9/11 Commission Sticks By Its Iraq, Al Qaida Findings

[G_j]

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0707-01.htm

Published on Wednesday, July 7, 2004 by the Associated Press

9/11 Commission Sticks By Its Iraq, Al Qaida Findings

by Hope Yen

WASHINGTON -- The Sept. 11 commission is standing by its finding that al-Qaida had only limited contact with Iraq before the terrorist attacks.

The 10-member, bipartisan panel issued a one-sentence statement Tuesday saying it had access to the same information as Vice President Dick Cheney, who suggested strong ties between ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida.

That assertion was one of the justifications the Bush administration gave for going to war with Iraq. In a preliminary report released last month, the Sept. 11 commission cited contacts between Saddam's regime and Osama bin Laden but said there was no "collaborative relationship."

In an interview with CNBC, Cheney had said there "probably" was information about Iraq's links to terrorists that the commission members did not learn during their 14-month investigation. The commission statement Tuesday disputed that.


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