St. Ignatius's The Eye: Volume LXXIX Number II

If Saddam Hussein had been an evil dictator, he'd be an intensely corrupt and self-centered megalomaniac who would love torturing and gassing his own people and the people in countries around him, would revel in evading inspections to hide his illicit WMD's, and would delight in throwing money at every mangy gang of US-hating terrorists that he'd invite into one of his opulent uber-palace-fortresses. Oh wait, that's all true...
    No matter what side of the political spectrum you find yourself on, Saddam Hussein's support for global terrorism cannot be disputed. Saddam Hussein paid $10,000 compensation to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers for many years. But Saddam, being the generous guy that he was, decided that $10,000 wasn't enough, and upped the payments to $25,000.
    Between the time of the bloody pay raises and the US invasion of Iraq, some 28 suicide bombers would injure 1,209 people and murder at least 223 others, including eight US citizens. All of the suicide bomber families would find themselves $25,000 richer, thanks to Mr. Hussein.
    Saddam also provided refuge, supplies, medical attention, financing and training to many other terrorist groups. The Abu Nidal Organization, the Arab Liberation Front, the Palestinian Liberation Front, the Mujahedin-e- Khalq Organization, and Hamas would all comfortably operate bases out of Iraq, protected and aided by the Iraqi government.
    These groups altogether would murder hundreds and hundreds of people, making them among the most deadly terrorist groups in the world. Abu Nidal's organization alone murdered over 300 people, and Mr. Nidal would call Iraq his home from 1999 on.
    Did you know that Saddam wasn't allowed to protect terrorists and aid in mass terrorism? I'm quite sure you did. Outlawed in UN Security Council Resolution 687, helping kill innocent civilians was a definite no-no for Hussein.
    Salman Pak was a terrorist training camp inside Iraq, funded by Iraq's own terrorist, Saddam Hussein. Many terrorists, including numerous Al Qaeda operatives, received instruction on bomb making, poisoning, assassinations, and mass murder. Most striking, however, was the fact that this training camp was equipped with a full sized jet-- which was used to instruct terrorists on how to hijack planes with knives. Sound familiar?
    If somehow Hussein had no idea about and wasn't involved with the 9/11 attacks (above evidence to the contrary), then at the very least he probably felt embarrassed when he found out about the attacks and asked himself: "Hey, did those guys just steal my idea?"
    Finally, though ties to Al Qaeda have recently been dismissed by the elite intelligencia, perhaps a quick overview is appropriate. Throughout the 1990's, Iraq held various terrorist meetings, at which Al Qaeda members attended. Iraqi officials held many meetings with Al Qaeda operatives, and helped them out with financing and training. The fake passports used by the first World Trade Center bombers in 1993, along with the bombmaking training, were supplied by Iraq's head guru.
    Iraq was a safe haven for Al Qaeda throughout the 1990's and 2000's, with large numbers of these terrorists moving into and out of training camps in Iraq at will. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, commonly considered the second-ranking Al Qaeda man and Iraq's most deadly terror organizer, sought refuge in Iraq, of all places, after he fled Afghanistan during our invasion. With the help of Saddam, he was able to set up a far-reaching network that operated out of Iraq, and still operates in Baghdad today.
    Saddam Hussein supported Al Qaeda; there is no argument there. Still think Iraq had no terrorist ties? Money to suicide bombers, huge terrorist training camps, terror organizations based in Iraq, and aid to Al Qaeda aren't enough to convince? Iraq was a terror-sponsor, and was dealt with as such by the US. Al Qaeda has lost a financer. Iraq has lost a dictator. And we have won a key battle connected to the global struggle against terrorism.
    This war must be brought to every terrorist and to all those who sponsor them. As one politician brilliantly stated in 2001, leading up to the Iraq war: "I think we clearly have to keep the pressure on terrorism globally. This doesn't end with Afghanistan... And it is absolutely vital that we continue, for instance, with Saddam Hussein." Kerry, I couldn't agree more.