WASHINGTON, 26 June 2004 — In 1983, a mysterious package of materials in an unmarked envelope was allegedly delivered to New York Times investigative reporter, Jeff Gerth. The materials led to a major New York Times story about the then US Secretary of the Navy John Lehman. The materials pointed out that Lehman had supposedly taken payments from an Israeli arms company while he was secretary of the navy.
Lehman had owned a firm called the Abington Corporation and had a partner in that firm by the name of Richard Perle. Perle, who was also a US government official during this period in 1983, had also allegedly received money from the same Israeli arms company. Lehman was quoted as saying that his wife was responsible for this oversight and said that he would get after her for her mistake. Perle said that the money he received from the Israeli firm was a payment for work done before he was a government official.
No charges such as conflict of interest were ever filed against either Lehman or Perle for taking money from a foreign company while serving in the US government and the matter was quickly forgotten. Lehman might have gotten some incorrect information from his wife again. He can’t seem to get Arabic and Muslim names straight.
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.
In the early 1990s, Lehman became part of the Committee on US Interests in the Middle East. This committee was headed by leading neocon Frank Gaffney and included other pro-Israeli notables such as Richard Perle, Elliot Abrams and Stephen Bryen. Their primary activity was trying to convince the administration that Israel wasn’t receiving enough money from the United States. John Lehman isn’t the only Lehman family member involved in government business relating to the Middle East. His younger brother, Chris, served in the Pentagon and, according to former Pentagon official Karen Kwiatowski, was part of the now infamous Office of Special Plans which allegedly funneled faulty intelligence data about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and other information about Iraq directly to the White House.
Until now, most of the Sept. 11 Commission work has gotten high marks. Split evenly between Republicans and Democrats, it appears to have carried on most of its activities in a bipartisan manner. Lehman’s comments seem to change that model. The Sept. 11 Commission has officially reported that Iraq and Al-Qaeda have had no history of collaboration. That conclusion is not helpful for the Bush administration. And the neocons and friends of Israel have historically pushed the idea of the Iraqi/Al-Qaeda connection.
John Lehman appears to have gotten his marching orders from the neocons on this issue. And, what the heck, anybody can confuse an airport greeter with a high-ranking Iraqi Fedayeen official. Those Arab names all look alike anyway.
— Dr. Michael Saba is an international relations consultant.
