White House may have linked Iraq, al Qaeda

The White House may have found a link between the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and the al Qaeda terrorist organization. Speaking at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that the U.S. has what it considers "credible evidence that al Qaeda leaders have sought contacts in Iraq who could help them acquire weapons of mass destruction capabilities."

Rumsfeld added that one report indicates that Iraq gave unspecified training to al Qaeda members relating to chemical and/or biological matters.

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At a meeting with bipartisan lawmakers on Thursday, President Bush said that Iraq's leadership had continuous ties to terrorist groups. He said that the Iraqi government is "seeking a nuclear bomb and with fissile material could build one within a year."

So where are all of these details coming from? National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice says one al Qaeda prisoner has disclosed that members of his organization may have gotten training from Iraq in chemical or biological weapons. And the Bush Administration is pointing out that evidence to strengthen its case against the Gulf nation.

Intelligence officials are not suggesting that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein played a part in the September 11 attacks. They also say that al Qaeda members are believed to be in 60 countries around the world--including the United States.

But President Bush said that Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. would not live in what he called a "future of fear." He said that lawmakers would push forward to build a secure future for the United States.

Meanwhile, White House and congressional staffers softened a proposed resolution that authorized military action against Iraq. They dropped some of the language that some members of Congress thought might give the president too much power if he decided to make a move against Iraq.

The new draft grants Bush the power to use U.S. military force to defend his country's national security and to enforce U.N. Security Council resolutions.

But the president said that if he decided to use military force, he would first go before Congress and make the case as to why no diplomatic alternatives were possible.