The Bush administration has for now dropped what had been one of the key arguments presented by supporters of a military campaign against Baghdad - Iraq's links to al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.
In its Tuesday edition, The Washington Post said although administration officials say they are still trying to develop a strong case tying Saddam Hussein to global terrorism, the CIA has yet to find convincing evidence despite having combed its files and redoubled its attempts to collect and analyze information related to Iraq.
According to the newspaper, analysts who have scrutinized photographs, communications intercepts and information from foreign informants have concluded they cannot validate two prominent allegations made by high-ranking administration officials: links between Saddam and al Qaeda members who have taken refuge in northern Iraq and an April 2001 meeting in Prague between Sept. 11 hijacker Mohamed Atta and an Iraqi intelligence agent.
"It's a thin reed," said a senior intelligence official describing the information on both cases. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
