What do France, Russia, al-Qaeda, French President Chirac, British MP Galloway, and Money Have In Common? - SADDAM By Andrew L. Jaffee, April 30, 2003

I’ve collected a number of tidbits regarding France, Russia, al-Qaeda, French President Chirac, British MP Galloway, and money. You shouldn’t have any problems putting the big picture together:

• Jacques Chirac has a long standing (30-year) relationship with Saddam Hussein. France has made a lot of money because of this relationship.
• The Iraqi secret service plotted with France to disrupt an April 2000 Paris human rights conference. Iraqi opposition leaders who wished to attend the conference were denied French visas.
• Evidence has been uncovered showing a direct link between Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network and Saddam's regime. Apparently, Iraqi officials met with an al-Qaeda representative in Baghdad in March of 1998.
• The Sunday Times reported that France regularly tipped Saddam off regarding French diplomatic dealings with American officials.
• American troops today apprehended an al-Qaeda-affiliated operative near Baghdad.
• The British member of parliament who led opposition to the Iraq war, George Galloway, apparently was receiving millions of dollars from Saddam. Coincidence?
• And don't forget all the "oil-for-food" money and weapons sales money the French and Russians made off Saddam.

Think this is hyperbole? I’m quoting sources like the Christian Science Monitor, CBS News, CNN, and United Press International (UPI). You decide. You make your own conclusions.