[r9etb]

I see an Taliban link with Saddam here.

FWIW, I agree w/ the article that the Iraqis probably didn't know about this beforehand. From what little I know, the Kurdish areas of Iraq are pretty much lawless, which is the sort of place for which Al Qaeda looks for real estate.

I'm also guessing that Saddam views an Al Qaeda presence as a security threat to him.

[vannrox]

Oh, I am not quite sure about that. Saddam is not a man who should be trifled with. There are certainly areas of lawlessness in Iraq, but I believe, they exist with his tact approval. For one reason or another. Why would he attack Kwait when he had a much larger area in Iraq that was not under his control? It doesn't make much sense to me. I propose that he has better C-cubed OPS than we give him credit for.

[Eva]

Are you serious? You think that it was coincidental that the tests took place in the same region? Where do you think that the chemical weapons came from? Do you think that the Qaeda developed them all by themselves? Do you think that the fact that they were used against Saddam's potential enemies was just a matter of convenience?

[Trident/Delta]

I'm also guessing that Saddam views an Al Qaeda presence as a security threat to him.

Disagree. Saddam is arrogant enough to feel that he could "control" the al Quiada.Given the alternatives, he would probably lend tacit support to them. There is the old arab adage of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". We would all be well served to remember that

Semper Fi

[OldFriend]

Those Kurdish sound a lot like the Chechens.