The Iraqis, who for several years paid smaller groups to do their dirty work, were quick to discover the advantages of Al-Qaeda. The Israeli sources claim that for the past two years Iraqi intelligence officers were shuttling between Baghdad and Afghanistan, meeting with Ayman Al Zawahiri. According to the sources, one of the Iraqi intelligence officers, Salah Suleiman, was captured last October by the Pakistanis near the border with Afghanistan. The Iraqis are also reported to have established strong ties with Imad Mughniyeh. I hadn't seen this from Jane's, Jet, and so appreciate your remembering my interest in this matter. It's become an article of faith among the leftists that there was no prior relationship, forgetting apparently that the MSM wrote dozens of articles in the 90's about the world's alarm at the growing relationship between Saddam and Al Qaeda.