Saddam and militant Islam
Reader comment on item: Analyst Calls for Redefinition of 'War on Terror'

Submitted by Jerry Gornish (United States), Aug 9, 2002 at 11:03

You stated that these are two different issues, related in the sense that they both stem from the mid-East. It seems to me, though I can't cite chapter and verse (wasn't there evidence that one of the 9/11 20 met with a high-up Iraqi shortly before that date?), that from Saddam's perspective, it is good to encourage and even fund Militant Islam. First, it helps to deflect some of the crticism against his regime; second, it affords him a dedicated proxy to fight the West.

Thus, it would greatly surprise me if his bank accounts, if not yet his fingerprints, are not furnishing some of the money going to Militant Islam. If this is the case, to the extent he is developing non-conventional weapons, he might just as soon prefer to have a proxy use them against the west to prevent severe retaliation against his own country. I suspect we will someday find his fingerprints on Militant Islam attacks, and the danger he presents is a good reason for taking action against him before it is too late.

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