Bin laden teams up with Iraq.

[Epidemic]

The latest tape of bin laden if real indicates that Al-Qaeda wants to team up with Iraq.

Two things about the tape though.

1) IMO it is probably a fake and I still maintain that bin laden is pushin up daisies. He would use video to prove his point or he would remain hidden.

2) It also implies that whether bin laden is dead or alive that Al-Qaeda is more then willing to form an alliance with Iraq.

IMO this makes the claims of saddam is harboring Al-Qaeda much more plausible, contrary to some opinions on this board that saddam could never aid them because of diametrically opposed goals.

I still contend that the Arab saying that the enemy of my enemy is my friend applies. Strange bed fellows.

I wonder if saddam could use Al-Qaeda to deliver terrorism to the US??? I wonder if saddam would need missile technology to launch an attack on the US with nukes or bio weapons?

[ClubMed]

I disagree. It (the tape) does not indicate any sympathies to the regime, on the contrary, emphasis was laid on the death and murdering of Iraqi citizens.

I maintain my position that such organisations as ALQ are an enemy to the likes of the Baath regime in Iraq. For them to work together would be illogical as their ideologies differ substantially.

[Epidemic]

I contest the illogic of it. For Al-Qaeda it is a perk to both kill americans with the power of a nations technological resources and to get a foot in the door for future take over. For Saddam it would be a marriage of convenience Kill Americans with out his face being on the killings and he probably feels that he can wipe them out if they try something.

[U-96]

Saddam has as much an antipathy to Islamic fundamentalists as he does to the USA - both threaten to bring an end to his rule.

The Iran-Iraq war was fought by Saddam against the influence of such fundamentalism, and Iraq (perhaps along with Syria, another ostensibly secular Muslim dictatorship) does not appear to possess the firebrand mullahs that we often associate with Lebanon, Egypt or Iran. [edit - oops said Iraq. duh]

One million people died on both sides in that war, far more than Desert Storm.

Of course, that doesn't prevent Saddam whipping up the old jihad and Muslim brotherhood lines to make an anti-American point, but he manipulates religion just as he does everything else - in order to stay in power. The last thing he wants is OBL and Taleban rule in Iraq - they might find quite a few sympathisers, and they won't be gunning for the US of A.

IMO, of course

[Mike]

Epidemic,
You assume that he is ignorant enough to do a video? He may be silly, but he's NOT stupid. Let's say he disguised himself in some way,or he's NOT in Pakistan, do you think he wants to give his new location away? I don't think he's that stupid.
On another note, he might as well say he supports Iraq and that Iraq supports them, because even if they have different views, Dubya has lumped them into the same category anyway.

[Epidemic]

Hang a sheet up and video against a white background. Lets see you identify his location. He has done that before.

Also any non descript house would be fine to video in.

Go into a basement and video to remove background noise.

There would be no stupidity in it at all. And he would know that if he were not dead.

[Mike]

Why take the chance though? Use a voice recording for now, just to get us worked up...Send a video later.

[skuz]

IMO, they know they would have a very hard time trying to do something else against the states, so they resort to using words to try to scare people.

Is Laden dead ? I can't care less, since if he's alive he's using mere words. If he truly believed in this cause, he would have been in a planecrash in 9/11

I agree with skuz. These people are cowards. They will make other people do the dirty work.

Of course, we all knew that.

[Richard Cranium]

These people are cowards. They will make other people do the dirty work.