Was there EVER a connection between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden?
109298
yes- in bush's mind.  and we sold weapons to both of them.
663832
Of course OSAMA BIN LADEN. It is not even a question. Bush my be acting like that for political reasons. However, Osama acts like that because he has a blind ugly heart. He does not even have a mind to think. I am not defending Bush but Bush, when he attacked Iraq, was claiming he will free Iraqis from Saddam but Osama, when he is attacking innocents everyday, never gives a reasonable reason.
1168040
Yes I do.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not in the habbit of defending Bush, but Bin Laden's family has more people in it than you could possibly imagine.  Just because he had dealings with Bin Laden's family doesn't mean he (or they) have any ties to Bin Laden.
609431
I have often wondered the same thing... \n\nThere are very strange coincidences, after all:\n1 - During the 9/11 WTC attacks, Dick Cheney was in an important bussiness meeting, which included investors of the Carlyle Group, among them Saudi relatives of Osama Bin Laden. \nLet me rephrase that: "Dick Cheney was a bussiness partner with Bin Laden's family, until October 2001! \nThey were both investors of the freakin Carlyle Group, an international corporate group that acts as a military contractor!"\n2 - Bin Laden's brother owns a construction company (Bin Ladin Construction Group), and it's responsable for the construction of almost all US bases in the Middle East.\n3 - Isn't it strange that Bin Laden's family was allowed to leave the US in a private jet on 9/12, while other commercial and civilian flights were cancelled?\nWhy didn't the CIA consider them as possible suspects? \nThey weren't not even interrogated!\n4 - Bussiness relations between the Bush and Bin Laden family go a long way back.... Not to mention that the CIA actually funded the first Afghan islamic groups in 1989, to counter the soviets. (The US is actually responsable for creating the talibans)\n5 - Just check out Google Earth! If any miserable pundit like you or me can have access to such advanced satellite imaginery, then imagine the technology that the US military must have! How is it possible that they cannot find him? Do they really want to find him?\n6 - If you watch the BBC documentary "The Power of Nightmares", they mention there how Al-Qaeda is not properly portrayed by western media. They want us to believe that Al-Qaeda is in fact a single, unified terrorist organization, while the truth is that Al-Qaeda is just a political base that has no links to the individual, independent terrorist cells that carry out the attacks.\nIn other words, catching Bin Laden won't end terrorism, since the terrorist cells (in Iraq, London, Spain and elsewhere), often act independently.\n7 - Despite claims that Al-Qaeda is an old organization, it's never mentioned by the CIA's internal reports before January 2001.\n\nPersonally, I believe that there's something fishy behind the whole affair. It would not surprise me that Bin Laden is actually working for the American neo-conservatives and large corporations, by providing them with an excuse to scare the population, introduce a curtailment of civil rights and engage in pro-bussiness wars and military interventions.
1054089
Well my thoughts are very similar, but I believe that Mr.bin laden's kidneys gave out in Dubai and he croaked there. Since the US Government empowered and controlled the Taliban for their own personal profit as well as their main man, we were allowed buy his family to use his demise for our pleasure, and I feel that there is enough evidence out there for any concerned, American such as myself to find out the real story.
347963
Try: "Listen I have a question: OK, here it goes: Why did Saddam Hussein bomb the World Trade Center?"\n\nThe answer is: he didn't, in fact, he probably had nothing at all to do with it.
1088503
Yes it is true that our government trained not only Bin Laden and Saddam. It was the clear reason for the first world trade bombing.   I believe it was done by the ayatollah who said he bomb us because we promise him or his country money for his services. He sits in our jail right now and we have never seen the case.\n  If you remember the Iran- Iraq war we changed sides in that War all the time. One day we were on Iraq's side the next we were on Iran's side. Our government used terrorist groups as spies at one time. We trained them to make not only bombs, but we also trained them in making false Id's to get into other countries. They just perfected what we trained them to do. Further more the reason that Saddam was in power was because our government place him there. In 1982 when he gassed his own people he was our governments foe, and continued to be the governments foe,  until he stop doing what we asked of him. Then he became our number one enemy. Bin Laden family has been Friends with our dear presidents family for many Years. The Bin Ladens have be the backers of the Bush's failed businesses for many years.
