Saddam's link with terrorists

In the Seventies, the Marxist PFLP literally invented the terror tactic of hijacking civilian airliners, resulting in the death of at least 20 innocent passengers. In recent times, fearing competition from Islamic terror groups, the PFLP launched a new offensive inside Israel, with bomb attacks on civilians and the assassination of the Israeli tourism minister in October 2001. There is now proof that Saddam Hussein helped fund this new offensive, confirming British and American allegations that Iraq was a base for international terrorism. The failure to find any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has tended to belittle the original strategic reasons for deposing Saddam. But in the era of mass terror attacks on western civilian targets ushered in by the 9/11 massacres, it is now more necessary than ever to ensure that rogue states do not serve as bases for terrorist organisations.

That is the reason why the Taleban regime was deposed (with UN support). That is the reason why the UN has just ordered Syria to reduce its military presence in occupied Lebanon, which serves as protection for numerous terror groups. And that is one reason why Saddam had to be removed, though in his case the UN faltered in taking action, not least because of the oil-for-bribes scandal.

Now we have the evidence that Saddam gave aid to the PFLP. He also provided a haven for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian responsible for the murder of Kenneth Bigley, as well as yesterday’s attacks on the Green Zone in Baghdad.

Much has gone wrong since Saddam was deposed. But equally, those who favoured a continuation of sanctions as an alternative to regime change must explain how they would have stopped Saddam funding the PFLP, or giving al-Zarqawi free rein to plot bombings in Western Europe. Or how they would have stopped him bribing UN officials to get his murderous way.