Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden:

Politically correct pacifist attitudes objecting to the invasion of Iraq are a little naïve. All Saddam Hussein has to do is agree to weapons inspections (which he has so far) and to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions - if his people are to be spared the pain of war. Conspiracy theories as to US government’s hawkish motives for attacking, such as oil and personal scores to settle, just do not hold enough weight. The threat of the use of nuclear arms is more likely to come from Iraq, other nations or terrorists, than America or Britain – who have demonstrated restraint in the past.

“All true and good people are pacifically minded and all hate war. This is a fact which the academic idealist and pacifist often forgets. Such people tell us that two wrongs do not make a right; and to meet murder with murder (which is their definition of war) is sinful; that war is evil (which no one denies) and that one must not take part in it. They contend that thinking thoughts of peace and of love can put the world straight and end the war. Such people, fighting the existent fact of war, usually do little or nothing concrete to right the wrongs which are responsible for the war, and permit their defence—personal, municipal, national and international—to be undertaken by others. The sincerity of these people cannot be questioned.” [1]

“The Hierarchy is very different from this. Pacifism, as interpreted by you, has no place in its ranks. The destruction of form in battle (which causes so much fear to many of you) is of small importance to those who know that reincarnation is a basic law of nature and that there is no death. The forces of death are abroad today [WWII], but it is the death of liberty, the death of free speech, the death of freedom in human action, the death of truth and of the higher spiritual values. These are the vital factors in the life of humanity; the death of the physical form is a negligible factor in relation to these, and one easily righted again through the processes of rebirth and fresh opportunity.

I would say to those who preach a passive attitude in the face of evil and human suffering and who endorse a pacifism which involves no risks: With what do you propose to fight the forces of aggression, of treachery, evil and destruction which are today [WWII] stalking over our planet? What weapons do you bring to this combat? How will you begin to stem the onslaught and arrest the whirlwind? Will you use prayers for peace, and then patiently wait for the forces of good to fight your battle and for God to do the work? I tell you that your prayers and your wishes are unavailing when divorced from right and potent action. Your prayers and petitions may reach the throne of God, symbolically speaking, but then the reply comes forth: The Forces of Light will strengthen your arms and turn the tide in your favour if you stand up and fight for that which you desire. Who will arrest the progress of aggressive selfishness if the men and women of goodwill rest back upon their idealism and do naught that is practical to justify their hope or aid in the materialisation of the desired ideal.” [2]

Humanity ‘reversing the wheel’ at this point in history is ruled by a Leo Sun (individual rights and identity) with Libra Rising (balancing the pairs of opposites). The rising sign indicates greater soul potential and Libra is a sign of the Peacemaker, indicating Humanity’s fundamental bias. But Libra is also the procrastinator, unable to make decisions, embodying Hamlet’s classic dilemma:

“To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether t’is nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune (Libra), or to take arms against a sea of troubles (Aries), and by opposing, end them” (Hamlet)

Decision between these two opposites is a key Saturnian factor, and relates to the Masters’ Decision Initiation taken every 49 years. The last one was October 2001, just a few weeks after 9/11, and indicates that the two events were closely related. For world disciples since that time, once in a lifetime decisions relating to Service have been paramount.

Many commentators have speculated upon whether Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden have collaborated in the past. Some say that it is just a convenient way for the US government to implicate Bin laden into the argument for invading Iraq. It is now speculated that members of Al Quaeda have taken refuge in Iraq since the war in Afghanistan that followed 9/11. Philosophically the two are worlds apart – with Hussein only paying lip service to Islam for political gain, whilst Bin Laden is the fundamentalist extremist on a holy jihad.

Yet the two share a common enemy and there have been reports over the past ten years of meetings between terrorists in Al Quaeda and the Iraqi secret service, as well as a few meetings between Hussein and Bin Laden. [3]

With the release of a new tape in November 2002, which intelligence analysts say is genuine, Bin Laden sides himself with Iraq, in terms of his Muslim brethren persecuted by America. Whatever our viewpoints, the astrology between these two individuals is worth considering. On September 11, 2001 there was much synastry not only between Bin Laden’s horoscope and the events of the time, but also Hussein’s:

“If the date of July 1999 in the Nostradamus quatrain is taken as literal, it may refer to the time when the plot to target New York was hatched, taking two years to come to fruition. The lunar eclipse of July 28, 1999 (4 Leo 58) falls on suspect Bin Laden’s Uranus, planet of radical revolution.