1007272
You'll receive a lot of answers that will start and end with "oil."  But the answer is far more complicated than that.\n\nSaddam Hussein was a totalitarian dictator who supported terrorism.  Recent intelligence disclosed by captured al-Qa'ida documents show that he was in support of the Taliban and al-Qa'ida.  Furthermore, additional documents have revealed that he did in fact have a WMD program, (also confirmed by UN weapons inspectors.)  He had shipped many of the weapons in pieces to Damascus and Syria via commercial air transport, and ground transportation.  This information is not mentioned in the mainstream media, because they don't want people to know that the intelligence (not just US, but global IC entities), was correct.  Saddam was responsible for the genocide of the Kurds, and enacted torture and murder of innocent Iraqi Shi'a.\n\nFinally, Saddam ignored and defied UN resolution after UN resolution.  Upon pressure from the United Nations, he simply became more resistant.  \n\nAgain, a lot of people will say this is about oil.  But the war on terrorism is really what it's all about.  After all, we're not at war with Venezuela, and they have oil too.  We're not at war with Russia either, although they have one of the largest oil reserves on the planet.  This war is about protecting our national interests and those of our allies, against those who support and defend Islamo-fascism.
876623
an eye witness in the meeting said it was decided to attack iraq beacuse it had "better aerial targets" , when powell pointed out that iraq didnt have anything to do with it, then afghanistan was given priority and iraq was to be attacked second.\niraq had a brutal dictaor but it had the rule of law , electricty, water  and power, under the american occupation it has none or little of these things , sure saddam killed his own people but not as many as the usa. lets make this clear saddam was a secual republic , bin laden al khida were not welcomed in iraq, not because saddam was a good man but beacuse he didnt want to lose power, bush has given hope and thousands of recruits to the jihadist islamists of bin laden, bush is the best friend they have.\niran has attacked and breifly occupied greece and they are  now pushing to the medditeraina again, why becuse bush stoped their enemy saddam\n\nif like bush you dont know your history you are deemed to repeat it. apprently the usa didnt learn anything out of vietnam
133808
Saddam was the Baathist party leader in Iraq.  Most Sunni's are Baathist as well.  That is the connection between the two.  Saddam is by no means a religious man.  It was on rare occasion that he even wore Arab garb.  The Sunni's enjoyed most of the perks under his watch.  Most of the army was Sunni, yet most of the Republican Guard were from his home town. These are the people that he trusted the most; these were his most loyal followers, it had nothing to do with religion. His relationship with all other segments of Iraqi society was at best, guarded.  The Kurds would have had his ass in a New York minute, given half the chance.  The Turkman had no particular edge with Saddam, and the Christians just stayed out of his way. The Shiites, particularly those in the south, had strong ties to Iran.  Iran's brand of Islam is predominately Shiite, so Saddam was not particularly friendly to the Shiites.  Saddam ruled with scare tactics and he was pretty effective with them.  He kept every one under control but at a high price.  The mass graves still pop up occasionally!
707584
"Clinton also stated that, while other countries also had weapons of mass destruction, Hussein is in a different category because he has used such weapons against his own people and against his neighbors."\n\nThat says it all, doesn't it?
1177382
Actually, the "terrorist Oliver North feared most" was a complete lie.  He never said that nor ever mentioned Osama bin Laden in anything he talked about.  Urban legend, check out facts before you report it.\n\nhttp://www.snopes.com/rumors/north.asp\n\nIn fact, you will find no references to Al Qaeda before 1993 in any government document, book, or press release.  Reason, Al Qaeda is NOT the proper name of any terrorist group.  It means "the database" originally, and was the name of the Israeli Sin Bet database used to track mujahadeen fighters and the CIA trainers in Afghanistan by the Israelis (they liked to keep track of when and how we trained Islamic radicals for some odd reason).\n\nIn joint operations with the Israelis between our FBI, CIA, and NSA with Mossad and Sin Bet, somehow it was understood by someone at the top as "Osama and his crew were part of Al Qaeda", this misnomer stuck, and the over-simplified propoganda campaign after 9/11 saw Bush using this projected name all the time.  In intelligence circles Al Qaeda is now used as a blanket term for any kind of organized terror.  Individual groups are properly identified, such as the PLO, PKK, mujahadeen,  etc.  These groups often recieve funding from the same sources (CIA, Saudi royalty, sympathetic Arab businessmen), but in reality are no more related than say if an American businessman would make a campaign donation to both our main political parties.\n\n"Al Qaeda in Iraq" is probably the biggest psy-op going on right now, and with the parading out of photos of the dead Zarqawi our own military intell machine declared it a success.  Small minded Iraqis and Americans alike bought the story hook, line, and sinker.  I even heard on CNN this morning that Zarqawi was meeting with other terror leaders in 2002, when in reality he was locked up for petty theft in a Jordanian prison cell from 2000 to 2003.  His role in beheadings is also suspect, as the victim most seen in videos was still in the orange jumpsuit from his American captivity (his father was told he would be sent directly back to the US when released) for 2 weeks before the beheading, and analysis of the video showed that when they actually cut off his head he had been dead for at least 2 to 4 hours.\n\nhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/09/AR2006040900890_pf.html\n\nhttp://www.craigslist.org/sfc/pol/170657656.html\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Qaeda#Is_al-Qaeda_a_global_network_or_a_small_organization.3F\nThe wiki entry keeps getting re-written...
