Saddam and Osama in 1999

I haven’t written much at all — ever — about the links between Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. The linkage always seemed pretty limited or stretched, and it had little or nothing to do with why I supported Iraqi regime-change. Saddam’s links to other terrorists — Abu Nidal, Hamas — have never been in doubt, but again that didn’t factor in all that much for me. I would have been in favor of removing him even if he hated all terrorists. I’ve been in favor of removing him for at least ten years now already, since before Al Qaeda even existed.
But listen to this audio clip. (Hat tip: Roger L. Simon.)
ABC News reported in 1999 that Osama bin Laden had a “long relationship” with his “friend” Saddam Hussein, that he was “welcome in Baghdad,” that he tried to get enriched uranium from Saddam, and that he also asked for political asylum in Iraq. They even have a clip of Osama himself admitting he hoped to get enriched uranium from Saddam.
That was in 1999. So, what changed in the meantime? Why did this ABC News report go down the memory hole all of a sudden?