Saddam, al Qaeda, and the Egyptian Jihad

Ray Robison, former member of the Iraq Survey Group, lays out an interesting case for an AQ-Iraq connection in today's American Thinker using previously leaked ISG documents. He connects dots between Saddam, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Mohammed Atta in a compelling fashion.

We know Saddam's relationship with Mubarak was adversarial, in part due to the Gulf War. In Bush versus the Beltway, Laurie Mylroie posits that Saddam might have been behind several 90s terrorist attacks involving Egypt, such as the Luxor bombing, the attempt on Mubarak's life, and the bombing of the their embassy in Islamabad. The released Saddam tapes also suggest some animosity, but as with everything involving the Middle East--just when it seems the dots connect they lead to another dot.

Speaking of Saddam, he might soon need help from some of those friends in low places. The Times Online reports that a hanging may come quicker than expected. Apparently Iraq's government passed a few laws pertaining to the death penalty while nobody was looking:

The prosecutor Ja’afar Moussawi said that under a law passed late last year all death sentences must be carried out within 30 days of an appeal failing, regardless of any other pending charges.

But that's not all. The court only needs a conviction and death sentence on Dujail to get a quick hook:

“Once one of the accused on the Dujail case, for example, has been sentenced to death, then he won’t be tried on other charges,”

This outcome is almost mandatory, since it's doubtful anyone wants to prosecute Halabja. Saddam's lawyers would likely subpeona messers Cheney and Rumsfeld to testify, and the presiding judge has a conflict since he hails from Halabja. And we know how hard it's been to keep a competent judge.

As things press to conclusion we'll see how much influence the Jihadists, led in part by former right-hand man Izzat al-Douri, have on the situation.

2/26/2006 AN ANNIVERSARY, OF SORTS

This is the anniversary of the first World Trade Center bombing, which occurred in 1993. The Counterterrorism Blog has a good summary. Keep in mind February 26 represents another anniversary day-- the day Saddam's forces were expelled from Kuwait.