Iraq was neither supporting terrorism, nor supporting Al Quaeda. The attack on Iraq was self-serving, and had absolutely nothing to do with Osama Bin Ladin, Al Quaeda, or 9/11.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) is a group playing an active role in the
Iraqi insurgency. Initially it was led as
Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (
Arabic: جماعة التوحيد والجهاد,
Group of Monotheism and Jihad) by the
Jordanian militant
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi until his death in 2006. It is now believed to be led by
Abu Hamza al-Muhajir[2] (presumed to be the
Egyptian Abu Ayyub al-Masri[3]). The group is a direct successor of al-Zarqawi's previous organization,
Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (Group of
Monotheism and
Jihad). Beginning with its official statement declaring
allegiance to
Osama bin Laden's
al-Qaeda network in October 2004, the group identifies itself as
Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (QJBR) ("
Organization of Jihad's Base in the Country of the Two Rivers").
[4]
Foreign fighters were widely thought to play a key role in the decentralized network,
[5]
Attacking the United States clearly remains on bin Laden's agenda. But the likelihood that such an attack would be launched from Iraq, many experts contend, has sharply diminished over the past year as al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) has undergone dramatic changes. Once believed to include thousands of "foreign fighters," it is now an overwhelmingly Iraqi organization whose aims are likely to remain focused on the struggle against the Shiite majority in Iraq, U.S. intelligence officials said.
AMMAN, JORDAN – The connection between Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was cemented with Mr. bin Laden's latest taped statement on Tuesday, in which he praised the Jordanian militant and said anyone who participates in Iraq's Jan. 30 election will be considered an infidel and fair game for attack.
When Mr. Zarqawi's terrorist movement emerged in Iraq more than a year ago, intelligence analysts saw it as separate from Al Qaeda, with more ferocious rhetoric than the better-known terror group and a willingness to kill large numbers of Muslim civilians.
But now, the US and its allies face a grave and growing threat: an alliance of mutual interests and convenience between the group that carried out the 9/11 attacks in the United States and the one that has contributed so much to Iraq's chaos.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1230/p01s03-woiq.html
Hers is some proof