[okie01]

"BTW I seem to remember that Czech intelligence initially reported this and then later denied it--anyone seen an explanation on what caused their flip-flop?"

The Czechs didn't flip-flop. But that didn't stop the NYTimes from claiming that they did.

Reporting from "reliable sources inside the intelligence community", the Times said that Vaclav Havel had called President Bush and assured him that the Czech intelligence services had "no credible evidence" that al-Ani had ever met with Atta in Prague, as was claimed.

Two days later, they Times was forced to print a retraction. The Czech Ambassador instructed them that Havel had done no such thing.

[Fedora]

Thanks for correcting the details on Havel's position! So the alleged flip-flop was a fabrication of the NYT--that figures. Do you happen to know which reporter wrote that article for the Times, or have a link to the article?