“An Iraqi opposition group that has tempestuous relations with the State Department said today [November 9, 2001] that its request to use American money to gather intelligence inside Iraq had been turned down. The Iraqi National Congress, formed more than a decade ago to work for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, submitted an 80-page proposal to the State Department on Sept. 14 [2001] seeking permission to spend some of the $23 million allocated by Congress for organization and propaganda to finance spying inside Iraq. ‘I think they fear that if they really allow us to move inside Iraq, we are going to get them involved in a war,’ said Zaab Sethna, a spokesman for the congress. Asked if that was the goal of the group, he replied, ‘That is not our intention.’ ”
– Patrick E. Tyler, “Iraqi Opposition Says U.S. Denied Money for Intelligence Effort,” The New York Times, Nov. 10, 2001