Fact check
Is it true: Saddam Hussein - Al-Qaeda Link (Iraq War Pretext)?
No — this has been debunked.
The 9/11 Commission (2004) concluded there was no operational Saddam-al-Qaeda relationship. The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence "Phase II" report (2008) found that administration claims about Iraq-al-Qaeda ties "were not supported by the underlying intelligence." The 2006 Pentagon Office of Inspector General report on the Office of Special Plans concluded it produced "alternative intelligence analysis" selectively used to support the policy conclusion. Captured Iraqi documents released post-war (Harmony Project) showed no operational ties. The case is a textbook example of policy-driven intelligence.
The claim
The Bush administration's 2002-2003 claim that Saddam Hussein's Iraq had operational ties to al-Qaeda, used as a central justification for the 2003 US invasion. The 9/11 Commission, Senate Intelligenc
Key evidence
Cheney: "pretty well confirmed" Atta-Prague meeting
9/11 Commission: no operational relationship
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