The Link Between Saddam and Al-Qaeda?

Ansar al-Islam, an al-Qaeda affiliate active in Iraqi Kurdistan since September 2001, is a prototype of America's enemies in the "war on terror." The group serves as a testament to the global spread of al-Qaeda affiliates, achieved through exploitation of weak central authorities and a utilitarian willingness to work with seemingly differing ideologies for a common cause. Lengthy reports on Ansar have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times, and Kurdish leaders have given Washington a plethora of intelligence on the group. Nevertheless, Ansar has yet to appear on official U.S. terrorism lists. Meanwhile, political complexities would make military action against the group difficult, at best. Hence, this small force of 650 fighters is a textbook example of the ongoing challenges posed by the war on terror.

In August 2001, leaders of several Kurdish Islamist factions reportedly visited the al-Qaeda leadership in Afghanistan with the goal of creating an alternate base for the organization in northern Iraq. Their intentions were echoed in a document found in an al-Qaeda guest house in Afghanistan vowing to "expel those Jews and Christians from Kurdistan and join the way of Jihad, [and] rule every piece of land . . . with the Islamic Shari'a rule." Soon thereafter, Ansar al-Islam was created using $300,000 to $600,000 in al-Qaeda seed money, in addition to funds from Saudi Arabia.

Today, Ansar operates in fortified mountain positions along the Iran-Iraq border known as "Little Tora Bora" (after the Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan). There, the group's Kurdish, Iraqi, Lebanese, Jordanian, Moroccan, Syrian, Palestinian, and Afghan members train in a wide array of guerrilla tactics. Approximately 30 al-Qaeda members reportedly joined Ansar upon the group's inception in 2001; that number is now as high as 120. Armed with heavy machine guns, mortars, and antiaircraft weaponry, the group fulfills al-Qaeda lieutenant Ayman al-Zawahiri's vision of a global jihad. Ansar's goal is to disrupt civil society and create a Taliban-like regime in northern Iraq. To that end, it has already banned music, alcohol, photographs, and advertising in its stronghold. Girls are prevented from studying; men must grow beards and pray five times daily.

Ansar first made headlines in September 2001 when it ambushed and killed forty-two Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) fighters. In February 2002, the group assassinated Franso Hariri, a Kurdish Christian politician. That spring, Ansar attempted to murder Barham Salih, a PUK leader; five bodyguards and two attackers were killed in the ensuing gunfight. In June, the group bombed a Kurdish restaurant, injuring scores and killing a child. In July, the group killed nine PUK fighters, and destroyed several Sufi shrines -- a move reminiscent of the Taliban. In September, Dutch authorities arrested the group's leader, Najmuddin Faraj (a.k.a. Mullah Krekar), for suspected ties to al-Qaeda. In December, Ansar launched a surprise attack after the PUK sent 1,500 soldiers home to celebrate the end of Ramadan. According to the group's website, they killed 103 PUK fighters and wounded 117.

That same month, Jordan's prime minister announced that al-Qaeda operative Fazel Inzal al-Khalayleh (a.k.a. Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi) had sought refuge with Ansar. Khalayleh had ordered the spring 2002 attack on Salih as well as the October 2002 murder of U.S. Agency for International Development officer Laurence Foley in Amman. Khalayleh's deputy, Nur ad-Din ash-Shami (a.k.a. Abu Abdullah), was killed in a battle with Kurdish fighters less than two weeks ago. Currently, more than thirty Ansar militants (about twenty of whom are Arab) are incarcerated in Sulaymaniyah. Their testimony has provided clues about the group's ties to Saddam Husayn, al-Qaeda, Iran, and weapons of mass destruction.

Some Bush administration and PUK officials claim that Ansar has established chemical weapons facilities in Iraqi Kurdistan. Reports allege that Baghdad helped to smuggle these weapons from Afghanistan and that Ansar has tested substances such as cyanide gas and the poison Ricin. Salih has cited "clear evidence" that such tests have been performed on animals. Moreover, the Washington Post reported that the group smuggled VX nerve gas through Turkey in fall 2001.

Bush administration and PUK officials have also speculated that Ansar may be working with Saddam through a man named Abu Wa'il, reportedly an al-Qaeda operative on Saddam's payroll. Kurdish explosives experts also claim that TNT seized from Ansar was produced by the Iraqi military, and that arms are sent to the group from areas controlled by Saddam. Iraqi officials deny all such ties, yet Saddam clearly profits from Ansar's activities, which keep Kurdish opposition forces tied up on the border and away from Saddam. Indeed, support for Ansar is not unlike the money Saddam gives to families of Palestinian suicide bombers; turning up the heat in Kurdistan and the Palestinian territories takes heat off Saddam as a crisis looms.

Currently, Kurdish and international sources are accumulating evidence they say could soon present a clearer picture of Saddam's cooperation with al-Qaeda.

Iran supports Ansar by allowing it to operate along its borders. Iran may also provide logistical support by permitting the flow of goods and weapons and providing a safe area beyond the front. The Turkish daily Milliyet has noted that Ansar militants check cars leaving their stronghold en route to Iran, indicating coordination with the Islamic republic. Moreover, the recently apprehended Mullah Krekar spent many years in Iran and was arrested in Amsterdam after a flight from Tehran.

