(President) Bush Disputes al Qaida-Saddam Conclusion

Yahoo! News ^ | 6/17/04 | Deb Reichmann - AP

[NormsRevenge]

US President George W. Bush (news - web sites) speaks during a Cabinet meeting in the West Wing of the White House. Bush insisted that Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) had 'connections' with al-Qaeda, despite an official report that found no credible evidence of operational ties between the two.(AFP/Brendan Smialowski)

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Bush says Saddam, al-Qaeda had "connections"

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush (news - web sites) insisted that Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) had "connections" with al-Qaeda, despite an official report that found no credible evidence of operational ties between the two.

"The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship between Iraq (news - web sites) and Saddam and al-Qaeda is because there was a relationship between Iraq and al-Qaeda," he told reporters as he met with his Cabinet.

That link, frequently cited by Bush and top aides as a reason for going to war to oust Saddam, has been called into question by the commission probing the September 11, 2001 attacks by Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s network.

Saddam "was a threat because he was a sworn enemy to the United States of America, just like al-Qaeda. He was a threat because he had terrorist connections, not only al Qaeda connections, but other connections," said Bush.

A staff report released by the national inquiry commission said there was no "credible evidence" Iraq had helped al-Qaeda to attack the United States and no sign of any "collaborative relationship" between Baghdad and the group.

"This administration never said that the 9/11 attacks were orchestrated between Saddam and al-Qaeda. We did say there were numerous contacts between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda," said the president.

But if he never did so explicitly, Bush last year called Saddam "an ally of al-Qaeda." Then White House spokesman Ari Fleischer (news - web sites) suggested there was "an unholy partnership" between the two, and top aides said Saddam's regime had provided chemical and biological weapons know-how to Osama bin Laden's network.

The commission report, issued as the panel began a final two days of hearings, said bin Laden "explored possible cooperation with Iraq" while based in Sudan in the early 1990s, even though he opposed Saddam's secular regime.

Bush pointed to Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, an al-Qaeda-linked militant suspected of attacks in Iraq, as proof of ties between bin Laden's group and Iraqi insurgents.

Saddam "was a threat because he provided safe haven for a terrorist like Zarqawi who is still killing innocents inside of Iraq," the president said.

[ex-snook]

""This administration never said that the 9-11 attacks were orchestrated between Saddam and al-Qaida," he said. "

Of course not. No one should have gotten that idea from what anyone said. We went to war because they threatend us with WMD, to stop Saddam from killing his own people and to make them a Democracy.

[talleyman]

I avoid Yahoo - home of the Hate-America crowd - and suggest others do the same.

[NormsRevenge]

I hear ya but it's one of my pack of sites I pull full articles from while they allow it..

Agreed tho that anyone who would use Gray Davi$ in their ads is suspect anyway ;-)

[talleyman]

I was speaking in general, not of your story-pulling, which I appreciate. I was just venting my disgust at that home for hate groups. No offense intended.

[NormsRevenge]

None taken here. Thanks. (whew!)

I left the chatrooms of Yahoo long ago, it was become a festering swamp of a few good folks contending with a lot of vile critters and their invective against that very society and governemnt that has guaranteed their freedoms with the blood of patriots.

I haven't looked at the groups that they allow there today but can only imagine how many Michael Moore groupie groups they have.