The media certainly were pushing Iraq as being connected to AQ and possibly behind 9/11 shortly after September 11, 2001. A compilation of media comments and articles:
November 17, 2003
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/984758/posts
Be sure not to fall into the trap that the DBM and Dems have been laying for years. That is that Obl is AQ and once OBL is gone, AQ is gone. Subsequently, AQ is terrorism, ergo, OBL gone means AQ is gone which means terrorism is gone...WOT over!