Quote:
Rumsfeld doubts Saddam-Laden link
By Justin Webb
BBC correspondent in Washington
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has cast doubt on whether there was ever a relationship between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda.
The alleged link was one of the justifications used by President Bush for the invasion of Iraq.
In front of an audience in New York, Mr Rumsfeld was asked about connections between Saddam and Osama Bin Laden. "To my knowledge, I have not seen any strong, hard evidence that links the two," he said.
No proof
Donald Rumsfeld's off-the-cuff comments are often very revealing.
If he really meant what he said, it suggests that the Bush administration is in the process of retreating from previously held positions.
When asked about the putative link during a session at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, defence secretary said: "I have seen the answer to that question migrate in the intelligence community over a period of a year in the most amazing way."
In the past, Mr Rumsfeld has spoken of credible information about a link and Vice President Dick Cheney regularly goes further and talks of Saddam Hussein having provided safe harbour and sanctuary for al-Qaeda.
The idea that Saddam Hussein was a supporter of terrorism has been one of the key justifications used by the administration for his removal.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3715396.stm
So there you go. Even the most ardent of "chicken hawks" or pro-war agitators now accepts that the link was bogus.
How do the neo-Con supporters on this board react now that their poster-child agrees with what the vast majority of people (here, in the US, around the world) have known for years?
Mr Mephisto
PS - I predict the usual raft of "just because no evidence has been found, doesn't mean it isn't there" kind of nonesense and replies from.... well, you know who. :-)