New evidence of ties between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda has surfaced just as the “9-11 Commission” concluded there was no "collaborative relationship" between the two parties. The New York Times revealed Friday that it had obtained a copy of

an internal report by the Iraqi intelligence service detailing efforts to seek cooperation with several Saudi opposition groups, including Mr. bin Laden's organization, before Al Qaeda had become a full-fledged terrorist organization.

The Times interviewed several U.S. government officials to verify the authenticity of the document

which asserts that Mr. bin Laden "was approached by our [Iraqi] side," states that Mr. bin Laden previously "had some reservations about being labeled an Iraqi operative," but was now willing to meet in Sudan, and that "presidential approval" was granted to the Iraqi security service to proceed.

So now even the Times is admitting that Saddam himself approved contacts between his operatives and al-Qaeda. It’s about time. On November 15, 2003 the Weekly Standard revealed it had obtained an October 27 memo from the Dept. of Defense to the Senate Intelligence Committee, disclosing evidence that Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden had been coordinating terrorist activities from 1990 through 2003. Among other damning evidence, the memo disclosed meetings between 9/11 hijacker Mohamed Atta and Iraqi intelligence.

From the Weekly Standard article:

OSAMA BIN LADEN and Saddam Hussein had an operational relationship from the early 1990s to 2003 that involved training in explosives and weapons of mass destruction, logistical support for terrorist attacks, al Qaeda training camps and safe haven in Iraq, and Iraqi financial support for al Qaeda--perhaps even for Mohamed Atta--according to a top secret U.S. government memorandum obtained by THE WEEKLY STANDARD.

The memo, dated October 27, 2003, was sent from Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas J. Feith to Senators Pat Roberts and Jay Rockefeller, the chairman and vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. It was written in response to a request from the committee as part of its investigation into prewar intelligence claims made by the administration. Intelligence reporting included in the 16-page memo comes from a variety of domestic and foreign agencies, including the FBI, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency. Much of the evidence is detailed, conclusive, and corroborated by multiple sources. Some of it is new information obtained in custodial interviews with high-level al Qaeda terrorists and Iraqi officials, and some of it is more than a decade old. The picture that emerges is one of a history of collaboration between two of America's most determined and dangerous enemies.

The memo contains 50 detailed bullets outlining Iraqi/al-Qaeda cooperation. Among the points laid out:

• Numerous meetings between Iraqi high-level officials and al Qaeda (including bin Laden himself).
• An agreement by Saddam to allow al-Qaeda operations as long as they left his regime alone (remember that Osama initially considered the Iraqi secular regime to be an enemy of Islam).
• The Iraqi Intelligence Service trained bin Laden in bomb-making techniques.
• Iraqi funding for meetings with al-Qaeda.
• Meetings between Iraqi officials and the Taliban in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.
• al-Qaeda set up a terrorist training camp in northern Iraq.
• Iraq provided safe harbor, funding, weapons, and fake passports to al-Qaeda -- even after 9/11.
• Involvement by countries like Jordan, Egypt, and Sudan in meetings between Iraqi representatives and al-Qaeda.

But the most disturbing revelations were Iraq's possible involvement in the 9/11 attacks. The memo disclosed that 9/11 hijacker Mohamed Atta and an Iraqi intelligence officer met as many as four times in Prague in 1994, 1999, 2000, and 2001. The Weekly Standard added that 5 high-ranking Czech government officials "have publicly confirmed" meetings between Atta and the Iraqi intelligence officer. Even more alarming, it was revealed that Iraq offered funding to Atta. Whether or not the funds were transferred remains a mystery.

President Bush's critics have lambasted him for insinuating a connection between Saddam and al-Qaeda. Remember all the pooh-poohing of the one meeting between Atta and Iraqi agent in Prague? Turns out there were four meetings -- and a whole hell of a lot of other evidence of Iraqi/al-Qaeda connections.