An interview published in Saturday's Washington Post, with a member of the Iraq insurgency, reveals another example of the deadly postwar cooperation between members of Saddam Hussein's former ruling party and al Qaeda in Iraq.

In the piece, written by Joshua Hartlow, the insurgent identifies himself as "Abu Sarhan" and revealed that he "had been an officer in the Fedayeen (pictured right via Answers.com), the black-clad paramilitary force of the ousted government of Saddam Hussein."

"Sarhan" told his interviewers that he had risen to the level of "'general coordinator' between al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Omar Brigade, an insurgent group founded in July 2005 by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi." When and how "Sarhan" joined al Qaeda was not mentioned in the story.

The Omar Brigade is a group set up by Abu Musab al Zarqawi, before his death, to counter Shi'ites, particularly the Badr Brigade, an enemy of both al Qaeda in Iraq and Baathists.

As both the New York Times' John Burns and Strategy Page analysts have recently written the destination of choice for many al Qaeda members fleeing the U.S. surge in Iraq is areas like Ramadi, Baghdad and Baqouba where Saddam Hussein loyalists continue to still have some sway (though there are also Baathist linked groups who are confronting al Qaeda). The exact origins of this pattern of cooperation between some elements of Saddam Hussein's military/security/intelligence and al Qaeda is unknown but according to at least one former intelligence agent it goes back to at least 2001.

The size and role of al Qaeda and Baathist elements within the Iraq insurgency is also being discussed at Herschel Smith's site, Bill Roggio's site, Juan Cole's site and the Small War's Journal blog.