480032
Saddam Hussein0 Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti, (Arabic صدام حسين عبد المجيد التكريتي), born April 28, 1937 1, was the President of Iraq from 1979 until he was captured by the military of the United States on December 13th, 2003, following the 2003 invasion of Iraq.\n\nA leading member of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party, which espoused secular pan-Arabism, economic modernization, and socialism, Saddam (see 2 regarding names) played a key role in the 1968 coup that brought the party to long-term power.\n\nAs vice president under his cousin, the frail General Ahmed Bakr, Saddam tightly controlled conflict between the government and the armed forces by creating repressive security forces and cementing his own firm authority over the apparatuses of government.\n\nAs president, Saddam ran an authoritarian government and maintained power through the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988) and the Persian Gulf War (1991). Saddam's government repressed movements that it deemed threatening, particularly those from ethnic or religious groups that sought independence or autonomy. While he remained a popular hero among many Arabs for standing up to his opponents in the West, such as the United States, some members of the international community continued to view Saddam with deep suspicion following the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Saddam was deposed by the United States and its allies during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Captured by U.S. forces on December 13, 2003, he is standing trial charged with crimes against humanity and genocide before the Iraq Special Tribunal, established by the Iraqi Interim Government.\nSaddam Hussein\nDate of birth April 28, 1937\nPolitical Party Ba'ath Arab Socialist Party\nPolitical positions \n\n    * Chairman of the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council and President of Iraq (1979-2003)
476878
Yes I did.  Did you know that Osama was responsible for 9/11 and not Saddam?  Did you know that Bush has failed to bring Osama to justice?\n\nBush is the Commander-In-Chief of the military.  Therefore Bush is directly responsible for the failure to bring Osama to justice.
737673
No, they found some degraded chemical and biological weapons from the 1980's Iran - Iraq war. Saddam had enriched uranium from his reactor, but it was under seal of the UN inspectors, and had been inspected right before the invasion. In any event, this uranium was NOT weapons grade.
1151181
Wow, talk about bad timing on this question.  After the 500 or so raids last week after we got Zarqawi, we have turned up loads of documents that show that not only had Saddam been working directly with al-Quaeda, he had also been working with the Taliban.  The problem it, there are tens of thousands of documents and not many translators, so there is probably a whole lot more information coming.
913475
1) "Publicly, at least, Bush has not explicitly blamed the attacks on Saddam. In speech after speech, however, the president has strongly linked Saddam and al-Qaida, the terrorist organization of bin Laden, the renegade Saudi whose followers hijacked jetliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and rural Pennsylvania."\nSeattle Times\n\n2) "Over four years ago, more than four months prior to the September 11 terrorist attacks, in April 2001, a long-term FBI informant/asset who had been providing the bureau with information since 1990 provided two FBI agents and a translator with specific information regarding a terrorist attack being planned by Osama bin Laden. This asset/informant was previously a high-level intelligence officer in Iran in charge of intelligence from Afghanistan. Through his contacts in Afghanistan, he received information that:\n\nA) Osama bin Laden was planning a major terrorist attack in the United States targeting 4-5 major cities, \n\nB) the attack was going to involve airplanes, \n\nC) some of the individuals in charge of carrying out this attack were already in place in the United States."   Sibel Edmonds\n \n*Would you not expect the FBI would distance themselves from admitting to finding any "hard evidence?"\n\n3) "The Bush administration called on four outside, non-government translators to review the tape, to counter possible claims that the White House had doctored it or provided an inaccurate translation." CNN\n*There seems to still be speculation about the varification of this tape. But some transcrips which followed seemed to add some validity to them.\nI think the jury's still out on this one.\n\n4) *Do not use "intelligence" as a source - it was "intellegence" that told President Kennedy that the Cubans would rise up and oust Fidel Castro if we provided tha needed aid for the Bay of Pigs Invasion - and "intellegence" that had Saddam sitting on a mountain of WMDs.\n\n5) *This statement is not true. Actual quote:\n\n"We got a lot of assets looking for Osama bin Laden," he said at a news conference, according to Reuters. "It's a matter of time, unless we stop looking. And we're not going to stop looking so long as I'm the president -- not only for Osama bin Laden, but anybody else who plots and plans attacks against the United States of America," Bush said.\n\nIn answer to your question, of course not - no one man could pull of such an elaborate plan. Do I think al Qaeda is responsible? Yes. \nDo I think Bin Laden is a major player in al Qaeda? Again, Yes. \nIt's not too difficult to connect the dots.\n\n*my comments.