[BenLurkin]

Saddam Hussein's inner circle not only actively reached out to the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan and terror-based jihadists in the region, but also hosted discussions with a known Al Qaeda operative about creating jihad training "centers,"

[ikez78]

Don't forget that the al Qaeda actively sought WMD from Iraq and worked hard on getting them from Iraq, (9-11 commission)
the desire for a relationship came from BOTH sides, i will have more on this within a week or two