Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites)(R), who took the lead in pushing the idea of long-standing links between Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) and al Qaeda, has no intention of backing down despite a finding to the contrary by the Sept. 11 commission, aides said on June 16, 2004. Administration officials stood by Cheney, who critics accuse of using faulty intelligence about alleged weapons of mass destruction and Iraqi links to al Qaeda to push the nation to war. Cheney is seen with President George W. Bush (news - web sites) in this October 29 file photo. Photo by Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
