foreigners for
espionage missions in the U.S., the report said.
The Iraqi Embassy in Ottawa sent operatives to New York and
Washington with instructions to "intensify spying activities
and to carry out anti-U.S. demonstrations to stop a war against
Iraq," the report said.
The report said the Iraqis were willing to spend "large
sums" to back the effort.
The report also describes a plot by Tablik Ja'maat to carry out
"coordinated attacks" against U.S targets in Zimbabwe if
war is declared on Iraq. Other attacks, revealed by the group's
leader at a Jan. 18 meeting at a mosque in Harare, would take place
in Pakistan, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey, South Africa and Israel,
the report said.
An Associated Press report last week said that the FBI is looking
to question as many as 50,000 Iraqis living in the U.S. to root out
potential spies and terror cells.
