"There were no reputable connections between Saddam and any Islasmist terror group (in fact, they all hated his guts)"

Really? Where did you come up with that? And were you aware that...

Saddam had sent fighters from Iraq to aid Bin Laden's attacks against American forces in Somalia.

That Saddam's government issued passports for hundreds of known terrorists.

That an Iraqi Intelligence document from 1993 lists nine terrorist groups that the Iraqi government actively cooperated with and who were trusted to carry out assignments on behalf of the regime. Among these groups are the Fatah Revolutionary council, the Palestinian Liberation Front, the Afghani Islamic Party, and the Egyptian Islamic Jihad.

That the Afghani Islamic Party, which in the 90's controlled the region of Afghanistan where Bin Laden's forces were being trained, relied during that same period on financial support from Iraq.

That the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, led by Ayman al Zawahiri, was aiding Bin Laden's forces in Sudan while at the same time receiving funding from Iraq. These same Sudanese fighters were receiving training in Iraqi camps.

That Saddam also financially supported the Kurdish resistance group which would later become Ansar Islam, a close ally of al-Qaeda.

That a recent pentagon report on the Iraqi government documents relating to Saddam's terrorist connections concluded, "Captured documents reveal that the regime was willing to co-opt or support organizations it knew to be part of al Qaeda--as long as that organization's near-term goals supported Saddam's long-term vision."