In Bin Laden’s chart [on 9/11], progressed Sun and Venus in Taurus oppose natal Neptune, both T-squaring Uranus, make for subterfuge and scheming of a ruthless nature. Bin Laden’s progressed Moon at that time was quincunx Pluto, soul ruler of his Pisces Sun. Pluto in Leo is square to Mars in Taurus, Bin Laden’s most crystallised and destructive aspect.

Also at this time, transiting Pluto was exactly conjunct New York’s Saturn. Bin Laden’s SP Moon was square to New York’s Aries Moon. In the attack chart New York was experiencing transiting Pluto opposite natal Pluto. Bin Laden’s Sun was exactly opposed by transiting Sun on the day of the attack. The event chart Sun is in the twelfth house of hidden enemies.

Other ‘usual suspects’ include Saddam Hussein, whose SP Sun (10 Cancer) was exactly square the Sun/Moon of the Decision 2001 chart, and precisely opposite New York's Sun. His SP Moon is also square his SP Sun, so makes similar aspects to the American and New York charts. Whether they collaborated with one another is of course speculation. There is just as much likelihood for other small ‘cell’ groups to have committed these acts.” [4]

At that time, and even closer in November 2002, Bin Laden’s progressed Venus is conjunct Hussein’s Sun. The aspect will be exact by the end of February 2003. This type of progressed synastry between two individuals can indicate a very close relationship that unfolds and develops for mutual benefit. This is even more strongly compounded by the fact that Bin Laden’s progressed Sun is in Taurus approaching only a few degrees to Hussein’s Sun. Note also, that Bin Laden’s revolutionary Uranus is conjunct Hussein’s Leo Ascendant.

Taurus is known for the force it wields, especially in the realm of dictators, Hitler being the most infamous, and the Ayotollah Khomeini (Scorpio Moon) being another. The soul rulership of Taurus is Vulcan, ruler of the First Ray of Will or Power. Taurus also taps into the forces of polar opposite sign Scorpio, ruled by Pluto, the power part of the Will-Power equation.

This type of power has a ‘bulldozer’ mentality with great stubborness and persistence. Ariel Sharon [5] and Yasser Arafat [6] both have Moon in Taurus, and ‘bulldozer’ is one of Sharon’s nicknames. Tony Blair and Madeleine Albright both have this Taurean tenacity in their Suns.

Ruler of Hussein’s Sun, Venus, is progressed in Taurus, sitting on his Mercury in Taurus; it can give a shrewd mind, endowed with a potent memory, with great powers of concentration, although stubborn and mentally blind to some things. Bin Laden’s natal Mars sits within a fraction of a degree to Hussein’s Mercury in Taurus. If Mars is the God of War and Mercury the Lord of Communication, then this particular synastry may work well for them on such themes.

Mars in Taurus is a major part of Bin Laden’s shadow, providing many obstacles and limitations, but giving a die-hard determination and perseverence. It can also be very jealous, possessive and sexually obsessive.

“Mars is in detriment in this sign. Its activity adds constantly to the naturally warlike nature of Taurus but the potency of the Taurian struggle is so great, esoterically speaking, that the effect of Mars is lost in the larger whole. It "adds to the glamour and confusion and yet holds within itself hope for the struggling man."” [7]

As soul ruler of Taurus, Vulcan rules nations at an early stage of soul unfoldment, where it tempers the instruments of war when that is seen as the only solution.[8] Bear in mind that the Fourth Ray of Harmony through Conflict is the only ray that has been given as pouring through the Taurus-Scorpio axis.

The Moon is the ‘conflict’ part of the Harmony through Conflict equation, as it has to do with the shadow aspect of the personality that rebels against higher spiritual forces. It gives the emotional rollercoaster ride for Ray 4 types, is exalted in Taurus, and falls in Scorpio.