Iran has several possible reasons for supporting Ansar. For one, having a democratic proto-state on its borders threatens the very nature of the Islamic republic. Thus, continued guerrilla activity benefits Tehran, as does any movement designed to spread Islamism in Kurdistan. Furthermore, by supporting Ansar and other Islamist groups in Iraq, Tehran may attempt to gain influence among the various factions that could contribute to a new Iraqi government if Saddam's regime is overthrown.

More than one year after Ansar announced its formation, the State Department has yet to designate it a Foreign Terrorist Organization, nor has the Treasury Department listed it as a Special Designated Global Terrorist. It would be interesting to know why. Other questions remain: Can Washington pressure Iran to cease cooperation with Ansar? Can it persuade Norway, where Mullah Krekar lived for several years, to examine his financial accounts? Can it verify ties between al-Qaeda and Saddam based on interviews with captured Ansar militants?

If such links are established, military force should be considered. Reports from the front indicate that Ansar could not withstand an aerial assault. Yet, Washington may be reticent to attack during this period of UN inspections for fear of international rebuke, particularly from Turkey. Ankara, already ambivalent about an Iraq war, may be sensitive to any measures that would potentially strengthen the Kurds. Still, Ansar al-Islam poses a threat to any future U.S. ground deployment. Moreover, dismantling the group would potentially weaken both Saddam and al-Qaeda -- two primary targets in the war on terror.

It's worth noticing that, amid all the drum banging for a war with Iraq, we've hardly heard any news about the current war in Afghanistan.

We hear news out of Afghanistan all the time- you may be disappointed (I'm not) that there wasn't a massacre of US troops, but there wasn't. Hence, nothing to report, other than we control the air and aren't geting our choppers blown away as happened with the Russians. We never put that many people into afghanistan and we haven't needed to increase the numbers owing to the lack of serious resistance.

The Bush Administration has, so far, failed to capture Osama or his principal accomplices,

It's hard to capture a stain under a hundred feet of rock. He apparently died on December 17, 2001 and there hasn't been any proof he's been breathing since then- in fact, his supporters have been reduced to scraping up letters and claiming they belong to him. No video...

As for his principle accomplices, we and our allies have killed Abu Sayeff (head honcho over the Phillipines along with many of his officers and supporters) and Abu Nidal, one of Saddam Hussein's accomplices, is no longer breathing after allegedly shooting himself in the head five times. (Wonder who really did that?) We have killed thousands of al Qaeda and Taliban (they were never that numerous to begin with) and we have arrested assorted al Qaeda members of high and low rank, including the bigwig Zamar and Zubayda, and a number of those towel-headed council members of the Taliban we saw on TV, and wiped out Omar's big pals - Omar has also not been seen. There aren't that many "high ranking" members of al Qaeda owing to its horizontal command structure. It is not run like the US, which has a vertical command structure and distinct heierarchy. the Brits have finally rounded up one of the bigger financial and organizational guys, the leader of the Finsbury mosque, although the lawyers might squeal later.

failed to stomp out the Taliban,

The Taliban are no longer in control of the country and must spend their time taking occasional potshots from Palkistan's northern borders. Put a fork in them they are done. they don't even control Kandahar. They contol nothing, being about as effective as say, the KKK and the Black Panthers are right now. Still there but reduced to criminals and not much more.

In your world, we never beat British because we didn't kill all of the loyalists and never got the King. And we never won the Spanish American war because we never annexed Spain. And we never won Japanese since there might be a Japanese soldier out there on an island somewhere who hasn't surrendered. And I guess the Civil War is still going on because the rebels keep waving their flag.

or otherwise score recent victories in Afghanistan,

We haven't scored any recent victories in Okinawa, Italy, or Mississippi, either. We own the air and the ground. What other victories can you get when you own everything and everyone has left town, and your enemies are so beaten up they can't even rally the Pakistani street to show up for a game of stickball? The only reason Afghanistan doesn't belong to Russia is because we came along and gave them a hand to prevent it. The Taliban aare defeated because they can't find a benefactor with the skills these days... which is why they no longer control any turf in Afghanistan, not even thier most loyal province around Kandahar.

so Bush is trying to distract us with a new...

It isn't a distraction, since it's been the main show now for years. And it isn't old- the war never ended since it it paused with a cease fire that was never honored by Iraq, and a certain Arkansas idiot decided he didn't want to enforce it. In case you have been on vacation for the last decade, we have been taking attacks and offering litle response- from Khjobar, the embassey bombings, to various assassination and bombing attempts both here and overseas, and the USS Cole and the first WTC bombing up until 2001, and in 2001 we had Americans wanting to lift sanctions and call it quits. That Clinton didn't fight, does not mean there wasn't a war going on- even in his time there were operations going about you don't know about to this day. There is much, much, more that's been going on since inaugeration day. That you don't see it, doesn't mean we haven't been active now. Those of us who have had to bid our military relatives goodbye repeatedly as they come and go may not know what is going on, but we do know something is going on. And from their demeanor it looks like it has gone well since while they are getting worked morale is higher than I've seen it in years- except for folks like yourself.

and more successful war against someone even his daddy could beat up, namely Saddam.

