In an interview with journalist Peter Bergen in June 2005, “Abdel Bari Atwan, the editor of Al Quds al Arabi newspaper [said:] ‘He [Osama bin Laden] also didn’t like Saddam Hussein. And he considered Saddam Hussein as a man who is a secular, but he didn’t actually insult Saddam Hussein the way he insulted [Palestine Liberation Organization chairman] Yasser Arafat. He didn’t like him and he told me he wanted to kick him out of Iraq, as he considered, the Ba’ath (Iraqi socialist) regime [to be an] atheist regime. He considered Saddam Hussein as an atheist, and he hates an atheist.’ “ [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]
– Peter Bergen, The Osama bin Laden I Know, Page 170