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Bush exaggerated Iraq`s links to al-Qaeda: Report
Washington, June 22: US President George W Bush brushed aside important caveats in intelligence reports linking Iraq to the al-Qaeda terror network, media reported today citing intelligence and Congressional sources.
Washington, June 22: US President George W Bush brushed aside important caveats in intelligence reports linking Iraq to the al-Qaeda terror network, media reported today citing intelligence and Congressional sources.
Bush appeared before the US public in a nationally broadcast address in October, declaring that Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was a threat to the United States, in part because of ties he asserted Baghdad maintained ties to al-Qaeda.
But sources with access to classified materials told 'Washington Post' that "a still-classified national intelligence report circulating within the Bush administration at the time ... Portrayed a far less clear picture about the link between Iraq and al-Qaeda than the one presented by the President."
The classified National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iraq, which represented the consensus of the US intelligence agencies, contained cautionary language and warnings about the reliability of information from Iraqi defectors and al-Qaeda captives.
"There has always been an internal argument within the intelligence community about the connections between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda. The NIE had alternative views," one senior intelligence official told the paper on condition of anonymity.
The 'Post' also raised doubts about Bush's assertion in his State of the Union address in January -- an important address that aimed to rally public support for the war -- that Iraq had sought to buy uranium in Africa to relaunch a nuclear weapons programme.
Bureau Report
But sources with access to classified materials told 'Washington Post' that "a still-classified national intelligence report circulating within the Bush administration at the time ... Portrayed a far less clear picture about the link between Iraq and al-Qaeda than the one presented by the President."
The classified National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iraq, which represented the consensus of the US intelligence agencies, contained cautionary language and warnings about the reliability of information from Iraqi defectors and al-Qaeda captives.
"There has always been an internal argument within the intelligence community about the connections between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda. The NIE had alternative views," one senior intelligence official told the paper on condition of anonymity.
The 'Post' also raised doubts about Bush's assertion in his State of the Union address in January -- an important address that aimed to rally public support for the war -- that Iraq had sought to buy uranium in Africa to relaunch a nuclear weapons programme.
Bureau Report