You can't get more successful than Afghanistan. It's still very dangerous, but so far I haven't seen Omar and Benny pop back up again, nor do I see the mass demonstrations of Pakistani volunteers who once claimed they would rally to the Tlaiban's side in Afghanistan. Guess they decided to stick with drinking tea in Karachi while trying to assualt America with spam from their posts in internet cafes.

How else to explain why the Bush Administration ignored Saddam for nearly two years, until the mid-term elections heated up.

You have definitely been asleep here, since no one has been ignoring Iraq but yourself. Are you dumb enough to think that we were ready to do much of anything on Feb 1, 2001? March, maybe? April, May or June? We were hitting targets as the Iraqis present them all this time and still are, and we have had real men on the ground there all this time while the world seems to think there is some magic D-day coming up that will be the first time we set foot there. But we were not able to instantly begin anything without a buildup.

By the time Clinton left office he had drawn down much of our war materials and our parts. But rather than allow a new administration to come in through the normal transition process and do an inventory - since Clinton's administration had neglected to do that for many years, too, the Clinton administration denied them the facilities to get things underway during the legal wrangling in the Floriduh, and later, the Supreme court.

All of the preparations normally done in the last part of an election year (normally it begins as soon as the candidates in each party are determined and goes on through to the inaugeration when the old president leaves office, were denied the new team. All of the office space, computers, security, staff and communications were denied them. As a result of this delay, the transition team had to get private individuals to rent new buildings, install secure communications, staff them, and so on, all with the administration still in power refusing to sign the requests and making everything four times as difficult. Months of valuable time were lost.

During that time Mr. Clinton played golf and lied about fleet readiness as he had lied about everything else, and the sheer depth of the drawdown he had presided over was only beginning to be grasped. We had lost critical people in all services due to the moral deficiency - and other things. I know for a fact that the excercise in the Pacific that Clinton's administration claimed was "comleted early with great success" was not completed at all because there was no fuel. Ships couldn't even leave port for lack of fuel. I know that during the end of his administration, ships and crews were not passing the inspectors. Our diverse politically correct fleet was staffed with people who couldn't navigate out of a paper bag, had little discipline, and ships and crews were failing. I doubt this was different in other services. Speaking of fule, any nation going to war should first make sure its oil reserves are in place. Guess what? Bill clinton had sold off our oil reserves to relatives of Jessie Jackson, amoong others.

As soon as the Bush administration came in, in January, JDAM production was accelerated above the original order - I got wind of it in March when I happened upon the manufacturer's web site whie looking for something else. We had a depleted arsenal to fill since much of our arsenal had been used and not replaced in Clinton's little Kosovo episode. Ships had fallen into disrepair or had been mothballed over the years; our sealift capability was reduced and our airlift capabilities had been as well. We had carriers without their proper complement of aircraft. We had crews cannibalizing repairable aircraft in order to get parts for other repairable aircraft There was a massive spare parts shortage that had to be addressed by the new admin. All of these things we have complained about for years during Mr.Clinton's terms, so none of this is new information.

To make things more interesting, all confirmation processes were delayed, which delayed the transition process and our establishment of command and control into June of the year following the election.

Nonetheless, the depleted arsenal and oil reserves and so on were on the agenda immediately, and the US launched strikes and did reconaissance on Iraq others nearby to asses the situation until the reserves could be refilled, training deficiencies addressed and problems fixed just oin order to get back up to minimal standards. We have a decade of neglect to overcome- do you think it would be wise to act before preparing yourself? Just throw some soldiers at it and hope it works, then worry about the support they need later? Worked like a charm in Mogadishu, didn't it?

Bush got into office in January 2001 with three month's delay on the transition process. Critical information was denied to the new people and getting their security clearances approved was delayed until after the election. remember, the previous administration had not even completed getting theirs for years and in some cases never bothered to obtain them, meaning that we had people who couldn't pass a security clearance being given access to vital information.

The work on the military and other areas began immediately, but it shoudl have begun before the election had there been even a small amount of cooperation. The place was a mess, with millions of dollars, files and much equipemnt missing or unaccounted for and inventories that hadn't been done since 1992. The only agency which could account for itself was the NSA.

Confirmation hearings were so delayed the Congress still hasn't gotten to them all. Judges seats went unfilled because of congressional gridlock and this in turn delays investigations and prosecutions, which means getting information out of peope is also held hostage by the confirmation process, not just for judges but for the Department of Justice itself. Ashcroft wasn't approved until what, June 2001,( maybe longer) not long before 9/11? That left the same incompetant people who boffed everything for years in place until they could be removed by the new admin, and not much time for the new people to straighten all the slop.

You do not go into a confrontation until you get your team ready and in position and supplied- hence the buildup process we have seen going on since early 2001. We are going to do this in our time and our place and our way, instead of playing tit-for-tat on the enemy's terms like Bubba, or letting the interns and the UN pick targets, or asking permission from a pollster or the commentators on CNN.

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