Hussein's "ideological differences" with Osama bin Laden are a myth. The key propaganda points in OBL's videos are Saddam's -- the "500,000 Iraqi" children supposedly killed by post-Gulf War sanctions, and the stationing of US forces in Saudi Arabia, forces which are positioned specifically to counter Saddam's regional ambitions. Meanwhile, the regime in Iraq has sung the praises of Osama bin Laden (Saddam's son extolling the "beauty of Osama's face") and has publicly endorsed the WTC attacks, making it the only government in the world to do so.
Predictably, after his defeat in the Gulf War and with the star of secular Arab national socialism fading, Saddam has turned to Islamism to bolster his personality cult (Iraq builds 'Mother of all Battles' mosque in praise of Saddam). Meanwhile, bin Laden's religiosity is mostly for public consumption -- his own kids get to watch TV and play with computers. But the religious crap certainly makes a good recruiting tool.
The alliance between Saddam and Osama is no more suprising than the alliance between Hitler and Tojo, or the one between Roosevelt and Stalin for that matter. The benefits flow both ways. Osama couldn't organize a piss-up in a brewery, but he makes great recruitment videos, and he's willing to do the "ascetic in a cave" thing the Arabs love. So, Osama provides the kamikaze killers, and puts out the talking points. Saddam's end is money, organization, intelligence, and advanced weaponry (i.e. anthrax). What a team they make!
Indeed. And anyone who assumes Bin Laden's motivations are purely religious in nature is assuming to much. He's a pretty bright guy and very ambitious. The man intended to bring the economies of the West to their knees and then unite all of Islam under himself. The fact that he operates under the mantle of Islam and those he uses are die-hard Muslim extremists does not mean that the perceived good of Islam is what drives him. Saddam, likewise, can be expected to cozy up with Muslim fundamentalists willing to do anything to harm America even though he's a secularist.