In Bin Laden’s horoscope, Mars is square to Pluto in Leo, and this pattern represents a major ‘samskara’ [9] for his incarnation. Both Pluto and Mars are ‘non-sacred’ planets, which influence the form nature, as opposed to ‘sacred’ planets that help to fuse the personality as the soul’s instrument.

Mars square to Pluto can give an overly forceful, violent and egotistical nature, which is naturally attracted to war and conflict. Bin Laden of course fought for ten years in the Afghani war against Russia. This aspect can also tend to draw attention through spectacular stunts (9/11). Amid the new threats, the FBI warned that that Al Qaeda may be planning a "spectacular" terrorist attack intended to damage the U.S. economy and inflict large-scale casualties. It can also give great courage and someone willing to fight to the death.

Incidentally, the degree of Mars is precisely that of Mars in the first atomic test, and Pluto is conjunct Regulus. This star is linked to the mythical Persian king Feridum, who was prosperous but lost his kingdom when he engaged in revenge. [10] Interesting that Bin Laden was heir to a vast fortune, and may well be in the process of losing his ‘kingdom’, although convinced of his rightness in doing so for Islam.

It is this lust for revenge which is so powerful in Bin Laden’s chart, and which of course fuels the minds of all his followers, devoted to him and

Islam, which is ruled by the Sixth Ray of Devotion. Mars is the ruler of both Islam and the Sixth Ray, the Prophet Muhammed being a disciple of the Sixth Ray Chohan, Master Jesus.

The martial force of the Sixth Ray has been its primary expression during the Age of Pisces, where the Crusades or Holy Wars were fought between Christian and Islamic groups – a fact not lost upon Islamic extremists in the playing out of the current cycle.

Currently Bin Laden’s progressed Mars sits on Hussein’s progressed Midheaven and Chiron, indicating a prominent interaction with regards to war themes.

Bin Laden has his Sun in Pisces, which as mentioned, was exactly opposed by the transiting Sun on 9/11. Here is the classic Piscean-Ray 6 idealist and zealot. The Sun (and Mercury and Venus) is square to Saturn in Sagittarius, which relates to crystallised, dogmatic religious thinking and strict codes by which to live. Ray 6 also pours through Sagittarius the most strongly in this cycle. [11] There is also much intellectual pride, self-righteousness and fanaticism with Saturn in Sagittarius. With the square between Sun and Saturn there lies Bin Laden’s other major samskara.

Acknowledging his Venus in Pisces (exalted), it is reported that Bin Laden instigated humanitarian projects on behalf of the Mujahadeen with whom he fought in the Afghan war against Russia.

Hussein shares this Ray 6 fanaticism with his Mars and Moon conjunct in Sagittarius, as well as the Moon’s north node which is conjunct Bin Laden’s Saturn – another synastry aspect they may even indicate some karma between these two individuals. Hussein and Iraq’s charts are dealt with in detail elsewhere. [12] Currently Hussein’s Mars-ruled progressed Moon is in Aries, making an harmonious trine aspect to Bin Laden’s deadly Pluto.

For all of 2003, transiting Pluto, soul ruler of Pisces, will square Bin Laden’s Sun, starting toward the end of 2002 and exact mid-February 2003, already a sensitive date for his progressed Venus to Hussein’s Sun. Pluto as Lord of Death could very well come to claim Bin Laden in 2003, but not before he attempts to go out with a big bang – apt for ‘spectacular’ Mars square Pluto, and reasonable speculation could point at an attempt to explode a nuclear device. February 2003 is also a date that has many portents in the Iraqi and American horoscopes. [13]

If the birthtime for Bin Laden is correct, [14] he has Gemini rising and an early Cancer Moon, the combination of which is potent in the art of sabotage, deviousness and cunning strategy.

The Scorpio full moon eclipse of 2002 has Uranus sitting directly on the midheaven of Bin-Laden’s horoscope, with Moon on his natal Mars and Sun in Scorpio opposite. It will of course trigger his natal Mars square Pluto, possibly causing him to strike quite suddenly, with unpredictable force.

