Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda link allegations

Common card · No. 248617

The Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda link allegations were based on false claims by the United States federal government alleging that a secretive relationship existed between Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and the pan-Islamist militant organization al-Qaeda between 1992 and 2003. US president George W. Bush used it as a main reason for invading Iraq in 2003. The conspiracy theory dates to after the Gulf War in 1991, when Iraqi Intelligence Service officers met al-Qaeda members in 1992. After the September 11 attacks in 2001, the conspiracy theory gained worldwide attention. The consensus of intelligence experts, backed up by reports from the 9/11 Commission, United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and declassified United States Department of Defense reports, was that these contacts never led to a relationship between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda. Critics of Bush have said that he was intentionally building a case for war with Iraq with no regard for factual evidence.

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