Via ParaPundit, a report from the London Times:
PRESIDENT Saddam Hussein imported hundreds of well-trained Islamic guerrillas before the war to spearhead his fight against American and British forces, The Times has learnt....Tellingly, many of these jihadi arrived on student visas, claiming to be enrolled in the school for Koranic studies. "Talib," from whence "Taliban," translates as "student" with the understanding that it is the Koran being studied. Student visas seem to be a method of choice for AQ agents travelling in the West, though why they would bother with the pretense in Iraq is not clear. Of course, some just listed their reason for coming to Iraq as "jihadi."
The foreign fighters provide a �direct tie between Saddam Hussein and terrorist organisations�, a Pentagon spokeswoman said last night.
British investigators are more cautious, but one officer involved in questioning the survivors told The Times: �These are not just zealots who grabbed a gun and went to the front line. They know how to employ guerrilla tactics so someone had to have trained them. They are certainly organised, and if it�s not bin Laden�s people, its al-Qaeda by another name. But they certainly came here to fight the West.�
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