Excellent find. I think there was a genuine split in al Qaeda about working with Saddam. Another top al Qaeda commander Mohammed Atef was said to have reached out to Saddam for WMD on a number of occasions and I believe Abu Hafs al Mauritania did as well though he might be the same person as Atef.
* Mohammed Atef : 24 Pakistani Peacekeepers in Somalia are ambushed, shot to death, skinned, and their remains paraded through the streets by a mob. [Author's note: in 1994/95 it is revealed by the Sudanese govt that an Al Queda operative based in The Sudan, and several other Al Queda operatives including #3 man Mohammed Atef, had gone to Somalia, trained Somalis in tactics that had been learned during the fight against Soviets in Afghanistan, and had they themselves taken part in this attack.] ---------- "PRE-BUSH timeline/list of Iraq's Ties To Al Queda," by Sam Pender-author of Iraq's Smoking Gun and other books on the matter , 6/12/04