Free Republic

This much we know about Saddam Hussein and his regime, before and after 9/11: * they trained thousands of terrorists. * they harbored Abu Abbas and Abu Nidal. * they hid and paid an Iraqi who participated in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. * they paid the families of Palestinian martyrs. * they were "willing to co-opt or support organizations" Saddam Hussein "knew to be part of al Qaeda." * they tortured, raped, and murdered hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. * they tolerated the presence in Iraq of the Osama bin Laden funded and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi...

The new leader of al-Qaida in Iraq said that more than 4,000 foreign insurgents have been killed in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003. The claim was made in an audiotape posted on the Internet. The man speaking on the tape identified himself as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir - also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri - the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, although the voice could not be independently identified. The Arabic word he used indicated he was speaking about foreigners who joined the insurgency in Iraq, and not coalition troops. It was believed to be the first major statement...