"The only problem with this theory is that the camp was in a part of Iraq not under Saddam's control."
This is so old and not true. Saddam thought he still controlled that area in question. The war did not start in March of 2003. You have to remember the In between Wars from 1992-2003.
"Iraqi President Saddam Hussein does not recognize the no-fly zones and had been challenging U.S. and British aircraft there since Dec. 1998."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-02-25-us-airstrike_x.htm
The No Fly Zones were not approved by the UN.
"....Other countries, notably China and Russia, have condemned the no-fly zones as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, and they insist there is no backing for the policy under international law or UN resolutions."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1175950.stm
Plus Saddam did not like the Kurds having their autonomy.
If Saddam's forces were able to shoot US/UK planes patrolling illegal NFZ why couldn't he send his Iraqi Intelligence to give aid to Ansar al-Islam to destablize the Kurds autonomy?
And he did. The Kurds captured this man.
"A captured Iraqi intelligence officer of 20 years' standing, Abu Iman al-Baghdadi, who is held by the PUK, said Abu Wa'il is actively manipulating the Ansar on behalf of Iraqi intelligence.
Abu Iman al-Baghdadi: "Some of Ansar trained in Iraq"
"I was captured by the Kurds after Iraqi intelligence sent me to check what was happening with Abu Wa'il, following rumours that he'd been captured and handed over the CIA," al-Baghdadi said.
He added that Baghdad smuggles arms to the Ansar through the Kurdish area, and is using the group to make problems for the PUK, one of the opposition factions ranged against Saddam Hussein.
"The Ansar's basic allegiance is to al-Qaeda, but some of them were trained in Iraq and went Afghanistan," he said, interviewed in a Kurdish prison."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2149499.stm
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/1122/p01s02-wome.html
Also....
"According to the British Broadcasting Corporation, a top captured Iraqi intelligence officer, Abu Iman al-Baghdadi, has indicated that one of the senior Ansar leaders, Abu Wail, is an Iraqi intelligence officer. If this is true then Saddam and his security services have some influence on Ansar. Al-Baghdadi’s claims are reinforced when one considers the radio chatter between Ansar forces and Iraqi army units heard by the Kurdish military. Furthermore, the leader of the PUK, Barhim Salih, claims that a group affiliated with Ansar is operating from Mosul, a city under Iraqi control at the time of writing."
http://www.ciss.ca/Comment_EnemyofMyEnemy.htm
If you read articles before the 2003 invasion of Iraq...there is so many connections between Iraqi Intelligence and al Queda affiliated terrorist groups.
Now we have amnesia about what happen in the past.
Are we going to sit around and let the Saddamite pull the wool over our eyes? It's starting to get me mad...its frustrating.
Bush Administration needs to get off their butts and let the cat out of the bag. Declassify some information please because I know there is a connection.