Saddam Behind Black Hawk Down

Several bloggers have noted that George Tenet's book makes a pretty strong case for the Saddam-al-Qaeda connection. Newly released documents captured from al-Qaida bring more evidence.

Saddam Hussein ordered his intelligence service to "hunt the Americans" in Somalia via Afghan mujahideen proxies including the EIJ on January 18th, 1993 just two days before EIJ leader Atef ordered his best men to Somalia. The CNS memoranda also show that Saddam's intelligence service was meeting with the leader of the EIJ (almost certainly Ayman al Zawahiri) to give him the assignment.
Saddam wanted his intelligence service to work with mujahideen (Islamic fighters displaced from Afghanistan in 1992, which likely also included Usama bin Laden's followers, the EIJ (the two groups would officially merge together to become al Qaeda) and another associated terror leader, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. The order provided funding to the mujahideen and drew precedent from operations with the EIJ against the Egyptian government because it sided with the UN coalition against Iraq in the Gulf War.

Curtsy: Hugh Hewitt