America’s Moon is very close to the same degree as his Midheaven, and is a symbol of the shadow or Dweller, which Bin Laden partly embodies.

Bin Laden’s solar return chart for 2002-3 is extraordinary. There is a Moon-Neptune conjunction in Aquarius, in the ninth house of a chart cast for Kabul, Afghanistan. This is probably a major significator as to why he has managed to lay so low. The ninth house alludes to the mountains wherein he was suspected of hiding, and Neptune to his elusiveness. Further, Gemini is rising, indicating a ‘slippery’, hard to grasp, constantly moving nature. Ruler Mercury is conjunct Uranus on the Midheaven in Aquarius, squaring the Scorpio full moon of 2002.

However, the Moon also makes a close square to Mars (quite a violent aspect) and is almost the same degree as Hussein’s Sun and Bin Laden’s progressed Venus. In a solar return for the Middle East, the Ascendant is also close to this degree.

Opposite the Ascendant sits Pluto on the descendant, and Saturn sits in the twelfth house of secret enemies. If the Gemini Rising degree is progressed around the chart of the year, it falls on Saturn at the end of February 2003, a sensitive date for his progressed Venus.

There seems indeed to be a series of climactic transits in Bin Laden’s life, setting off events which may lead to his imminent destruction, especially with the follow up transit of Pluto square his Sun for 2003. Time will tell, and even if he is killed or captured, is that going to stop his cause which is the cause of many others?

Known as Bin Laden’s right hand man, and the principle mastermind of the terrorist attacks, Zawahiri has managed to lay very low, yet his continued existence is not doubted by intelligence sources.

Zawahiri is an Egyptian surgeon (June 19, 1951, Cairo – time unknown) who has Sun conjunct Mars in Gemini. His undoubted high intelligence is majorly challenged by a square from Saturn in Virgo, giving a rationalising religious devotion and fanaticism.

If he were born in the middle of the day, the Moon would be opposite his Sun (full moon), T-squaring Saturn in the twelfth house. Moon in Sagittarius (same as Hussein) can be the one-eyed religious zealot, blinded to everything else, but eminently capable of following through on its promises. Mars square Saturn is not unlike Mars square Pluto in Bin Laden’s chart, with regard to railing at authority or the state.

Zawahiri is going through some major transits. Saturn is going over his Sun currently, for the second of three hits, triggering off all the issues and worst excesses of the T-square to natal Saturn. The restraint of Saturn on the Sun can also have a severe effect on the life forces, and if other transits support, death in some cases. The last hit is in May 2003. His progressed Sun is about to hit Pluto over the next 18 months, so it is well in orb of influence. This can also be another significator of death.

A scenario that could emerge then, is that both Zawahiri and Bin Laden are killed in the next twelve months, as a result of being tracked down, or in an escalation of conflicts with which they are involved.

Phillip Lindsay © 2002

[1] The Externalisation of the Hierarchy, Alice A. Bailey. p.179.

[2] The Externalisation of the Hierarchy, Alice A. Bailey. pp.232-3.

[4] The New York Attack, September 11, 2001, from Destiny of the Races and Nations, by Phillip Lindsay. Note: ‘SP’ = Secondary Progressed planets.

[5] America and Israel, from Destiny of the Races and Nations, by Phillip Lindsay.

[6] Israel and Palestine, from Destiny of the Races and Nations, by Phillip Lindsay.

[7] Esoteric Astrology, Alice A. Bailey. p.401.

[8] Esoteric Astrology, Alice A. Bailey. pp.386-7.9 Samskara: Impressions left upon the mind by individual actions or external circumstances, and capable of being developed on any future favourable occasion -- even in a future birth; the germs of propensities and impulses from previous births to be developed in this, or the coming janmas or reincarnations. (Theosophical Glossaries collation)10 Solar Fire 5 Software - commentary by Bernadette Brady.

[11] Esoteric Astrology, Alice A. Bailey. p.490.

[12] War between Iraq and America: When?, from Destiny of the Races and Nations, by Phillip Lindsay.

[14] 10.58 am. March 10, 1957, Jiddah, Saudi. Several prominent astrologers regard this as the correct chart. See www.astrodatabank.com

Editor's note: Not all the information here may be entirely accurate, though it provides some interesting thoughts to ponder.

