Saddam and Ben-Laden - Friends or Foes?

The theory that Saddam is linked in any way to Bin Laden and his religious movement: Al Qae'da is downright ridiculous and hilariously ignorant - read why!

'The idea that al-Qaeda is getting political or military support from Iraq is ludicrous. I can see no way.' Alex Standish, editor of the UK journal Jane's Intelligence Digest - required reading for war-watchers and war-makers everywhere - thinks US intelligence officials are making 'a big mistake' on Iraq. 'They are trying to convince us of something that is highly unlikely', he says. 'If they really believe that Saddam is feeding and sustaining bin Laden's men, then they can't possibly understand the fundamental difference between Iraq and al-Qaeda.'

Brendan O’Neill A Link between Saddam and Bin Laden? No Way

Though I am convinced that the American adminstration has been running on a “Pretend-you-are-doing-something-for-the-nation-by-attacking someone-else" slogan, ever since Bush Sr's ascent to power, and despite the fact that the American foreign policy came to be defined by “Bushism” – a word used to denote the hilarity of the president’s lies, I know that the American adminstartion has no clue as to whether Saddam and Ben Laden are linked together by more than their Arabism.

Saddam’s internal trouble started well before the first gulf war. Aspiring to introduce enlightenment in Iraq, he dared proclaim Iraq a secular state. In concurrence to this he passed a law that an illeterate will be punished by an imprisonment sentence of three years. Furthermore, he announced that any political argument of religious nature from any religious group will not be permissible. Both high priests and famous sheikhs were thrown publicly in prison for seeing his declaration as infidel and anti-Islam. Islam, a religion whose dogma is primarily about ‘ruling’ a state, does not allow for enlightenment. Secularism of states means a blatant ‘ridda’, an Arabic word which means renouncing faith (Islam).

On this note, Saddam’s rule has acquired animosity, at least in heart from all ‘radical’ muslims and some Orthox Christians. With a grave religious sin like this, Osama was the most disenchanted Muslim leader of Saddam’s rule. On the other hand, Saddam, who belongs to the largest political party in Iraq (of 7 million members)is a communist. Though communism was not discussed in Islam, Islam recognizes capitalism as the just social law. The Saudi-born billionaire who is a mega business man, born to a great fortune, saw in communism an anti-Islamic ideology.

Belonging to a great tribe of noble blood, Ben laden sees himself as inherently superior to Saddam, even if the latter traced his bloodline to the prophet.

What do the two of those have in common? Both are for a Pan-Arabia; but where Saddam visions an ‘enlightened’ one Arab nation, Osama dreams of building a Muslim empire, not with himself as a head, but with any devout leader as one. Saddam to Ben Laden was an infidel; Ben Laden to saddam remained a backward thinker.

With this grave ideological difference, a any close tie between the two Arab leaders is positively impossible.

About the Author

Al Seidi, Nevine, Egyptian-born (1961) obtained her BA in English Literature(Honours) from Alexandria University Egypt. She grew up in an artistic literary home where her dad acted and wrote scripts while keeping a private office of law as a Solicitor. To please him, she had to read the concise version of Shakespeare at 8 for her summer holiday. She trained as a painter at 6 under the patronage of world-famous Seif Wanli. At the age of 13, she started composing poetry in both English and Arabic. She won many contests as a painter and a poet. She has been a writer to her own circle of literary society, eversince. At the age of 18, she started getting interested in fashion seriously.She was determined to follow a career in fashion albeit studing literature. Highly, interested in theology, philosophy,sociology, economics, politics and very well informed in fashion, beauty and business. She tapped into various professions, before a career in fashion that ended at the threshold of creative writing again.Her moment of initiation was the birth of her only son Omar,now3. "Suddenly, the fashion world seemed a little too selfish a pursuit; motherhood anchored me to the reality of things. Unfortuanately, reality is not as beautiful as the fashion world" - She explains. She is an active journalist writer and poet with a deep interest in political and social affairs. She writes on many web sites on various subjects as well as various publications and periodicals. As a poet, she is published in the US. Some of her work appear in an anthology published by the L ibrary of Congress entitled: Nature's Echoes One of her most interesting poems is published in Millennium Poets by Cader Publisheing. The Poem is titled : Surrogate God . Though amusing, it hardly expresses the poet's belief. It is rather an expression of a mood. She is presently writing her first book: The Cultural Predicament of the Third World The Ethical vs. the Ethnical

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