I wouldn't have gone quite so far off on the man jb.
In many cases, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Not saying that is the specific case here...but parsed gramatically that statement wasn't >that< outlandish. In fact, in the one instance that BL asked for support he was rebuffed. So in those "official" circles they were indeed NOT allies.
BUT, both BL and Saddam support terrorism. Hussein did so economically (35 million in payments to families of suicide bombers) and also by providing safe harbor and did nothing to stop training in IRAQ. (Abu Nidal among others).
There is no doubt of Bin Laden's ties to terrorism.
While there is no tacit proof that Hussein supported attacks on the US, they were the only Arab country that did not officially condemn the act. In fact, they went so far as to announce on official radio that we were "reaping the fruit of our crimes against humanity". The next day Hussein's son was commiserating with the plight of Bin Laden.
So while you rail on Norm for using this to justify the war...that is not what he said in the quoted statement. Yes, we know that this is no justification for the war for most everyone here...but the reaction was a shade over the top.
Of course...this is my opinion and I don't expect you to agree with it :-)