Al Qaeda Link To Iraq May Be Confusion Over Names
An allegation that a high-ranking al Qaeda member was an officer in Saddam Hussein’s private militia may have resulted from confusion over Iraqi names, a senior administration official said yesterday. Former Navy secretary John Lehman, a Republican member of the commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, said Sunday that documents found in Iraq “indicate that there is at least one officer of Saddam’s Fedayeen, a lieutenant colonel, who was a very prominent member of al Qaeda.” Although he said the identity “still has to be confirmed,” Lehman introduced the information on NBC’s “Meet the Press” to counter a commission staff report that said there were contacts between Iraq and al Qaeda but no “collaborative relationship.” Full Story