Former Iraqi PM Reveals Secret Service Data on Birth of Al-Qaeda in Iraq

The number two of the al-Qaeda network, Ayman al-Zawahiri, visited Iraq under a false name in September 1999 to take part in the ninth Popular Islamic Congress, former Iraqi premier Iyad Allawi revealed to the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat, shedding light on the relationship between Saddam Hussein and the Islamic terrorist network. “Al-Zawahiri was summoned by Izza Ibrahim Al-Douri – then deputy head of the council of the leadership of the revolution – to take part in the congress, along with some 150 other Islamic figures from 50 Muslim countries,” Allawi said. In Allawi’s view, Saddam’s government “sponsored” the birth of al-Qaeda in Iraq, coordinating with other terrorist groups, both Arab and Muslim. “The Iraqi secret services had links to these groups through a person called Faruq Hajizi, later named Iraq’s ambassador to Turkey….Iraqi secret agents helped terrorists enter the country and directed them to the Ansar al-Islam camps in the Halbija area,” he said. Now I ask all the liberal dopes out there: do you still feel bad that Hussein had photos taken of him in his underwear?