Hussein Warned Followers About Jihadists, Officials Say

In hiding after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Saddam Hussein penned a directive warning his followers not to join forces with Islamic jihadists and other foreign fighters seeking to make Iraq their new battlefield, according to a document found with Hussein when he was captured, U.S. government officials said last night. The document, which the CIA believes to be authentic, appears to be written to leaders of the Iraqi resistance and, as such, undercuts the argument of Bush administration officials that Hussein was working closely with al Qaeda and other religious extremists, a view not shared by most U.S. and foreign intelligence agencies. On the contrary, the directive, which was first reported in today’s New York Times, adds to the mounting evidence that the insurgency is largely Iraqi-directed and -controlled and that Hussein’s links to al Qaeda before the war were not strong. Full Story