© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com

A few top Defense officials believe Timothy McVeigh, executed for his role in the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building, was an Iraqi agent, reports U.S. News in the Oct. 29 issue.

The stunning news item is buried in the "Washington Whispers" column of the magazine under the byline of Paul Bedard.

"Some dismiss it as being akin to Elvis sightings, but a few top Defense officials think Oklahoma City bomber Tim McVeigh was an Iraqi agent," Bedard writes. "The theory stems from a never-before-reported allegation that McVeigh had allegedly collected Iraqi telephone numbers. Why haven't we heard this before about the case of the executed McVeigh? Conspiracy theorists in the Pentagon think it's part of a cover-up."

Those unnamed Defense Department officials are not alone.

Last week, House impeachment counsel David Schippers told WorldNetDaily Radio host Geoff Metcalf's audience that he is convinced of a Mideast connection in the bombing. Schippers represents Jayna Davis, the former Oklahoma City television reporter who attempted to follow up the Mideast connection story until her bosses told her to let it go.

"I am thoroughly convinced that there was a dead-bang Middle Eastern connection in the Oklahoma City bombing," said Schippers. "I think bin Laden was behind it. I think that there were Middle Eastern people on the scene running away."

There would not necessarily be a contradiction between an Iraqi connection and a bin Laden connection. According to terror expert Yossef Bodansky, author of "Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America," bin Laden worked closely with Iraq for years.

See related stories:

Oklahoma City blast linked to bin Laden

Bin Laden link remains elusive