Seeking testimony of those who interviewed Baath or al Qaeda detainees in Iraq

[Mark Eichenlaub]

There were some connections prior to 9/11 reported in the media. However, the reports were smothered out by the debate over going to war. Based on my recollections and readings, the Ba'athist regime didn't want AQ within the borders of Iraq. For all the Islamic, pan Arabic rhetoric, Saddam was a secularist at heart. AQ would have been a threat.

Having said that, I would think Iraqi intelligence would use AQ as a tool to advance Iraqi interests. Remember that prior to 9/11, Iraq was suffering from the effects of economic sanctions. Iraqi intelligence may have known that AQ had something in the wind, and may even have provided support in the hope it would put pressure on the West. (I recall some news account of meetings in Europe - Vienna(?) - prior to 9/11.)

Your best bet would be to use something like Wayback to glean whatever information was reported, then try to read between the lines.

Thanks J Wolf,
I actually have a timeline from around 1990 through today with detailed events/activities of both groups and when their ideas/activities overlapped (1998, etc.) and conflicted (Gulf War I, etc.). Would you be interested in me sending this to you?