US President scotches Saddam link to 9/11
USA President George Bush has revealed that there is no evidence linking Iraq to the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the USA.
As security information comes under increasing scrutiny in the US, the widely held view that Iraq perpetrated the attacks is being challenged. The President’s comments have been made in an attempt to clarify the situation, although he maintained that Al Queda had links to Saddam Hussein.
Polls show that many Americans believe that Iraq was behind the multiple attacks on the 11th of September 2001, and even that some of the hijackers were Iraqis. No Iraqis took part in the hijackings, and no evidence has been found of Iraqi involvement.
Public confusion has been criticised by those opposed to the war in Iraq, though it is not clear that the President or the US government encouraged the association.
The US government, like the British government, has consistently linked Saddam Hussein’s regime with terrorism; but President Bush has also consistently highlighted links to Al Quaeda, which Tony Blair has tended not to. The extent of these links is not known though individuals within Al Quaeda have been found to have links in Baghdad.
The British government will take some comfort in the ongoing US support for intelligence related to the war in Iraq. It has been criticised over some of the claims made about the threat Iraq poses, but high profile reminders of the perceived terror threat that Iraq posed may impact on public opinion here.
However, if the American public decide that the confusion was encouraged by their government to gain support for war, that support may falter.
