A U.N. vehicle carrying weapons inspectors outside the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad January 2003 (AP)
Critics Question Hussein-Terrorism Link Story aired: Monday, July 21, 2003
Last week the Bush administration declassified portions of documents to deflect criticism over the use of intelligence about Iraq, but they may actually end up having the opposite effect.
The papers reveal that intelligence officials believed last fall that Saddam Hussein was unlikely to give biological or chemical weapons to terrorists unless his rule was directly threatened by the United States.
The "National Intelligence Estimate" was a joint effort by six intelligence services that produced their reports at the request of President George W. Bush. The administration continued to warn of the terrorist threat posed by the Iraqi regime, while the intelligence assessment says that an attack on Saddam would actually increase the terrorist threat to the United States.
Guests:
Walter Pincus, staff writer for The Washington Post