The September 11 attacks in the United States were carried out by operatives of Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaida organization, but the initial plans for the terrorist attack were made in Baghdad six years ago.

Iraqi intelligence trained at least two of bin Laden‘s suicide pilots on Boeing jetliners the Iraqis captured during the Gulf war. The Iraqis provided several of bin Laden‘s men with forged passports and vials of anthrax, which were delivered to one of the suicide pilots, Mohammad Atta, during secret meetings in Prague.

Although the religious extremist and the extreme nationalist are polar opposites politically, international terrorist Osama bin Laden and Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein long ago set aside their differences to meet a common goal. The tragic events of September 11 mark only the first phase in their joint effort to enact revenge on their many common enemies in both the Western and the Islamic worlds.

Mohammad Atta and His Iraqi Handlers

Al-Qaida terrorist Mohammad Atta, who hijacked and piloted American Airlines flight 11 into the World Trade Center in September, met often with Iraqi intelligence officers. He met at least twice with Ahmad Khalil Ibrahim Samir al-Ani, a known Iraqi intelligence officer who worked in the Iraqi Embassy in Prague under diplomatic cover. Atta went to Prague from Hamburg by bus on June 2, 2000, to meet with al-Ani. The next day Atta left for the United States, where he enrolled in a flight school in Florida. Atta then returned to Prague in April 2001 to once again meet with al-Ani. In April, 2001 Czech authorities forced al-Ani to leave the country for "activities incompatible with his diplomatic status," a euphemism for espionage. (See footnotes 1, 2, 3)

Atta's connection to the Iraqis predates those meetings by at least a year, when he and fellow hijacker Marwav Jussuf al-Shehhi roomed together in Hamburg, Germany. Czech authorities say that Atta is believed to have also met with Farouq Hijazi in the spring of 2001. Hijazi is Iraq‘s ambassador to Turkey and a former general in the intelligence service. Hijazi is Saddam Hussein‘s personal liaison with bin Laden and is reportedly the man who as early as 1995 came up with the plan to destroy the World Trade Center with hijacked airliners. (See footnotes 4, 5, 6)

Among the items given to Atta by the Iraqi officers was a packet of documents that included at least one forged passport. German investigators believe that Atta also received at least one vial of anthrax. Atta is believed to have taken that anthrax with him to the United States. He reportedly gave it to other members of the Al-Qaida network to use in the ongoing terrorist campaign to distribute the deadly substance through the U.S. mail system. (7)

Anthrax Marked With Iraqi Signature

Various samples of the anthrax that were found in Washington contain traces of silicia and bentonite, substances that were added to anthrax spores to help keep the tiny particles separated and floating in the air so that their intended victims can more easily inhale them. Former United Nations biological arms inspector Timothy Trevan says that Iraqi scientists routinely used bentonite to enhance the effectiveness of their anthrax weapons. The anthrax that has shown up in the United States is of the Ames-type strain, samples of which were provided to Iraq for use in developing antidotes to anthrax bacteria, which often affect cattle. (1)

A growing amount of evidence shows that Iraq intelligence may have played a key role in the bin Laden organization‘s September 11 terror attacks and in the spread of anthrax in the United States. Evidence connecting the two organizations has been published in the world press for at least six years. (1, 8)

Saddam and Osama: A Long History

Former Iraqi official Ahmed Allawi, now a leader of the Iraqi National Council, said in 1999, "There is a long history of contacts between the Mukhabarat (Iraqi secret service) and Osama bin Laden." Allawi said then that the alliance between Al-Qaida and Iraqi intelligence developed over the years. (8)

Saddam Hussein, by far a devout Muslim, actively and aggressively courted Osama bin Laden. This was not an easy task, as Saddam Hussein has murdered thousands of Iraqis who shared bin Laden‘s goal of establishing governments based on his version of the Islamic Shari‘a legal codes. The Iraqi leader, however, was able to lure bin Laden by offering him access to specialized training and weaponry that Al-Qaida could not acquire themselves. That training includes using captured Kuwaiti Boeing 707 airliners to practice hijacking techniques, and the weaponry includes significant amounts of at least one biological warfare toxin: anthrax. (See footnotes 9, 10, 11)

