
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, June 10, 1993                   TAG: 9306090433
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

EVIDENCE IMPLICATES IRAQ IN ATTEMPT TO KILL BUSH

The Clinton administration has found evidence implicating the Iraqi government in a plot to assassinate former President Bush, but has decided to withhold any public statement or U.S. response during the trial of the alleged assassins in Kuwait, U.S. officials said Wednesday.

U.S. officials said the conclusion was based partly on a statement by one of the alleged plotters to FBI and Secret Service investigators that Iraq was behind the attempt and that Bush was the target - a claim the man, Wali Abdelhadi Ghazali, repeated in a Kuwaiti courtroom last week.

A senior intelligence analyst, who spoke on condition that he not be named, also said that U.S. experts have found substantial corroborating evidence. He said the bombs, explosive materials and operating procedures meant to be used in the plot against Bush resembled those used by Iraqi terrorists around the time of the Persian Gulf War.

Another official familiar with the government's investigation said the "forensic" evidence implicating Iraq included analysis linking the design and materials of a car bomb confiscated from the alleged plotters to other bombs made by Iraq.

"Most people [in the intelligence community] who are aware of the situation do believe it all points back toward Iraq," he said.

The remarks represented the most definitive statement that an administration official has made so far about Iraq's involvement in the attempted assassination, which was allegedly supposed to occur during Bush's April 14-16 visit to Kuwait for ceremonies commemorating the Gulf War.

Kuwaiti authorities have charged 14 people with involvement in the plot, 12 of whom have pleaded not guilty. After a single day of opening testimony on June 5, the trial in Kuwait adjourned until June 26.

Some doubts about Iraq's involvement persist within the administration, stemming partly from the plotters' apparent ineptitude. For example, Raad Assadi, the alleged ringleader, testified in Kuwaiti court last week that he never intended to carry out any attack and had ditched some of the explosives in the desert after crossing from Iraq into Kuwait.

Ghazali testified that he "began praying as soon as I reached Kuwait" and wanted to surrender to Kuwaiti authorities. As one U.S. official said, "If you take a look at how the operation was conducted, it looks a lot like the Keystone Kops . . . or Shemp, Moe and Curly, not [well-known terrorist] Abu Nidal. It makes you wonder how well thought-out, organized and governmentally backed it was."

by CNB