The only external terrorism that Saddam directly engaged in was against expatriot Iraqis whom he believed were threats to his regime. This information is in the Iraq Study Group report sponsored by Bush after Gulf War II. No one reads it so Saddam’s terrorism gets reported as something akin to Al Qaeda’s, which it wasn’t.
Saddam was a Baathist, not an Islamist. At times he would throw a bone to the Islamists but it wasn’t what motivated him.
You are correct. For image purposes, from time to time Saddam would throw a bone to the Islamic terrorists. Saddam was not interested in state sponsored (external) terrorism.
Iran is and was.
Do you remember this guy?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/10907319/Iraq-crisis-Red-haired-devil-of-Saddams-Iraq-back-in-the-fray.html
I always got a laugh when he was mentioned during GW’s Iraq war years.