August Terrorist Convention in Baghdad

On August 19 Saddam Hussein opened his fifth annual conference of resistance organizations in Baghdad. The guests of honor represented some of the most notorious and violent terrorist groups. Among with Iraq‘s top intelligence officers during the three days of speeches and meetings were representatives from Islamic Jihad, the Palestinian Hamas, the radical Egyptian Gamaa al-Islamiya and Osama bin Laden‘s Al-Qaida organization. In the audience were more than 100 known terrorists from groups as distant and as diverse as Somalia, the Philippines and Bangladesh. (12)

Amidst chants of "Down with America" and "Down with Israel," Saddam told the gathering of urban guerrillas, assassins, hijackers and bomb-makers that their time of vengeance was close at hand. Three weeks later, 19 members of bin Laden‘s Al-Qaida hijacked four American airliners to launch the suicide attacks that took the lives of thousands of people in New York alone. Of that number, many were foreign nationals from 80 countries. Ten were French citizens. Many more died at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania. (See footnotes 12, 20)

The Alliance of Vengeance

Baghdad is a second home to many of the world‘s leading terrorist groups. Carlos the Jackal, Abu Nidal and other infamous terrorists of the 1970s and 1980s found refuge and financial support in Saddam Hussein‘s Iraq. During the 1990-1991 Gulf war, Iraq recruited, supported, funded, armed and trained numerous radical Palestinian and Arab terrorist organizations. Saddam openly encouraged them to commit acts of violence against the nations of the allied coalition that opposed him. (12)

Many of the key leaders of those groups were former "Afghan Arabs," volunteers from the Muslim world who, like Osama bin Laden, had fought against the Soviet occupation forces in Afghanistan. After the Gulf war, many of those terrorists who were based in Iraq sought sanctuary in the only country that remained allied to Saddam during that conflict: Sudan. Bin Laden also found refuge in Sudan, which remained his base and a magnet for his fellow "Afghan Arabs" until 1996.

Iraqi intelligence officers frequently met with Afghan Arabs and Sudanese government leaders in Sudan in the early 1990s. It was there that Iraqi intelligence and what would become the Al-Qaida first learned of each other‘s capabilities. (12)

Ramzi Youssef, the First Link Between Bin Laden and Saddam

Ramzi Youssef, the terrorist leader who planned the 1993 truck bomb attack on the World Trade Center in New York, was trained in Iraq. After the 1993 bombing failed to bring down the twin towers, he fled to Manila, where he lived in secret with Mohamed Jamal Khalifia, the brother-in-law of Osama bin Laden. Khalifia transferred money from Osama bin Laden to Ramzi Youssef, who in turn taught bomb making to the Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebel group, a group bin Laden still trys to support financially. (See footnotes 9, 13, 14)

Youssef planned two major operations while in Manila. One was to assassinate the Pope during his visit to the Philippines in 1995. The second was to simultaneously blow up 12 American passenger jets at the turn of the millennium. A routine investigation of an accidental fire at his apartment led to the discovery of these plans by Philippine security forces. Youssef fled to

Pakistan, where he was later arrested and extradited to stand trial in the United States. Khalifia simply disappeared and is believed to have found refuge with his brother-in-law in Afghanistan. (See footnotes 13, 14)

World Trade Center Attack Planned in Iraq in 1995

Made aware of bin Laden by Ramzi Youssef and impressed by bin Laden‘s attacks against local and particularly American targets in Saudi Arabia, in 1995 Saddam Hussein sent two of his top intelligence officers to make contact with the bin Laden organization. Farouq Hijazi, then a brigadier general in the General Intelligence Directorate, and Habib Ma‘muri, chief of special operations for the directorate, met with representatives of bin Laden‘s organization at Salman Pak, home of Iraq‘s special weapons research division. Hijazi already knew bin Laden. They had met in 1994 during one of Hijazi‘s numerous visits to Sudan. (See footnotes 6, 8)

