Yes. And around the time of the articles I am citing there was apparently a State Department report on al Qaeda ties to terrorism in Chechnya which also included the connection with Iraq.
I say apparently because it was mentioned in articles I read, but I have not found the report.
Around the same time Janet Reno was testifying to congress about the potential for terrorists to use anthrax or other WMD and that was associated with this information.
It is amazing how forgotten it is that the Clinton administration presented information that today the dems say doesn't exist or wasn't a realistic concern.