Though the Administration has slyly hinted (over and over again)that
Hussein supported Ansar al-Islam, it's just another one of their
rationalizations for invading Iraq that doesn't hold water. Is one to
assume that the Kurds supported the group or that the president
supported the Al-Qaeda cells in New Jersey and Florida? The
Administration has taken to bold faced lying without embarrassment.

"Secretary of State Powell in his February 5 address to the United
Nations Security Council accused Saddam Hussein of collaborating with
Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda.

Powell accused Baghdad of supporting Ansar al-Islam, a "deadly
terrorist network" based in the ethnic Kurd controlled region of
Northern Iraq. According to Powell, Ansar al-Islam has been
responsible for plotting terror attacks in a number of countries
including France, Britain, and Germany. US officials have also pointed
to the role of Iraq's embassy in Islamabad, which was allegedly used
as a liaison between Al Qaeda operatives and representatives of the
Iraqi government.

Baghdad has no jurisdiction in the ethnic Kurd controlled region of
Northern Iraq. In fact, the region is in the US sphere of influence.
"But the picture is neither complete nor conclusive. Ansar al-Islam
has its bases in the Kurdish-controlled area of Iraq, beyond the
control of Saddam Hussein." (NYT, 14 Febrauary 2003)

There are two regional governments in "liberated Kurdistan", both of
which are supported by Washington. The Kurdistan Democratic Party
(KDP) controls the West, whereas the eastern part is under the
jurisdiction of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The two rival
governments have separate administrations and Armed Forces, which are
financed by US military aid under Clinton's 1998 "Iraq Liberation Act"
of 1998.

Ansar al-Islam, a pre-existing Islamist group, developed into a small
yet significant paramilitary organisation, shortly after the 9/11
attacks. It was largely involved in terrorist attacks directed against
the secular institutions of the Kurdish regional governments. It was
also involved in assassinations of members of the Kurdish PUK. In the
days following Colin Powell's statement, a senior military leader of
PUK forces General Shawkat Haj Mushir was murdered allegedly by Ansar
al-Islam. (The Australian, 11 February 2003) Surrounded in mystery,
the assassination of Shawkat was barely mentioned in the US press.

Since September 2001, Ansar al-Islam has grown in size, incorporating
Al Qaeda fighters who fled Afghanistan in the wake of the US bombings.
(Christian Science Monitor, 15 March 2002) Revealed by Seymour Hersh,
"an unknown number" of Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters "were flown to
safety" in a US sponsored airlift organised by Pakistan's Military and
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of these Mujahideen fighters were
evacuated to Kashmir, where they joined Al Qaeda and ISI supported
Islamic terrorist groups. While there is no firm evidence, one
suspects that some of the Mujahideen fighters may also have fled from
Afghanistan to other countries (eg. Northern Iraq), with the tacit
approval of the Pentagon."