According to former officers who have since defected from Iraq and joined the anti-Saddam Iraqi National Congress, these two intelligence officers discussed plans with bin Laden‘s lieutenants on how to improve on and finish the plan of attack made by Ramzi Youssef to bring down the World Trade Center. An official at the Iraqi National Congress told reporters in late October that it was at this meeting that Hijazi and Ma‘muri came up with the idea of hijacking jetliners and turning them into flying bombs. (6)

Saddam Invites Bin Laden to Baghdad

Iraqi intelligence worked hard to develop close ties with bin Laden and his operatives. Saddam Hussein‘s interest in meeting with him reportedly became a priority following the bombing of the American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August 1998. In 1998 General Hijazi was appointed ambassador to Turkey. In his role as a diplomat, the former intelligence director was able to travel more freely abroad. One of his first trips was to Afghanistan, where he met with bin Laden. The general conveyed a personal message from Saddam Hussein inviting bin Laden to Baghdad. (See footnotes 6, 12)

Bin Laden was seen in Baghdad‘s al-Rashid Hotel in December 1998. International lawyer Giovanni Di Stefano, who was in Baghdad at the time to negotiate a contract to represent Iraqi Airlines in Italy and Yugoslavia, met and talked with bin Laden. Western and regional intelligence officers, as well as Iraqi exiles, confirm that bin Laden met with Saddam, who reportedly offered to grant bin Laden a base and asylum in Iraq. Bin Laden, however, already firmly established in Afghanistan, where his money and armed followers had made him an important figure in the regime, declined. Bin Laden did agree to send men to Iraq to receive "special" training. (See footnotes 9, 15)

Former General Hijazi became Saddam Hussein‘s official liaison with bin Laden shortly after his visit to Afghanistan in 1998. He facilitated the movement of about 60 of bin Laden‘s followers to Iraq for special training. That unit became the core cadre of the Jund al-Islam, or "Soldiers of Islam." It has been built up to about 500 men and is led by Amir Abdullah al-Shafi‘i, an Egyptian (or Syrian) who was one of bin Laden‘s "Afghan Arabs." Most of Jund al-Islam‘s recruits are mercenaries. Many are members of renegade Kurdish groups Iraq has created as a counterpoint to the larger Kurdish guerrilla forces that oppose the Baghdad regime. (9)

Captured Boeings Used by Iraq to Train Bin Laden Hijackers

Bin Laden‘s men are among a selected group of terrorists who were trained by the Iraqis to hijack and dismantle the warning systems aboard jetliners. The Iraqi military captured several Boeing 707 jetliners from Kuwaiti Airlines in the Gulf war and took them back to Iraq. The planes are now located at the intelligence service training center at Salman Pak. Although the planes have been grounded ever since, they have provided the Iraqi intelligence service with an excellent classroom to give hijackers "hands-on" training with such planes and, more important, to help make pilots familiar with the operating systems in the cockpits of Boeing airliners. (11, 16)

Boeing manufactured both of the planes that were hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center towers on September 11. Those 757 and 767 Boeings were newer and larger models than the 707s taken from Kuwait, airline industry officials say the basic layout is very much the same. (11, 16)

Iraqis Train Al-Qaida Suicide Squads to Handle Bio-weapons

Several of the terrorist training camps Iraq set up just prior to and during the Gulf war have been reopened. Others like al-Habaniya and al-Safar were never shut down. At least 6,000 recruits from both major and minor terrorist organizations are currently undergoing some form of martial instruction in Iraq. The recruits receive training in communications, explosives, small arms and a variety of sophisticated techniques, ranging from how to use eavesdropping and surveillance equipment to the handling of chemical and biological weapons. (12)

The Jund al-Islam trains at the camps, along with other groups belonging to the Al-Qaida organization. In January 2001, Arab-language newspapers in London reported that one of bin Laden‘s chief lieutenants, Abu Khabab al-Masri, had created a special cell to study the use of biological, chemical and radioactive materials. "Suicide elements" of this cell, the Arab-language newspaper reported, "trained in the use of mustard and sarin gas and the anthrax virus." That training, the newspaper reported, was carried out in Iraq. (9, 10)

