Saddam's link to terror

One of the mantras trumpeted ad nauseam by the political left goes something like this.

"Bush lied to get us into the war in Iraq. There were no WMD and Iraq never had any links to Al Qaeda."

While mere repetition has caused this statement to morph into a fact in many people's minds, in truth, there exists ample evidence linking Saddam's regime to terror groups in general, and Al Qaeda in particular. (We'll save WMD's for another day)

Just last month, the Middle East Media Research Institiute (MEMRI) translated a story from a Kurdish newspaper that it claims proves there was cooperation between Saddam and Al Qaeda.

"The letter, which appeared on the paper's front page, was published by the intelligence apparatus of the Iraqi presidency and discussed an intention to meet with Ayman Al-Zawahiri in order to examine a plan drawn up by the Iraqi presidency to carry out a "revenge operation" in Saudi Arabia," according to a post on MEMRI blog.

Links between Saddam's regime in Iraq and Al Qaeda were known long before the U.S. led invasion.

The 9-11 Comission wrote in its report:

In March 1998, after Bin Ladin's public fatwa against the United States, two Al Qaeda members reportedly went to Iraq to meet with Iraqi intelligence. In July, an Iraqi delegation traveled to Afghanistan to meet first with the Taliban and then with Bin Ladin. Sources report that one or perhaps both of these meetings was apparently arranged through Bin Ladin's Egyption deputy Zawahiri, who had ties of his own to the Iraqis.

The commission goes on to reference reports that Iraqi officials offered Bin Ladin safe haven in Iraq in 1999.

While there was no evidence that Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussien engaged in any joint operations, there were clearly links between the two.

Beyond Iraq's apparent cooperation with Al Qaeda, troops liberating Iraq found several terrorist training camps.

Repetition does not the truth make. While, "Bush lied and people died," makes for a nifty chant, it simply isn't true.