In making the case last week that Saddam Hussein threatens the world, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell offered the United Nations evidence that Iraq has links to Al Qaeda. It is true that Saddam Hussein has a long history of association with terrorist groups. But these links are not as simple as they seem, and provide only hints about the use Mr. Hussein might make of any ties to Al Qaeda. Like other Arab leaders, Mr. Hussein has been involved in Palestinian politics for decades; in the 1970’s and 80’s he was harboring the May 15 Organization led by Abu Ibrahim, which specialized in bombing airplanes, and a cadre of the Palestine Liberation Front run by Muhammad Abul Abbas that hijacked the cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985 and murdered Leon Klinghoffer, an American Jewish passenger in a wheelchair. Full Story