"I Created Death" for Saddam

An Iraqi scientist who says "I created death for Saddam" recently escaped from Iraq and fled to Europe. In September 2001 he told a London newspaper, "Over the past six months 3,000 physicists and chemists have been working flat out on secret programs to develop both toxins and the means to deploy them to lethal effect." The defector, who used the pseudonym Doctor al-Sabri to protect his family from reprisals, says Iraq has rebuilt much of its former capability to create weapons of mass destruction. (17)

Al-Sabri says that Professor Shaher Mahmoud al-Jibouri heads up the testing division of the chemical and biological warfare department. The professor is also a member of the intelligence service. Al-Sabri claims that in earlier in 2001 at least 30 prisoners died in experiments the professor conducted to test the lethality of the latest batch of biological weapons being made in Iraq. (17)

Considering that Saddam has already used chemical weapons against his own people, killing thousands of unarmed citizens in northern Iraq, Al-Sabri‘s information seems to confirm what we already know of Saddam.

Iraq Rebuilding Anthrax, Other Biological Weapons Stockpiles

Iraq began research on creating chemical and biological weapons in 1973. United Nations arms inspectors report that by the time of the outbreak of the Gulf war in 1990, Iraq had amassed more than 40,000 chemical weapons. Among them were atleast 50 bombs and five to ten missile warheads filled with anthrax. Another 8,425 liters of liquid anthrax was in storage awaiting "weaponization" into a powdery form. (See footnotes 17, 18, 19)

Richard Spertzel is intimately acquainted with Iraqi chemical and biological weapons programs. He was one of the last members of the United Nations Special Commission to be expelled from Iraq in 1998. Spertzel told reporters on October 28, 2001 that during the U.N.‘s last two years in Iraq the commission was unable to investigate the suspected rebirth of the Iraqi programs to research and create anthrax and other biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction. (12)

Although all of the known stocks and laboratories at Muthana and al-Hakam were destroyed in the aftermath of the war, United Nations officials say they cannot be certain that they completely eliminated Iraq‘s anthrax stockpiles, let alone Iraq‘s ability to create new stocks of weapons-grade anthrax. (17, 18, 19)

Sources:

1. ABCnews.com, 10/29/01
2. Daily Telegraph (London) 10/27/01 (Prague confirms hijack leader met Iraqi agent)
3. Boston Globe, 10/25/01 (The Iraqi Factor)
4. Die Welt (Berlin) 9/19/01 (Frankfurt Seen As Hub of Bin-Laden‘s German Network)
5. Observer (London) 10/14/01 (Iraq ‘behind US anthrax outbreaks‘)
6. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 10/19/01 (INC Says Iraqi Ambassador Linked to WTC Attack Tactic)
7. AFP (Berlin) 10/25/01 (German Newspaper: Suspected Hijacker May Have Transported Anthrax)
8. Iraq News, 2/10/99 (Osama Bin Laden and Iraq)
9. Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, 9/19/01 (Iraq Kurdish Opposition Site on Bin-Laden‘s Plan to Target Iraqi Kurdistan) 10. Al-Hawadith (London) 1/26/01 (Report Views Bin-Laden‘s Operations, Counter-Terrorism Efforts)
11. Wall Street Journal (New York) 10/29/01 (Anthrax: The Elephant in the Room)
12. Daily Telegraph (London) 10/28/01 (Every day, the case mounts against Saddam)
13. Far Eastern Economic Review, 9/27/01 (The Coming War: Danger Within)
14. Far Eastern Economic Review, 9/27/01 (The Coming War: Thwarted Plots)
15. Independent (London) 10/14/01 (The suicide bomber and the Baghdad conspiracy)
16. Aviation Week & Space Technology, 10/01 (‘Well-Trained‘ Pilots Left Little to Chance)
17. Sunday Telegraph (London) 9/30/01 (Defecting Physicist Claims Iraq Building Chemical, Biological Arsenal)
18. Guardian (London) 10/15/01 (Iraq stockpiled anthrax in run-up to Gulf war)
19. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 10/19/01 (Iraq‘s Anthrax Stockpile Highlighted)