The administration has long sought to justify that war by implicating Hussein in global terrorism. Vice President Dick Cheney has explicitly accused Hussein of long-standing links to al-Qaida. President George W. Bush, while more circumspect, strongly defended Cheney's comments last week when they came under fire.
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ny-woterr203859624jun20,0,58781.story?coll=ny-worldnews-headlines
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ny-woterr203859624jun20,0,58781.story?coll=ny-worldnews-headlines