Lee Zeldin: “The Trump administration recently made the important decision to release hundreds of thousands of documents in the…”

“The Trump administration recently made the important decision to release hundreds of thousands of documents in the possession of the CIA which were found in the May 2011 raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan. These documents reveal a much more intimate relationship between Iran and al-Qaida than previously suspected. While it will take time to analyze the extent of the 470,000 documents, some important conclusions can already be made: The Obama administration selectively released 571 of these documents during his term, none of which identified the significant relationship between Iran and al-Qaida. While President Obama claimed al-Qaida was ``on the path to defeat,'' these documents showcase al-Qaida strategically reorganizing its operational base. One of these documents describes Iran as al-Qaida's ``main artery for funds, personnel, and communications,'' and instructs members to ``refrain from attacking Iran and devote your total resources . . . to the fight against the crusaders and the apostates.'' On the one hand, al-Qaida would publicly declare all Shiites to be apostates; on the other hand, internal deliberations by the organization called for a transactional relationship with the mullahs of Tehran. Another finding in a 19-page document written by senior al-Qaida operative Abu Hafs al-Mauritani outlines a detailed arrangement between al-Qaida and Iran.…”